Director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence) is known to many as a director of “body horror” stories. Underneath that horror, those stories remain riddled with deeper, more profound themes. His latest film, The Shrouds (2024), now available via Criterion Premieres, presents those themes in a more emotional light. This includes a narrative that disguises itself as a corporate conspiracy thriller but offers a deeper emotional story on grief which includes manifesting the inability to move on from the trauma in different forms in different people.
L-R: Sandrine Holt as Soo-Min Szabo and Vincent Cassel as Karsh in THE SHROUDS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
The story follows a businessman named Karsh (Vincent Cassel) who is also a grieving widower. In hiding that trauma, Karsh has built a device that allows people to connect with their deceased loved ones. This is portrayed via a burial shroud where viewers can see their loved one’s body. When those shrouds are mysteriously vandalized, it is up to Karsh to find the culprit.
For an alternative exploration of The Shrouds, head to EoM Contributor Justin Waldman’s initial TIFF 2024 review.
L-R: Diane Kruger as Terry and Vincent Cassel as Karsh in THE SHROUDS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
The Shrouds thrives as an entertaining conspiracy thriller. It’s unpredictable, engaging, and oftentimes quite moving and funny. As Karsh travels down the rabbit hole to find this vandal, he deals with the absurdity of this situation. This includes dialogue that, in the wrong hands, could be considered deadly serious whereas the film is tinged with comedic undertones. This includes how the technology itself works or how many people are simply fascinated by Karsh and are oftentimes obsessed with him. With a 120-minute running time, the film never feels tedious or slow thanks to the continuously intentional and understated comedic moments which help offset the film with its emotionally grounded lead performance
The film proves itself as something quite moving. That emotional stirring feeling is thanks to Cassel’s (Black Swan) performance. As written, Karsh could be made a supervillain by the wrong actor. He could have become a cold, calculated character that exploits people’s grief. How Cassel plays the character proves to be anything other than that description. Karsh is someone who desperately craves connection, but does not know how to achieve it, resulting in an often sad but continuously engaging and compelling central character. In the subtlety of his eyes alone, Cassel makes viewers care about Karsh finding peace and fear for his safety against this mysterious vandal.
Vincent Cassel as Karsh in THE SHROUDS. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
Every character in Karsh’s orbit exists in a place of their own pain. This includes Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) as Karsh’s deceased wife, Becca; Becca’s sister, Terry; and Karsh’s regularly used A.I. software, Hunny. She exists as an echo of other trauma and grief in Karsh’s life. At the same time, Guy Pearce’s (The Brutalist) character, Maury, serves as another component altogether. Maury is the darkness of Karsh, dealing with themes of anger and jealousy, the results of which help with the film’s more paranoid thriller sensibilities. These themes (and characters) wedged together help to take the character of Karsh on an emotional journey the results of which make The Shrouds something incredibly special.
The Shrouds is undoubtedly one of the best and one of my favorite films of 2025. It’s a moving drama, but also a fun and engaging mystery thriller. With this being a review of the Criterion Blu-ray, one question remains: Is this criterion home release a must have for fans? If you are already a fan of The Shrouds, then the answer is a resounding “yes”. If not, the film does not have the bonus features that could help convince fans it’s worth a purchase.
Vincent Cassel as Karsh in THE SHROUDS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
In this Blu-ray release, the film only contains one featurette titled “Meet the Filmmakers: David Cronenberg, a Criterion Channel original interview” which includes a 17-minute discussion on the film. While enjoyable, the whole ordeal feels unfortunately simple. Cronenberg touches on why he wanted to make the film as a meditation on his grief after dealing with his wife Carolyn’s death. While an interesting intention, for fans looking to be convinced to purchase, this feature fails to leave much of an impact. It may make viewers recontextualize what they just watched, but not give them enough context to justify a purchase. Besides that, this release only contains a trailer and notes on the film by critic Beatrice Loayza.
Guy Pearce as Maury in THE SHROUDS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
The Shrouds is a great addition in the canon of director David Cronenberg. It deals with themes of bodies, grief, and trauma with a surprising maturity. With a great central performance, it’s a film that is certainly worth watching. If you’re already a fan, then this Criterion release is definitely worth the pickup. Even with lackluster special features, the film itself is a worthy addition to the collection. For non-fans of Cronenberg, there’s simply not enough in this release to make it worth a purchase.
The Shrouds Special Features:
- Meet the Filmmakers: David Cronenberg, a Criterion Channel original interview
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Notes by critic Beatrice Loayza
Available on Blu-ray and DVD October 21st, 2025.
For more information, head to the official The Criterion Collection The Shrouds webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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