Have you ever been to a restaurant where the atmosphere was incredible yet the food was decent at best? That is how I would describe seeing “The Shrouds” at Alice Tully Hall in New York City with hundreds of people. I knew nothing going into it other than it was directed by David Cronenberg (“A History of Violence” “Crimes of the Future”) and it was a body horror film.

In terms of the experience, it was absolutely unforgettable with Cronenberg being there in person to introduce the film followed by a Q&A afterwards, yet I left “The Shrouds” pretty disappointed and wanting a lot more.

“The Shrouds” focuses on Karsh (Vincent Cassel) who is struggling with grief after his wife’s death. He invents a technology that enables the living to monitor the corpses in the shrouds. Things take a turn when the grave of Karsh’s wife (Diane Kruger) is desecrated and set to find those responsible.

I went into “The Shrouds” thinking it was going to be similar to this year’s “The Substance” in terms of body horror. David Cronenberg is well-known for doing body horror films like “The Fly” and his most recent film “Crimes of the Future” not based on the 1970 film of the same name, which he also directed. Not only that, but, the film is a personal one for Cronenberg as he was inspired to make the film after the death of his wife of 38 years, so I was expecting “The Shrouds” to be a body horror film with emotional complexity. Instead, I got a confusing and at times boring film. Karsh has the potential to be an interesting character but I didn’t really get behind him.

When it comes to body horror, it definitely has its elements but it is never committed to it. At least with “Crimes of the Future,” it committed to body horror with its concept being body surgery for audiences. In his son Brandon’s film Infinity Pool it had a great concept mixing body horror with sci-fi that was subject to a bizarre execution altogether. There are moments in “The Shrouds” that are intentionally grotesque, particularly scenes involving Diane Kruger’s character but it would’ve gotten me a lot more if the story was more interesting. A few times I even dozed off (that was partially because I got up at the crack of dawn to catch my flight).

The film isn’t horrible by any means. There are definitely some good things about it. For one, it’s visually beautiful to look at through certain shots. The actors particularly Kassel, Kruger and Guy Ritchie (when he’s on-screen) do a good job in their roles even if their characters would’ve been more interesting. The overall concept is fascinating with its themes and genre and had it been a lot better, this could’ve been truly something unique and different.

Overall “The Shrouds” left me wanting more given its talent, concept and themes. It was an unforgettable experience for a pretty forgettable film. “The Shrouds” gets a C+.