The Shrouds review: grief in the age of big AI

In the opening scene of The Shrouds, Vincent Cassel’s character Karsh monologues to a date at his business headquarters about world burial customs.

Having just lost his wife, who was Jewish, he explains how he honoured the tradition of allowing a natural decomposition, so that the ‘soul that clings to the body’ – and, in his words, is ‘in love’ with the body – can peacefully move on. His desire in both wanting to respect this religious wish and to use his company GraveTech to innovate a new way of dealing with grief led to the invention of ‘Shrouds’.

And what are shrouds? They are a electronically-powered jacket worn by your deceased that provides a 24/7 livestream of their body as it decays in the ground.

This opener bluntly exposes the film’s thesis: that even a self-proclaimed atheist like Karsh (who is clearly a stand-in for Cronenberg himself) yearns for the religious ideal of a life after death.

Watch the trailer for The Shrouds:

The Shrouds and the cloud

Born from the death of Cronenberg’s wife of 43 years, The Shrouds is, at its core, about grief and the ‘magical thinking‘ that comes with it. Of course, with Cronenberg being Cronenberg, it’s also about the dystopian elements of our present times and the near future.

In the modern era, it could be argued that tech is the new religion. Many worship at the alter of tech giants like Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos. The iPhone provides light, comfort and connection with community. And instead of turning to a god when we feel lost and seek answers, we turn to ChatGPT. Praise the almighty AI!

Speaking of AI: in addition to the GraveTech shrouds, Karsh has a flirty AI assistant called Hunny, an avatar modeled after his late wife (played by Diane Kruger). Armed with an imitation of her voice and her face (though the latter is noticeably cartoonish), she meets Karsh’s every demand, from booking doctor’s appointments to providing company in his Japanese-styled palacial apartment.

Though it is listed as sci-fi, this element of the film can’t be described as science fiction, because it’s already very much happening in reality. It brought to mind the recent news story of a man falling in love with and proposing marriage to his ChatGPT-powered assistant. Cronenberg is once again proving that his finger is still on the pulse.

Much has been said on AI assistants and the trend of modelling them after human women, which I can’t add anything new to, but I will say that here it is at least done with a degree of self-awareness.

GraveTech under threat

Though abhorrent and grotesque to some (his sister in law, for example – as well as any prospective dates), the GraveTech shrouds are a booming business, and the constant study of his wife’s body brings solemn comfort to Karsh.

He’s unfazed by any claims of perverted voyeurism (though such an argument is no doubt compelling). The real trouble comes when the burial site is trashed by anonymous vandals, which also includes a massive hack of the live feeds.

As Karsh, played rather stiffly by Cassel, is increasingly drawn into a potentially global conspiracy, the film starts to lose its way. Surrounded by paranoid theories from his sister in law Terry (Kruger again), brother in law Maury (a neurotic Guy Pearce), doctors and clients, Karsh is at a loss for how to take the next steps.

The production design of the film is sleek and satisfying, with clean lines and harsh angles defining the look of both GraveTech and Karsh’s home – revealing his rather cold and brutal nature. All of the tech feels like it could exist right now, and the shrouds themselves have that signature Cronenberg blend of the artificial and organic. On the style front, it’s a solid, singular movie.

Unfortunately, the ‘erotic intrigue’ angle feels rather shoehorned (even though this is standard territory for Cronenberg!). I think that, had the film been more focussed on meditating about love persisting beyond death, and on the things grief can birth, it could have been great. Instead, the conspiracy plot leaves the whole thing feeling messy and ungrounded.

As to whether or not you feel satisfied at the close of the film – well, much like burial rites, that’s a matter of personal taste.

The Shrouds is in cinemas now. For all films in cinemas this month, see our July cinema guide.

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