Review – The Shrouds

Not for the first time, I began watching a David Cronenberg movie thinking “that’s an intriguing premise. I wonder if he’ll do something interesting with it.” And an hour or two later concluding “evidently not.” A billionaire sets up a graveyard with sophisticated imaging technology that allows mourners to watch their loved ones rot in real time. Is it a snide commentary on a moribund, media-obsessed society? No, it’s a blend of vaguely racist conspiracy nonsense and icky, fetishistic sex that suggests a career regression to the days of Naked Lunch and Crash. And while normally I would have walked away feeling cheated by the exceptionally weak ending, here I was just glad the damn thing was over. See if desperate