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Caitlin鈥檚 not like that. She鈥檚 perfectly at ease talking about herself, her family and her expanding career, which now includes directing her first feature film. Her conviviality and high-fashion look 鈥� photo shoot makeup, coloured hair and artistically painted nails 鈥� seem at odds with her self-description as being 鈥渁 real hermit鈥� with a lifelong struggle with panic attacks during public appearances.

鈥淚 think being the second one out (with a film) is harder. So being the third, I鈥檓 old news now,鈥� Cronenberg mused in an interview in the downtown offices of distributor Elevation Pictures.

鈥淓veryone鈥檚 over it. Everyone鈥檚 here to just have a good time now.鈥�

Cronenberg鈥檚 worried that people will think her debut feature, 鈥淗umane,鈥� is a horror film. Opening in theatres on Friday, it鈥檚 actually more of a dark satire and thriller about how humans behave in extreme circumstances. Starring Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Peter Gallagher, Sebastian Chacon, Alanna Bale and Enrico Colantoni, 鈥淗umane鈥� is set in a dystopian near future where a global climate crisis necessitates a mass population cull, prompting 鈥淪uccession鈥�-style power plays within a wealthy, dysfunctional family named the Yorks.

鈥淚 think horror was the genre thrust upon it by other people,鈥� Cronenberg said of her film. 鈥淚t was automatic that I would be (seen as) a horror director, but it has none of the common horror tropes. I think those who are true horror fans will be horribly disappointed that it is not truly horror, but hopefully they’ll enjoy it for what it is.鈥�

At 39, Cronenberg has the steadying advantage of an established career and public profile as a photographer. She fell into it in her early 20s while studying fashion at 海角社区官网Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson). A portrait she made of 鈥淐anadian Idol鈥� winner Ryan Malcolm, a former boyfriend, was published in a local community newspaper.

Since then, she鈥檚 done photo shoots of celebrities for movies (including her dad鈥檚 and brother鈥檚) and for many publications, among them Vanity Fair, the New York Times, Esquire, Vogue Italia, W Magazine and Harper鈥檚 Bazaar. Cronenberg has also directed music videos and shot album covers, notably Drake鈥檚 multi-platinum 鈥淰iews鈥� disc.

There are photo books, too, including 鈥淭he Endings,鈥� a 2018 collection of photos of actresses 鈥� including Julianne Moore, Keira Knightley, Tessa Thompson and Sarah Gadon 鈥� acting out stories of romantic trauma. The book later became a short film Cronenberg co-directed with co-author Jessica Ennis, with plans for a TV series. Caitlin also directed 鈥淭he Death of David Cronenberg,鈥� a surreal one-minute 2021 short in which her father contemplates his mortality.

Directing a feature film is just part of Cronenberg鈥檚 expanding palette of artistic expression. In truth, though, she spent so much time on movie sets growing up, she didn鈥檛 think being a director was the right fit for her. She was more interested in costume design, hence her studies in fashion.

鈥淚 didn’t think I had the patience to be a director. That鈥檚 why I loved photography, because it’s a bit more immediately gratifying, right? You go do your shoot, you do a couple of days here and there, travel back and forth, a different thing every day.鈥�

At other points in her life Cronenberg also pondered becoming a pastry chef or performing in the Broadway musical 鈥淐ats.鈥� The latter idea was scratched because, she explained, 鈥淚 would be way too nervous.鈥�

鈥淯ltimately, I think that as I got older and had children (she has two), my patience level changed. I realized that focusing on one project is a gift. It’s a lot of fun to be able to do that, and to spend the time going really deep on the why and the how and the what (of a story).鈥�

The opportunity to do that came with 鈥淗umane,鈥� a screenplay writer/producer Michael Sparaga wrote before the pandemic but which took on new meaning once COVID-19 hit. Cronenberg filmed it in 20 days in the fall of 2022, in a turreted Hamilton mansion known as 鈥渢he Castle on Ravenscliffe Avenue,鈥� all while juggling the masking and testing requirements of the COVID era.

She also had to grapple with a problem familiar to all Cronenberg filmmakers: How much blood is too much? 鈥淗umane鈥� has many laughs but also violent scenes in which scarlet stains the carpet.

鈥淚t’s almost like a superpower to know what the right amount of blood is for any given situation,鈥� Cronenberg said with a laugh, adding that she had 鈥渁 great blood team鈥� to assist her.

鈥淢y family loves blood,鈥� she joked, but her own cinematic needs involve 鈥渘ot as much spatter鈥� as the rest of her family favours, especially her brother Brandon. She was reminded of that while shooting photos on the set of 鈥淧ossessor,鈥� his 2020 film.

鈥淚 was walking through the set and there was someone literally mopping up buckets of blood and bringing it out. And my brother鈥檚 like, 鈥楽ee what we did there?鈥� And for him that was the right amount 鈥� I think my brother is the one who probably (wants) the most volume of blood of all of us and the most purposeful, over-the-top violence.鈥�

All three Cronenberg filmmakers enjoy putting dark humour into their films 鈥� 鈥淚 think all of my films are funny,鈥� David once told a Cannes press conference 鈥� but it seems a higher priority for Caitlin, judging by the many deliberate yuks and sly winks in 鈥淗umane.鈥�

The film opens to news of a global environmental crisis and grim scenes of water rationing and bring-out-your-dead body collecting, all set to the bouncy strains of 鈥淲e’re Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time)鈥� by Canadian rock band Trooper. (Cronenberg originally wanted Pulp鈥檚 class-conscious Britpop hit 鈥淐ommon People,鈥� but the usage fee was too dear for her film鈥檚 lean budget.)

She struck gold with the casting, which includes comedy stalwarts Baruchel (鈥淏lackBerry鈥�), Hampshire (鈥淪chitt鈥檚 Creek鈥�) and Colantoni (鈥淰eronica Mars鈥�). Colantoni is the film鈥檚 secret weapon, an enthusiastic government euthanizer and cadaver collector named Bob who enjoys his job way too much. Cronenberg found that her actors could easily turn the mood from dark to light.

鈥淲hen you have that cast, it could go either way. They’re all very capable of being serious actors, of course, and they do show that in the film, but their humour is what they’re known for in most cases.鈥�

She鈥檚 grateful for the support she received from her cast and crew as she navigated her first feature, but it seems she didn鈥檛 need too much guidance.

鈥淐aitlin has grown up on sets and it is in her DNA, and this is why she is so good as a director,鈥� said actor Gallagher, who plays Charles, the York family鈥檚 preening patriarch.

Cronenberg uses the term 鈥渆levated thriller鈥� to describe what she was aiming for with 鈥淗umane,鈥� which she calls 鈥溾�楢ugust: Osage County鈥� with knives.鈥� She wanted to create a film that exceeds the usual expectations of the genre or, as she put it, 鈥渢hrillers that give you something to think about but are still there to entertain you.鈥�

She鈥檚 proud of the attention to detail in her film, which includes the equipment in Bob鈥檚 death wagon; it鈥檚 loaded with drugs, body bags 鈥� and microwave popcorn.

鈥淚 love details even if nobody notices them. In that RV we have our MAID kits and they鈥檙e fully the boxes of the (euthanasia drug) with the needles. They’re fully written with all the instructions, everything. Nobody sees that, but it鈥檚 there and it makes me so happy.鈥�

Spoken like a true Cronenberg.

A tall CN Tower tale

Have you heard the story about superstar 海角社区官网rapper Drake sitting on top of the CN Tower and Caitlin Cronenberg dangling without a harness from a helicopter to photograph him?

Chances are you have, or read about it in countless online posts or a 海角社区官网Star story. You鈥檝e also likely seen the cover of 鈥淰iews,鈥� Drake鈥檚 big-selling 2016 album, which shows proud Torontonian Drake sitting on the roof of the tower鈥檚 observation deck, high above 鈥渢he 6,鈥� as he calls the city.

That鈥檚 the 鈥渃ool鈥� version of the story, Cronenberg said. It鈥檚 repeated in her biographical notes for 鈥淗umane,鈥� her feature directing debut. It recycles the popular myth, debunked by CN Tower officials in 2016, that Drake actually sat atop the tower鈥檚 main pod and 鈥渢he shot required Caitlin to photograph it in a helicopter (from) an approximate height of 342 metres.鈥�

Not true, Cronenberg said.

鈥淚 didn’t shoot it from a helicopter. I shot (the tower) from a building. My husband worked at a law firm downtown and he was in an office that had a fantastic view of the CN Tower. I shot the CN Tower there and I shot Drake in the studio.鈥� (The two images were combined digitally.)

鈥淚 used a 700-millimetre lens. I have a picture of me holding it. But Drake was not on the CN Tower. Drake was in a studio. They (CN Tower officials) would not let him go out there. We tried, we did get in touch with them and they were like, 鈥楢bsolutely not.鈥� But it was his team’s concept and I was happy to execute it.

鈥淵ou can tell the cool story, too: that he was out there without a harness and I was in a helicopter with no harness. But really, I had my three-month-old baby with me and I was in an office.鈥�