Why ‘The Shrouds’ Is Quintessential Cronenberg

David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds” begins with an image so powerful, strange and emotionally resonant that the themes and ideas are in place immediately.

We see a dead body, deep under the earth, being illuminated by a light from an insect buzzing within the coffin. The body was the late wife of an inventor named Karsh, who is given a window to look at his late wife closely underground.

He lets out a deep, guttural howl of grief.

This introduction is either meant to be a literal part of this story or simply a symbolic expression of the film’s themes. Either way, the film had me in its grip from the very start.

Karsh, played by Vincent Cassel, is an inventor and businessman who runs a death-themed restaurant in the middle of a sprawling cemetery. During an interview, lots of obvious questions arise about the morbid nature of the setting, as well as the grim decorations positioned for the patrons to view (imagine a morbid Planet Hollywood or Hard Rock Café).

Karsh responds to a question with, “How dark are you willing to go?” Cronenberg, who wrote and directed this, his 21st full-length feature film, is toying with us, but also providing his audience with a warning early on: Leave Now If You’re Not Ready For This.

Karsh engages the curiosity of the interviewer and shows her, and us, that the cemetery is unconventional, as each tombstone has a touch screen that allows visitors to view the current state of the decomposed body beneath the earth.

This is just the opening minutes of “The Shrouds.”

In the latest edition of FLC Luminaries, THE SHROUDS writer and director David Cronenberg discusses his latest film: a profound reckoning with personal grief and a descent into noir-tinged dystopia.

Watch the full episode: https://t.co/0y7NFFl71E

: https://t.co/aHwpu468aD pic.twitter.com/YESWWu0dXy

— Film at Lincoln Center (@FilmLinc) April 25, 2025

Cronenberg still has the power to shock us and there are moments here that are so upsetting, I chickened out at the opportunity to see this a second time. Yet, this isn’t akin to a “Saw” or “Terrifier” sequel, but it does have a meaningful connection to Cronenberg’s wonderful “The Fly” (1986), particularly in the way he shows us devastating body rot but also cares deeply about his characters.

While clearly taking place in the near future (I’m guessing the setting is about a decade away), the look and feel of the film is distinctly in the vein of prior Cronenberg works. We get the expected icky technology and dialogue loaded with dry wit (someone wryly announces to Karsh that, “What you do creeps me out”).

Cassel, sporting the director’s trademark hairstyle, so closely resembles Cronenberg that this feels more revealing than usual.

Karsh is ostensibly a filmmaker who creates films about death and carries a morbid sense of humor. Karsh is accused of being a “techno atheist” and refers to the human body as an intricate system, devoid of warm humanizing.

Perhaps it’s naïve to suggest that Karsh is a literal stand-in and that this is among Cronenberg’s most autobiographical films. On the other hand, it possesses, in favorable ways, some of the best common traits from his prior movies.

“The Shrouds” is cool, original and compassionate. It’s also so dialog and idea-driven that it strongly compares to Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis” (2012), which I mean as a compliment but not everyone who saw that Robert Pattinson-led thriller will agree with me (I love that movie, though I remember people walking out of the theater well before the movie ended).

The elegant cinematography (by Douglas Koch, who previously shot Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future”) and art direction are at a master-class level.

Some have contemplated that, since he is now 82 years old, this might be Cronenberg’s final film. I certainly hope not. What should be stated is that, aside from the rare misstep of “Map to the Stars” (2014), Cronenberg has not only created an extraordinary body of work but some of his best films have come late in his career.

Cronenberg has never made a film where he held back, reigned in or muted his vision. Even his most Hollywood efforts, “The Dead Zone” (1983), “The Fly” (1983) and “A History of Violence” (2005) are among his most popular and celebrated but still exude the uneasy pull, uncompromised vision and human struggles we expect.

My favorite Cronenberg works are “Spider” (2002), “Eastern Promises” (2007), “M. Butterfly” (1993), and “Crimes of the Future” (2022), in that order.

Cronenberg’s films have always been jolting (the exploding heads of “Scanners” are, after all, among his signature visuals) but his latest creations demonstrate an ongoing mastery of the craft and absolutely no intimidation in expressing the darkness of his visions.

I wish “The Shrouds” was as good, from start to finish, but it unravels a bit at the end. Many of Cronenberg’s works have also explored subterfuge but this one gets too caught up in its conspiracy plot. The espionage overwhelms the emotional core of the story.

“Crimes of the Future” also had this problem, though the closing revelation felt like last-minute narrative busywork and not an overall hindrance.

Here, the whodunit distracts from the central focus, which was so brilliantly set up in the first hour and couldn’t be more compelling. The biggest problem with the cloak and dagger stuff in “The Shrouds” is that the movie doesn’t need it.

Everything else here is so compelling.

Cassel is a good choice for Karsh, though the supporting performances steal the movie. Krueger appears in flashbacks as Karsh’s wife and also as two other characters, one of whom is a personable AI assistant. Kruger gives such distinct human dimension to three very different roles and it’s enjoyable seeing Guy Pierce playing such a scuzzy, off-putting character (akin to Paul Giamatti’s knockout performance in “Cosmopolis” and Ed Harris in “A History of Violence”).

I will eventually revisit “The Shrouds,” as I do all of Cronenberg’s films, but I don’t think his wrap-up is as strong as the buildup. Nevertheless, like his prior films, Cronenberg has, yet again, given us a vision to wrestle in our subconscious.

Like it or not, there is no forgetting a film by David Cronenberg.

Three Stars (out of four)

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