Runs in the family: Caitlin Cronenberg names her five favourite movies of all time
The name David Cronenberg inspired fear in the hearts of even the most ardent horror lovers in the late 20th century, with the Canadian filmmaker being responsible for some of the most disgusting yet intellectually stimulating movies of the era. Directing such creations as 1983’s Videodrome and 1986’s The Fly, the filmmaker pioneered a new sub-genre of horror that focused on the existential fears of one’s own body.
As Cronenberg entered the new millennium, however, his interests diverted to new ground, focusing on grisly crime flicks like A History of Violence and Eastern Promises before becoming surreal and introspective with arthouse films like Cosmopolis and Maps to the Stars. Many people, even his horror peer John Carpenter, considered this stylistic change to be pretentious, yet, if anything, it merely shows the evolution of a true artist.
Still, if you miss David Cronenberg’s icky obsession with oozing body parts, then it is the films of his two children, Brandon and Caitlin, that you’ll want to seek out. While Brandon has been active in the industry since 2012, creating 2020’s Possessor and 2023’s Infinity Pool, Caitlin is new to feature filmmaking, releasing her debut movie, Humane, starring Jay Baruchel and Peter Gallagher, in 2024.
Set in the near future, when the world is on the brink of environmental collapse, and society is forced to shed 20% of its population, the story follows a family dinner that breaks out into controversy and violence. With a plot that feels plucked from the early years of her father’s filmography, the movie has already piqued audiences’ interest thanks to its pertinent story and provocative tone.
Though, despite being raised by an icon of horror cinema, Caitlin Cronenberg wasn’t educated by the classics of the genre. “They were available to me, but I could not have handled it at that age,” she told A-Frame before stating in reference to her new film, “I love something that is a straight-up horror movie or a straight-up thriller, but I think there’s also a lot of room for things that do cross those lines. It can be funny and dark. It can be bloody and also a family drama”.
Cronenberg’s eclectic choices of favourite movies well reflect this love of diversity, picking films from a whole range of backgrounds, including Bob Fosse’s musical Cabaret from 1972, Andrew Davis’ 1993 action flick The Fugitive and the 1992 comedy My Cousin Vinny. Calling the latter the “perfect film,” she went on to explain, “As far as genres go, My Cousin Vinny is my favorite black comedy. I can re-watch that over and over”.
Andrew Fleming’s 2008 comedy flop Hamlet 2 is the least critically acclaimed movie on her list, opting to choose the flick because she “cried laughing. Tears were streaming down my face”. Clearly a lover of comedy above all else, she bookends the list with the Coen brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? with the majority of her list being made up of humorous flicks of differing artistic quality.
Caitlin Cronenberg’s five favourite movies:
- Cabaret (Bob Fosse, 1972)
- The Fugitive (Andrew Davis, 1993)
- Hamlet 2 (Andrew Fleming, 2008)
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Coen brothers, 2000)
- My Cousin Vinny (Jonathan Lynn, 1992)
