Melton1 — 1 month ago(February 03, 2026 11:20 PM)

Glad that Cronenberg is still making films
I preferred this one to his previous effort Crimes Of The Future, which felt like he was leaning into his old body horror tropes and didn’t offer a compelling central character or plot.
This one has a great protagonist, superbly played by Vincent Cassel (this marks their third collaboration), he’s a grieving tech millionaire who has invented ‘shrouds’ that allow you to see your dead loved one’s body decay, which he uses as a ‘grief strategy’.
That side of the film is freaky and compelling. What doesn’t work as well is the conspiracy stuff. I guess it’s there to show how his grief is driving him crazy but his paranoia also seems justified. It eats a lot of screen time and I can’t help thinking Crony should have limited himself to his usual 90 minutes and stayed focused on the protagonist’s inner life.
A subplot involving his dead wife’s twin sister is more interesting, but again it detracts from the more personal and universal portrait of grief which is the strength of the film. Which makes sense because Cronenberg lost his wife a few years ago, and I doubt she had a twin sister nor was China and/or Russia involved in her death.
There’s enough good stuff here - Cassel, Diane Kruger and Guy Pierce are all great, the film looks amazing with Crony’s usual bulging 17mm close-ups and hard lighting giving a 3D feeling, and Howard Shore’s score is appropriately dreamy. For the most part Cronenberg draws you into his perverse world, but you have to be patient with it.
I’m glad he’s still making films, this is definitely a work of integrity from one of our greatest living filmmakers, but I suspect only devoted fans will enjoy this weird and austere entry. I’m still chewing on its mysterious and atmospheric ending which is a good sign…