The Shrouds may be David Cronenberg’s most personal film yet. The legendary Canadian filmmaker wrote his latest project while grieving the loss of his wife Carolyn, who passed away in 2017. While the body horror has all the hallmarks of a Cronenberg classic, a profound grief underlies the story, driving all the chaos and paranoia that ensues. 

The Shrouds follows Karsh, (played by Vincent Cassel, Cronenberg’s doppelganger), a successful businessman who has been inconsolable since the death of his wife Becca (Diane Kruger).

Driven by his urge to stay close to her after death, Karsh invents GraveTech, a revolutionary technology that allows the living to monitor their departed loved ones in their burial shrouds. But not everyone is on board with this controversial technology. One night, several of his graves are destroyed, and Karsh makes it his mission to track down the perpetrators.

“There’s an obsessive quality to Karsh’s character that can’t let go of his wife because he’s grieving…what shapes the story is not just the grief, but the obsession of trying to escape it by holding on to somebody that’s no longer there,” says Sandrine Holt, who stars in the film as the mysterious Soo-Min. Her dying husband is looking to open one of Karsh’s cemeteries in Budapest, and she connects with Karsh over the deep grief of losing a spouse.  

“Soo-Min really relates to the loneliness that Karsh is feeling, because she’s also grieving her husband, even though he’s still alive. They’re drawn to each other,” Holt says. “I feel like my character is coming from the outside in, trying to draw him into the present or the future because he’s so attached to the past.”

Like many of Cronenberg’s previous works, The Shrouds also raises interesting questions about the rapid advancement of technology—especially at a time when AI is becoming increasingly intertwined with our lives. “It’s an interesting conversation to have,” Holt says. “Can technology soothe the edges of grief? Can technology replace something that’s alive, that’s missing?” 

For Holt, working on The Shrouds with the iconic Canadian filmmaker was a dream come true. “David’s a legend,” she says, adding that he was a “kind, patient, and hilarious person to work with.” She describes the film as “very dark, there’s death and morbidity, but there was a lot of quirky humour in it as well—which is very David.” 

Following its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and North American premiere at TIFF 2024, The Shrouds will release in theatres across Canada on April 25.