David Cronenberg’s latest film The Shrouds will receive a Blu-ray release on October 21, 2025, through Criterion Premieres, the new distribution line from The Criterion Collection showcasing contemporary theatrical releases (previously named Janus Contemporaries). Already one of the most talked-about films of the year, The Shrouds finds Cronenberg in deeply personal and haunting territory—an audacious meditation on grief, decay, and technological intrusion.
The Shrouds stars Vincent Cassel as Karsh, a tech entrepreneur who creates a revolutionary product: a digital platform that allows the bereaved to watch their loved ones decompose in real-time. His invention, marketed as a means to maintain spiritual closeness with the dead, quickly unravels into something darker when a mysterious act of vandalism at his high-tech cemetery sets off a spiral of paranoia and mourning. Diane Kruger stars as Becca, Karsh’s deceased wife and the emotional core of a film that’s both chilly and elegiac in its depiction of love after loss.
The film has been widely recognized as one of David Cronenberg’s most personal works to date. Written following the death of his wife, The Shrouds continues the director’s career-long fascination with the intersections of technology, body horror, and emotional detachment. If earlier works like Videodrome, Dead Ringers, and Crash dissected the collision between flesh and machine, The Shrouds turns that gaze inward, asking what it means to preserve the body—not for medical advancement or perverse obsession, but as a gesture of unresolved grief. Cinephile Corner gave The Shrouds a positive review upon release and mentioned it as one of the best films of 2025 at the midway point.
Described by Criterion as “an audacious, elegiac exploration of grief, mortality, and love wrapped in the guise of a corporate-espionage thriller,” The Shrouds blends Cronenberg’s signature themes of sex, death, and surveillance into one of his most striking modern visions. It’s a restrained yet potent entry in a filmography defined by its ability to disturb and provoke long after the credits roll.
The The Shrouds Blu-ray from Criterion Premieres will include the following special features:
- Meet the Filmmakers: David Cronenberg, a Criterion Channel original interview in which the director reflects on the personal origins and philosophical underpinnings of the film
- Original theatrical trailer
- High-definition presentation of the film
Criterion Premieres is Criterion’s new arm for distributing select new-release films on Blu-ray and DVD, in conjunction with the Criterion Channel. Its mission is to give important new works a collectible physical release with the same care and curation that defines the rest of the Criterion Collection.
As Cronenberg continues to create bold, formally inventive cinema into his 80s, The Shrouds is a reminder that his voice remains uncompromising. For longtime fans and new audiences alike, the The Shrouds Criterion Blu-ray is shaping up to be one of the most significant home video releases of the fall.
Read more about what is coming to The Criterion Collection in October 2025 or view the cover art for The Shrouds (2025) below:
