HUMANE
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Sebastian Chacon, Alanna Bale, Enrico Colantoni, Peter Gallagher, Sirena Gulamgaus, and Uni Park
Director: Caitlin Cronenberg
KATIE
Humane is the latest addition to the increasingly popular dystopian genre, focusing on the internal breakdown of a family facing the consequences of mandatory population control measures. It plays out like a thriller, where the Succession-esque siblings have to murder each other, but the way each actor leans into the stereotypes of champagne socialism and the detached attitudes of the mega-rich family is very funny. Whilst I was left wondering if the film communicated its satirical message as intended, Humane offers an original and darkly comedic film with plenty of laughs and bloody violence.
QUENTIN
The world-building in Humane, along with the first act, sets the stage for a tense (if unoriginal) stand-off between a collection of rich dysfunctional siblings forced to face their own awfulness. Sadly, once the second act hits, the story fizzles out, turning into nothing more than “which unlikeable (or worse, uninteresting) sibling will survive?” while general themes of “fuck the rich” and “don’t trust the government” play out. There is very little tension, nor are there any characters to root for, so you ultimately end up with just a bunch of noise…bloody noise, sure, which may be enough for some, but it’s still just noise.
NICK
Humane is the latest look at a panicked government's solution to population control. It starts off with an engaging family story (think The Fall of the House of Usher), which locked me in for about 40 minutes or so. Sadly, that solid lead-up devolves into a generic bloody battle for survival that fails to bring both the tension and thrills that it desires. Yes, the film at least had the foresight to lean into some campier aspects, but it is undone by setting the stage early for something that would have been a much better film.
PAIGE
Humane is a horror satire with not much horror or satire. The movie plays out as more of a family drama than anything else, which isn’t entirely a bad thing, but when you have a Cronenberg in the director’s chair, you expect more. Rather than delving further into the themes it is attempting to convey, the movie unfolds as a bloodbath with this dysfunctional family racing around the house just wanting to kill each other. All in all, it's a middling film with a cool concept and a fun cast, but the overarching themes are underdeveloped and poorly executed.
