Humane (2024), directed by Caitlin Cronenberg, stars Sebastian Chacon, Alanna Bale, Enrico Colantoni, Emily Hampshire, Jay Baruchel, Sirena Gulamgaus, Peter Gallagher, Uni Park, and Martin Roach. The film takes place in the near future as an environmental crisis forces various governments to work together in order to shed 20 percent of the world’s population. This results in a government-led euthanasia program where those who enlist receive a quarter of a million dollars to leave behind for their loved ones. When a wealthy businessman, Charles York (Gallagher), decides to enroll in the program with his wife, Dawn (Park), he invites his estranged family over for one final dinner. As the euthanasia practitioners are about to arrive, Dawn has second thoughts and flees. Unfortunately for the rest of the family, the head practitioner, Bob (Colantoni), informs them that they need two bodies under the York family name and won’t leave until they have them. Things quickly go awry as old tensions begin bubbling to the surface, resulting in a violent struggle to decide who will sacrifice themselves for the family.

The characters here are simple yet distinguishable and the actors provide them with a good amount of energy, so it’s a shame that the majority of them are completely unlikable. Yes, the entire point is that they’re meant to be shitty, but they’re never particularly enjoyable to watch. I think this is because they’re also not very funny/fun. We’d be more willing to forgive their immoral natures if they were entertaining as well, but they’re not. On top of this, they often act in ways that are all over the place. The characters often move from wanting to brutally murder one another to being loving siblings over the course of two minutes. I understand what this is trying to say about sibling relationships thematically, but it isn’t believable plot-wise. What slightly saves these characters is that they eventually experience arcs that make them more likable, but this doesn’t happen until the end of the movie, That’s great that they end as likable people, but it feels like it’s too little, too late. Likable or not, at least this works in favor of the theme that no matter how immoral these people might be, they don’t deserve to die like this. The film is extremely humanitarian in the sense that it argues that death is rarely a fair punishment for people’s misdeeds (though there are still a few who’ve earned it). 

The script features a handful of political undertones that include euthanasia, environmental conservation, and “fake news.” The thing is, it never really commits to exploring any of these themes too deeply and therefore just results in what feels like a typical Blumhouse-produced horror movie. It features an extremely dark (and irresistibly original) premise but couples it with a light, almost goofy tone. Although this tone more or less works, it’s a bit disappointing in the sense that it seems like it would benefit from leaning more into the horrific nature of the scenario. Or, at the very least, it would benefit from leaning more fully into its comedy. In other words, it’s never serious enough to be scary, and never zany enough to be funny. If anything, the movie succeeds at being thought-provoking (even if the pieces don’t come together very well).   

Overall, this is a unique film experience tonally, but this tone is also what holds it back. It’s a movie that should cause strong reactions from the audience, but it never does. The characters are often unlikeable but remain interesting throughout. It’s compelling to see a film explore how financial incentives can sometimes be prioritized over human lives and likewise how humans often prioritize their lives over things such as the environment. That being said, the ending here is a bit too clean and filled with plot holes, causing the experience to end on a confusing note that only sours the experience. There’s a bit to like in terms of creativity and the runtime is swift, it’s just too flawed to really recommend. C+