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The Shrouds

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74%Tomatometer 113 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Karsh, a creative entrepreneur who lost his spouse, develops a machine designed to communicate with deceased individuals.
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The Shrouds

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Critics Consensus

Ruminating on the love within loss, The Shrouds is a personal and peculiar examination of grief by director David Cronenberg.

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Critics Reviews

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Mark Feeney Boston Globe The pace feels deliberate throughout, almost at times ceremonial. Karsh describes himself as “a non-observant atheist.” The Shrouds is a bit like that, too. Rated: 3/4 Apr 25, 2025 Full Review Adam Graham Detroit News Cassel and Kruger give haunting, strangely electrifying performances in this flawed but affecting work. "The Shrouds" casts an odd spell: Its details fade away, while its essence lingers. Rated: C+ Apr 25, 2025 Full Review Jen Yamato Washington Post At its best, [The Shrouds] throbs with raw, human, horrific honesty. Rated: 3/4 Apr 25, 2025 Full Review Stephen Silver The SS Ben Hecht One of the best of the 82-year-old Cronenberg’s very productive late-career period, although I was much more interested in the grief aspect of the film than the conspiracy thriller parts. Apr 25, 2025 Full Review Robert Ham The Stranger (Seattle, WA) With a larger canvas, stretched over 10 hours, there’s every chance Cronenberg could have explored this dark and profound territory in more depth. But with only two skittish hours at his disposal, the director barely cracks the topsoil. Apr 25, 2025 Full Review Todd Jorgenson Cinemalogue ... consistently unsettling even as it becomes muddled in the final act. Apr 25, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Scott A haunting movie about grief Rated 5 out of 5 stars04/25/25 Full Review Rick Marino Intriguing mystery that unraveled in classic Cronenberg fashion. His signature body horror was there as well. Howard Shore still does his soundtracks. For Cronenberg fans, he never disappoints. Rated 5 out of 5 stars04/25/25 Full Review SAMANTHA C Another masterpiece in a career composed of them- Viva Cronenberg Rated 5 out of 5 stars04/22/25 Full Review Blake H Cronenberg still aims for the cinema of ideas, which are razor sharp in a film so dull and plodding you could crack your hip on it. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars04/26/25 Full Review Robin C “The Shrouds” Karsh (Vincent Cassel) is a genius inventor and successful businessman inconsolable after the long-lingering death of his wife, Becca (Diane Kruger). He invents a video cloak that will allow the deceased’s survivors to watch their dearly departed’s remains decay – in real time - in “The Shrouds.” Since the death of his wife, film editor Carolyn Zeifman, in 2017, David Cronenberg has only directed two films, “Crimes of the Future (2022)” and his latest, both body horror films. (This is not a surprise since he is the master of body horror movies, like “Videodrome” in 1983 and “Dead Ringers (1988)”.) With “The Shrouds,” he is also dealing with dangers of high-technology, conspiracy theories and them pesky Russians and Chinese out to hack everything. Karsh’s macabre invention, designed for the voyeur in us, wraps the deceased in a shroud permeated with tiny x-ray cameras that allows the living to watch their beloved dead decay. He has no problem selling his funerary device to the very wealthy, creating an exclusive, wired cemetery for his clients, living and dead. Then, the cemetery is vandalized and graves destroyed. One of the desecrated graves was Becca’s and Karsh sets out to find and punish the perpetrators. This is obviously a very personal film for auteur Cronenberg and, like it or not, it is homage to his late spouse and centers on grief and how one copes with it. Here, Karsh throws his wealth at the problem and his company, GraveTech, produces and markets the voyeuristic hi-tech burial garment. I do not know what others will make of “The Shrouds” but I find the concept to be incredibly creepy and off-putting. In a way, I feel like the voyeur watching, from a distance, as the filmmaker bares his soul. This is not something I do by choice – well, actually, it is from choice – but it takes the viewer to a place that I prefer not to go. I would rather not indulge someone obsessed with death. Now, life, on the other hand…. C+ Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars04/25/25 Full Review Moody C At times horror gross though mostly intriguing story but unfortunately meanders and wonders off towards the end. Rated 3 out of 5 stars04/22/25 Full Review Read all reviews
The Shrouds

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Cast & Crew

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David Cronenberg

Director

Vincent Cassel

Karsh

Diane Kruger

Becca

Guy Pearce

Maury

Sandrine Holt

Soo-Min

Elizabeth Saunders

Gray Foner

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The Shrouds

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Movie Info

SynopsisKarsh, a creative entrepreneur who lost his spouse, develops a machine designed to communicate with deceased individuals.
Director
David Cronenberg
Producer
Saïd Ben Saïd, Anthony Vaccarello, Martin Katz
Screenwriter
David Cronenberg
Distributor
Sideshow / Janus Films
Production Co
Prospero Pictures
Rating
R (Strong Sexual Content|Graphic Nudity|Some Violent Content|Language)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 18, 2025, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA)
$49.4K
Runtime
1h 59m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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