User reviews

I watched Humane. I liked the idea. And the movie kept my interest. But I just couldn't really believe it.

If D. O. C. S. did all that, (by "all that," I mean details that would spoil the movie if I were to write them,) and any family knew about it, that information would spread like wildfire. It wouldn't have been a big surprise to the family.

The end was cheesy AF. Not believable at all.

I disliked the politics of the film also. It would have been way more believable to have the World Health Organization doing all of it, rather than a single political party.

There are numerous other things that just didn't add up in it also.

Buuuuut... it held my interest. And the CONCEPT of the film was very original and intriguing, which is way more than I can say for the other movies coming out nowadays. The movie was good, but it could have been great with just a bit more thought put into it.

The concept of this movie is pretty good, government needs to reduce population so pays people to be euthanised. Rich guy invites family round to tell them he's enlisted to do this. All kinda makes sense and can go along with the general idea.

The rest of the movie makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, the company that come and do it, the behaviour of the family, every action, further development of the original concept, decisions of everyone involved, nothing works. There is that single original concept, and thats it.

But actually that single thing was kinda enough to keep watching and see how it plays out, to its inevitable dissatisfying ending.

Nice idea. Ok to watch, could have been waaay better in every single way.

A chilling social commentary disguised as a family thriller. Set against the backdrop of an environmentally ravaged Earth, the film throws us into the heart of a wealthy family grappling with a government-sanctioned euthanasia program to curb overpopulation.

We follow the story of Peter, a once-celebrated news anchor now facing the prospect of entering the program. As his family grapples with this dark reality, cracks begin to show in the seemingly "humane" facade.

The film masterfully builds tension through a combination of social commentary and psychological horror. The luxurious homes of the privileged stand in stark contrast to the desperation of those on the outside. The ever-present threat of "Humane" hangs heavy, casting a shadow of doubt on every interaction.

"Humane" isn't afraid to get its hands dirty. The story takes some truly disturbing turns, highlighting the potential for social control and the lengths some will go to in a desperate situation. The parallels to "The Purge" are undeniable, but "Humane" feels more insidious, a slow-burning descent into a society where "culling" becomes normalized.

While the film might not offer easy answers, it provokes thought-provoking questions about resource allocation, euthanasia, and the ethics of survival in a world on the brink and how some enjoy the chaos as it plays out.

The idea here is necessity of death due to human failure and the focus is on the rich. Death to the rich. Fine, we're all thinking it, but a film about it would have to be nuanced and intelligent because no matter how damaged we are we all want to live. This film pits a few family related shallow characters against each other. No one has any real arguments for prospering. No one has any really good argument for human existence continuing. The film is a continuous stream of political cliches, memes, sentiments you could find on your favorite social platform. This is lazy filmmaking. This is not worthy of your time.

I recently watched the Canadian film 🇨🇦 Humane (2024) on Shudder. The storyline follows a global agreement for a 20% population reduction and a wealthy family caught in the middle of the crisis. Some members of the family support the plan, some oppose it, and they even discover that some of them are volunteering to participate. As the process for collecting volunteers unfolds, things take an interesting turn.

This film is directed by Caitlin Cronenberg in her directorial debut, and stars Jay Baruchel (Goon), Emily Hampshire (Schitt's Creek), Peter Gallagher (American Beauty), Colm Feore (Chicago), with a cameo by David Cronenberg (The Fly).

The premise feels like a unique spin on The Purge, with dialogue, perspectives, and circumstances that don't seem far-fetched, which adds to the film's entertainment value. The cast is well-chosen and fun to watch, and the action scenes are great, featuring plenty of slashing, stabbing, and fighting. There are lots of intense moments with stabs, slices, and cuts. While I did find some of the decision-making frustrating at times, it didn't overly detract from the film.

In conclusion, Humane doesn't really bring anything new to the genre but is still worth a watch. I'd give it a 6.5-7/10 and recommend seeing it at least once.

In 2024's "Humane" we are introduced to a wealthy families dinner party that transforms into a night of horror and betrayal. Due to an environmental collapse, humanity is forced to shed 20% of its population and after the father of the York family dies, they are confronted with a situation that seems unsolvable at first. But without spoiling anything, the siblings certainly don't have much of a problem to betray each other and go for the easiest way out to save themselves.

The premise seemed interesting enough and with Caitlin Cronenberg as the director I was intrigued to say the least. However the movie ultimately falls pretty flat and becomes a rather underwhelming flick. It's well acted and overall the production looks pretty solid. The premise is slightly stupid but also interesting and unique in its own way. However the movie never manages to evolve into something memorable. It's able to pass the time but overall doesn't leave lasting impression and therefore ends up being pretty ordinary. [5,4/10]

So I won't go into a movie summary since IMDb already does a pretty good job of doing that. It is watchable, but kind of slow to get started. The acting is very average for all involved except for the two main character husband and wife...they of course are quite seasoned. The soundtrack, yea that is really lacking. And actually takes away from many scenes while always playing softly in the background. But where this film is actually quite strong is the cinematography. Whoever the cinematographer was for the movie knew his business. Not a single shakey-cam anywhere. They set up the scenes and and shots it all really well. That is something so new. Typically it is annoying shakey-cam and high school level film class shots. So it's worth a watch.

Humane is quite simply a bad mediocre movie. So mediocre that it can't offer anything aside from a wasted premise for a murderous political drama.

To get the very few positives out of the way, the movie looks competently made, the bleak near-future setting was eerie, and the character of Bob gave some well-timed dark humour to the film.

However, the movie drains its semi-talented cast, with some performing much better than others. The characters are all awful, aside from the employees of the organisation we should hate since they're pretty much just doing their job's. Each sibling is terrible in their own way, an egotistical maniac, a political monster, an indecisive sheep, and the seemingly calm one, who acts so out of character towards the rest of them later that it made him no better than them. The premise of 'who would you choose in your family to die?' was a good one, but is made so uninteresting by making every member so selfish and/or obnoxious. The movie also takes a while before it feels like it's properly getting started which make the first fifteen minutes feel like it could've been summed up in two.

Overall, saved by a few of the more minor aspects to be considered terrible but not good enough to warrant a rewatch any time soon, or maybe ever.

Fantastic that it's directed by Caitlin Cronenberg related to some legends. I wanted to see sooner glad it's available on Shudder, shocked by the low ratings the movie is brilliant and smooth amazing concept! Odd how there's a service to enlist in being killed by injection or for one the family to decide. I love the character Bob he's fantastic all around. Unique to see Jay in horror genre I don't think he has before or at least very little. I barely knew much about the movie it's quite satisfying, probably under appreciated for the acting or maybe something else a lot of it is so good I really like Humane.

After stumbling upon many negative reviews around here, I felt compelled to share my thoughts with my first review. This film doesn't quite hit the lows that many claim, nor does it reach the heights promised by its premise.

The core issue is rather straightforward: the script (skillfully executed by Michael Sparaga) leans heavily into satire, however, it appears that not everyone involved in the production fully embraced this idea. The film oscillates between moments of absurdity, humor, thriller, and straight-up horror, leading to a somewhat disjointed direction. While there are occasional flashes of comedic bullseyes, the constant comparison to David Cronenberg's esteemed body horror of work is inevitable, despite the absence of substantial horror elements (barring a few graphic close-ups in the third act).

The movie would have greatly benefited from leaning further into its satirical elements rather than focusing primarily on horror and suspense. This failure to fully embrace its comedic side left me feeling somewhat confused. Is it a left-wing nightmare? A mockery of right-wing extremes? Probably neither. This imbalance, favoring horror over absurdist hilarity, likely contributed to the dissatisfaction of many viewers. When the socio-political message becomes too apparent in any form of art, there's a risk of either angering or boring the audience.

Still, if viewed as a satire, the movie with its one-location concept offers an entertaining experience. It serves as a commendable directorial debut and showcases a standout performance by Enrico Colantoni, who knows exactly what kind of movie he's in.

In quirky, play-like, near-future dark sci-fi "Humane" earth's ongoing eco-disaster means the human race must downsize by 20%, leading the Canadian govt to pay volunteers to die via euphenasia teams like that of Enrico Colantoni. But when famous & wealthy Peter Gallagher & wife Uni Park announce their own plan for the situation, at dinner with his adult kids (Jay Baruchel, Alana Bale, Emily Hampshire & Sebastian Chacon), the evening doesn't run smoothly. Brandon Cronenberg is well set to follow in dad David's iconic directorial shoes, but his sister Caitlin, with this her debut (directing Michael Sparaga's flawed and rather silly script)... not so much. Disappointing.

Enlist today! Aren't you ready to die for your country?

While it's nowhere near as good as its dysfunctional family/friends counterparts: You're Next, Ready or Not, The Collector, and Bodies Bodies Bodies, it would fit right in with a home-invasion marathon with these. And that's nowhere near what I expected, from the poster anyways.

I succeeded in going in cold for this one, sans the poster of a masked man standing at a doorway while holding a syringe. This is my preferred method; I absolutely love being surprised throughout the experience, like with this movie. I *thought* this was a slasher with a medical nutjob. Well, kinda, I guess?

Humane is definitely inhumane, obviously. In the near, and possible future, global warming has Day After Tomorrowed and people are now forced to both use umbrellas whenever in the sun and do whatever it takes to decrease the population. Enter rich, snobbish, opinionated and divided family X of the central plot and get ready to root for the bad guy.

I like movies like these. Movies that start of humorous/hilarious and fun-horror/suspense and eventually and progressively gets dark. Like really dark. And gruesome. Well-done practical gore. (Or at least it appeared practical.)

I also liked the commentary that's incredibly relevant today. We are most certainly a divided (by design) country and this movie is every Thanksgiving meal when the guests have courage.

Plus, I did favor all the backgrounds and the director/writer allowing time for each character to shine leaving really only one that dominated and stole every scene: Bob, the collector. He was definitely my favorite character, even though his slight revelation of who he really is was kinda disappointing. I preferred him indifferent.

I wish this movie was broader, but maybe like The Purge, this'll need a sequel or franchise to break free from the house setting. While I liked what I got in exposition/news clips, I was still a bit confused on the worldbuilding outside of the single-place location.

Still, I definitely recommend this fun and sometimes brutal romp that shouldn't be taken too seriously. A scary popcorn flick, indeed.

***

Final Thoughts: My headline was gonna be "Starship Bloopers" with reference to enlisting to a propaganda-soaked government, but thought that would reference more sci-fi/alien invasion movies more. Though, I'd love to see the bloopers for this movie.

Oh.....my......God... first I do not have the words to describe how I feel about this movie...but I'll try. The amount of cringy moments in this movie is off the charts. This is probably what would happen if one political party got control for too long. If you've been paying attention, a lot of people want to depopulate the planet and have openly said so. And, people are being euthanized today with the help of their government.

Also, If you are on the up and up with current movies and see the way they are trending, you can probably guess what happens in this movie before it even happens. You can also probably guess WHO survives. Yes, It's that predictable.

2/10 - A movie for a modern audience 🙄

I went into this movie knowing little about it. And I enjoyed learning about the premise: The government is paying people to be euthanised, apparently for environmental crisis reasons.

After the first death, I got the movie pegged. It's like a OG Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode in which five characters are trapped in a single setting and must find their way out. Used many times.

The setup was decent, although the performances varied in quality. Poor writing is the fundamental reason this film turned into a big nothing.

After an interesting beginning, it all just fumbles along until the ending. Incoherent motivations, massive sibling rivalry, stupid violence that made very little sense, wooden dialogue and murky cinematography that is currently popular (and used to poor effect.)

I'd give it a miss, frankly.

How do you sully the Cronenberg name? Well, this is a start.

Maybe that's too harsh, as "Humane" is a passable movie going experience, but it does pale next to what poppa David and brother Brandon have unleashed lately.

After a career in photography Caitlin Cronenberg joins her family of filmmakers with this auspicious eco-thriller debut, and it does look great. It has that. It also has the spunky yet amateurish charm of the early Cronenberg films, where horror sprinkled with macabre comedic touches is the payoff of to quickly ignored and outlandish plotlines. The set up to "Humane", a voluntary 20% euthanasia program to combat climate change, is great. Even better, a well to do family gathers for a squabbling dinner only discover that one of them will be "volunteered" before the night is over. Greater! Jay Baruchel turns in another stellar performance, this time as the fast talking, back-tracking, squirming son who is squeamish about walking the walk he's talking. Greatest!

The rest of the movie is a sibling rivalry gone extreme exercise, as the kids are literally at each others' throats. Spoiler: things get bloody. Sounds, er reads good on paper, but the execution is just not up to the task. The plot holes are too egregious to ignore, and the action not engrossing enough to forgive the sketchy story line. A thriller without the thrill. Perhaps filming during the Pandemic hampered the production, who knows?

There's enough here to satiate those without expectation, and if including Trooper's "We're Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time)" seems like a laugh riot knee-slapping inclusion, well, then you may dig this.

• hipCRANK.

Canadian black comedy at its finest. Silly acting, "humane" euthanasia, censorship, ridiculous security uniforms, addict advocacy, human trafficking, this movie has it all. It really embraces a lot of Canadian turmoil we've been dealing with as of late and whips them into a satirical story of the horrors of being stuck in a home with a toxic family.

While the family seems unnecessarily toxic, the premise of the movie.itself is equally wild. Once you're able to push those barriers aside you'll enjoy this movie to some extent. For those of you triggered easily, this is perhaps not the best movie for you.

This one is definitely a success! Considering its cast, something was lurking under the water from the start, and little by little, it grew and became an original movie, with great moments and a lovely finish.

One of the best plot developments I've seen in recent times, wonderful actors, beautitul dialogue, quite an experience I tell you.

Definitely something to recommend, just give it a little time, let it work its magic and be amazed! Looks like a small production, if only not for the actors, but beside that, it had that indie feel to it. Something fresh and delicious, home made! I'm quite sure a lot of people will appreciate Humane.

Cheers!

I'm being very generous with a 4 because it's Caitlin Cronenberg's first film. I think she shows promise, it's hard to see but it's there. Whereas her bother takes his concepts more seriously, Caitlin took a very silly, tongue in cheek approach to this movie which is more reminiscent of the greatness of their father.

In broad strokes: Humane quickly glosses over the improbable scenario of every country agreeing to eliminate 20% of it's population to stabilize planetary resource consumption before you have a chance to pick it apart too much. It goes on to present a family whose wealthy father invites his amoral and/or underachieving children to a dinner to announce that he and his wife (not their mother) have agreed to do their part for society and be euthanized, but...his wife got cold feet and ran off. The government euthanizers show up and the father goes through with it, but they were called for two bodies and won't leave without a second. So the question then becomes which sibling will step up and be the one who dies?

Enrico Colantoni's performance is what makes this film watchable, most of the other performance were very rough and that's my biggest criticism for Caitlin Cronenberg. Gallagher, Colantoni, Baruchel are all more or less pros who can hold their own, but she didn't get equal performances out of the other actors and there was a contrast. The film did look good though, and the pacing was pretty good too (maybe a couple of lulls).

Something to put on if you want to kill some times. It's about even with, maybe a little better than the recent Shyamalan movies.

Humane builds on an interesting concept but doesn't quite stick the landing. The opening half hour does a good job setting up the plot and opens up different ideas to a really good premise.

Once Enrico Colantoni shows up he becomes the star of the show giving off Bobcat Goldthwait vibes without the voice. He is great in this part ranging from sympathetic to menacing in the blink of an eye.

For a debut feature, this is good work from Caitlin Cronenberg and shows the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It's nice to know once David is done directing he has Brandon & Caitlin continuing to make thought-provoking work.

Boring and nothing new here, is just another boring family fighting against each other, im watching this everyday in my family, my mother fighting over with my dad because of her thinking he cheat on her, my sister and the psychological problems and food problems, my brother and his depression and my grandma with her dementia, my family is a mess, but we are together, that's what family do, they stick together, this movie family is just weak and immaturity that's why in proud of my family

Sorry i needed to get this off my chest, im suffering right here, i seriously need help, any kind of help to be honest.