The Shrouds is Too Clinical for Its Own Good

Sideshow and Janus Films

3/5 stars

The ubiquity of social media and the constant presence of recording technology have been rich subjects for science fiction lately. How does perpetually being on camera affect a person's life? But not many of them have asked how this technology affects a person's death. Naturally, David Cronenberg asks this engaging question with his new film The Shrouds, which takes a truly fascinating idea and, sadly, buries it in a conspiracy subplot that is far less interesting.

The film follows GraveTech CEO Karsh (Vincent Cassel) who, after losing his wife Becca (Diane Kruger) to cancer, invents a controversial new technology called "The Shrouds," a sort of full-body camera that can be wrapped around a dead body so loved ones can look into the grave and watch it decompose. However, after protestors destroy multiple graves including his wife's, Karsh sets out to find the perpetrators while also thinking back to his final days with Becca.

The scenes between Karsh and his wife are heartbreaking. Watching a loved one slowly become less and less of themselves makes for harrowing viewing (Cronenberg came up with the premise after his own wife's death), but these scenes are too few and far between. Instead we get an uninteresting whodunnit that never really takes off. The initial idea of cameras following one even after death and how media leaves "ghosts" of people behind is peak Cronenberg, but his style is too cold and clinical to really delve into that concept. I understand that he is saying how death leaves no real answers or explanations, but as a narrative, it is frustratingly obtuse.  

The Shrouds is currently playing in select theaters and is also available on the Criterion Channel and to rent on Amazon Prime and Apple TV+.

Written and directed by David Cronenberg // Starring Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce, Sandrine Holt, Elizabeth Saunders, Jennifer Dale, Eric Weinthal, Jeff Yung, Ingvar E. Sigurdsson, Vieslav Krystyan, and Matt Willis // Sideshow and Janus Films // 120 minutes // Rated R