Film Review - The Shrouds
Images courtesy of Rialto Distribution.
When it comes to the sub-genre of body horror, there is no bigger name than David Cronenberg. From The Fly to Crimes of the Future, Cronenberg has and continues to craft films that explore grotesque, and often disturbing, violations of the human body. His latest effort, which follows this same blueprint, is The Shrouds.
Karsh (Vincent Cassel) is a wealthy widower whose wife Becca (Diane Kruger) passed away four years ago from breast cancer. He owns an upscale restaurant that is attached to a cemetery, and is now the founder of GraveTech. His company allows users to watch a live, interactive and 3D image of their deceased loved ones' decaying bodies in the ground, all from the convenience of their smartphone. Karsh spends much of his time looking at the remains of his dead wife, while still remaining close to her twin sister Terri (Kruger), who was previously married to IT engineer Maury (Guy Pearce). He also has an unnerving and flirtatious AI avatar assistant named Hunny (also voiced by Kruger) who was coded by Maury. When Karsh’s cemetery is vandalised and GraveTech’s network is encrypted by hackers, he tries to figure out who is behind it. With several suspects, including the Chinese investors in the company, Russian intelligence, Maury, and Becca’s former oncologist/lover, Dr. Eckler (Steve Switzman), the answer remains unclear.
The Shrouds starts off with an intriguing premise at its core, and creates an atmosphere to match. From the get-go, Cronenberg’s world feels unnerving and off kilter, as viewers delve into the mind of Karsh and his unnatural obsession with death. One of the film’s most impactful scenes takes place early on, which sees Karsh on a date with a woman named Myrna (Jennifer Dale) at his restaurant. He decides to take her out to the cemetery (an instant mood killer for a first date), where each headstone has a screen. Stopping at Becca’s grave, Karsh shows Myrna what GraveTech has to offer. Instead of something sentimental, like a photo slideshow, he presents her with the live image of his wife’s rotting bones. This finally turns her off, and the audience shares in her discomfort. It’s an impactful introduction to the disturbing idea of watching a loved one’s body decay, and it is through scenes such as these that themes of grief are explored, in their most extreme form. However, as the film goes along, it loses its spark and gets caught up in a whirlwind of confusing story details and lackluster pacing. As the plot starts to incorporate conspiracy and corruption, it becomes a convoluted mess that overshadows the thought-provoking and emotional foundation presented at the start. As Karsh falls deeper into his investigation, it becomes harder to follow or care about. For a film that is supposed to be viscerally shocking (the body horror in this compared to Cronenberg’s other work is actually quite tame), it fails to make the viewer question or feel anything. The dialogue suffers too, and feels awkward and clunky. It’s unclear here whether the fault is with the delivery of the actors,the script itself,or both.
The Shrouds presents potential by reeling in its audience at the beginning, but then loses its grip on them far too soon. It unfortunately marks a miss for Cronenberg after a long and illustrious career.
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The Shrouds is screening in cinemas from Thursday the 3rd of July. For tickets and more info, click here.