'The Shrouds' Trailer Takes Viewers Beyond the Grave
Vincent Cassel and Diane Kruger in 'The Shrouds'
Sphere Films
Certain filmmakers tend to set themselves a filming and production schedule that centers the Cannes Film Festival as the main release of their movies. These filmmakers are usually the sort of artists who make esoteric fare, stuff that would never draw a Marvel-sized audience, and whose film successes are predicated on impressing this storied festival’s high-end critics and attendees. Among those who work that way is Canadian film director David Cronenberg, whose films could be categorized as “intellectual body horror,” which is not exactly an easy sell.
His newest film, The Shrouds, was first presented at the Cannes Market in May 2023 and premiered in competition at the 2024 Festival the following year. It features an international cast, including Canadians, Australians, Brits, Germans, and French actors. But, as usual, the subject matter makes Cronenberg’s films interesting. In this one, he weaves a science fiction tale set in the near future, where a grieving widower invents a way to visit the afterlife.
In an interview ahead of the Cannes premiere in May, Cronberg told Variety, “It’s so interesting because I’m often watching movies to see dead people. I want to see them again; I want to hear them. And so cinema is a kind of shrouded post-death machine, you know. In a way, cinema is a cemetery...If you’re a religious person, I think that you consider an afterlife. If you’re an atheist... that relationship can continue more biologically; it’s another form of relationship,” he explained. “It’s certainly perverse, morbid, grotesque, but to someone who’s grieving the way he is, it isn’t. It’s healthy, a way out of despair, out of grief.”
Here's the film's synopsis:
The Shrouds centers on Karsh, 50, a prominent businessman. Inconsolable since the death of his wife, he invents GraveTech, a revolutionary and controversial technology that enables the living to monitor their dear departed in their shrouds. One night, multiple graves, including that of Karsh’s wife, are desecrated. Karsh sets out to track down the perpetrators.
Vincent Cassel (Liaison) stars as Karsh, with Diane Kruger (The Bridge) as his deceased wife. Guy Pearce (The Brutalist) and Sandrine Holt (House of Cards) also topline the film. The supporting cast includes Elizabeth Saunders (Frankie Drake Mysteries), Jennifer Dale (Schitt's Creek), Eric Weinthal (Queer as Folk), Jeff Yung (Avatar: The Last Airbender), and Steve Switzman (Murdoch Mysteries).
David Cronenberg wrote and directed the film, which was produced by Saïd Ben Saïd, Martin Katz, and Anthony Vaccarello.
The Shrouds opens in U.S. theaters on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.
