When it comes to the extremely wealthy, like the York family here, emotions and blood ties usually take a backseat to money. The members of this family had been apart for several years until their patriarch decided to summon them from different locations for what appeared to be a dinner gathering.
The oldest child behaves with arrogance, and there’s an adopted son whose only desire is affection and understanding rather than attention or fortune, but he ends up wasting his life by becoming dependent on drugs.
One night that redefined what family means (Photo: Humane/Victory Man Productions Prospero)As the dinner progresses and the reality of their society begins to surface, they start to realise this isn’t just one of their usual meals. Instead, it turns out to be a carefully arranged occasion for the father and his wife to announce their decision to “enlist.”
Now, this word “enlist” might sound straightforward, but in this future where every country must reduce its population to protect the environment, it means something far darker. The American policy allows one person per family to volunteer for euthanasia, and in return, their loved ones receive a $500,000 payout.
The act is overseen by an agency called the Department of Citizen Strategy, or DOCS for short. The children—Jared, Rachel, Noah, and Ashley—immediately burst into anger, throwing harsh words around as Rachel’s daughter Mia watches everything silently, already weighed down by her mother’s constant harshness.
Meanwhile, Noah, the adopted one, has recently found a woman who is in recovery like him and has been clean for a decade. As the discussions grow more heated, Jared dismissively declares that this entire policy only applies to the lower class, making it clear that he doesn’t think it concerns them.
This insult is directed squarely at Noah because he came from poverty. Feeling the pressure, Dawn changes her mind about going through with the enlistment, even though she and her husband had supposedly made that decision together.
A Brutal Turning Point
But everyone can sense that Charles had a stronger influence in that matter. Then, things take a turn when Bob, a representative from DOCS, arrives to collect his “volunteers.” Bob recognises the York family immediately and shows some admiration before reminding Charles that it’s time.
Before the procedure could begin, Charles is required to sign some documents, but he hesitated. Although we are not told the contents of those papers, Bob eventually convinces him to follow through. It seems one way or another, a body must leave the York residence before the night ends.
Which of the Yorks gets sacrificed?
Bob soon announces that someone else must now step forward in place of Dawn, who has backed out. He gives them a two-hour window to decide. Because minors are not part of the program, Mia is taken outside. What follows inside the house is complete chaos.
Jared had described the situation as a warzone on live television, and now it feels just like that. The siblings waste no time turning on each other. Arguments break out as each one begins to weigh whose life should end. Instead of thinking of a way out, they keep asking questions about fairness, sacrifice, and survival.
Then, they ask Bob whether the chosen person must be euthanised officially or if simply presenting a corpse will do. Bob admits that while the paperwork might be tougher, he’s fine with any option. Immediately, Rachel singles out Noah, branding him the broken addict who never amounted to much.
She pays no attention to the fact that he’s been trying to fix his past and still lives with the guilt of a deadly car accident that claimed the life of his partner. Ashley has always supported Noah because the two of them are dreamers and creatives, unlike Jared and Rachel, who went the science route.
But Rachel’s venomous words succeed in poisoning Ashley’s thoughts as well. As the internal conflict grows, Mia sits quietly in Bob’s vehicle, slowly realising that he’s not just an agent but a twisted man who takes pleasure in the fear and suffering of others. He reminds her too much of her bullies.
Eventually, Noah is brutally beaten by his siblings. They knock his teeth out and stab him before he finds a place to hide. It’s hard to say whether it’s desperation to stay alive or a craving for revenge that keeps driving the violence inside the house.
After regaining some strength, Noah comes out again, only to be attacked once more. He believes Ashley is still on his side, but she deceives him and strikes him on the back of the head. They tie him up and prepare to hand him over.
Just then, Grace, Noah’s girlfriend, arrives at the door, but instead of offering salvation, her presence triggers more violence. One of Bob’s men kills her right outside, reminding the family that they are not safe at all. As Grace dies, Noah regains consciousness, breaks free, and decides he’s not going down quietly.
A Desperate Plan and Final Reckoning
Noah soon realises that there’s another solution: instead of sacrificing one of their own, they can turn on Bob. However, before his siblings see things that way, he must hurt them badly—but not kill them—to make them realise the cruelty of their choices.
It’s only when they see his pain and rage that they begin to understand he has a point. Although Noah’s methods are violent, his empathy still shows, and it stirs their guilt. Slowly, they begin volunteering themselves instead of forcing Noah.
Not all goodbyes come with closure (Photo: Humane/Victory Man Productions Prospero)He insists nobody needs to die. Ashley is badly wounded and bleeding heavily, but they manage to seal the wound using a heated spoon. She grows pale from blood loss, and time is not on their side, so they come up with a plan.
Since Ashley dreams of becoming a famous performer, she puts her acting training to use by pretending to be dead. When Bob returns with one of his men, Tony, to collect the body, Ashley surprises him by stabbing his leg. But their problems are not over yet, as more DOCS agents show up and threaten to shoot the family.
Noah forces Bob to call off the attack. At this point, Ashley faints from her injuries, and Bob tries to escape Noah’s grip, only for Jared to knock him out with a gun. When Bob wakes up, he sees a dead body he assumes is Ashley’s, but it turns out to be one of his officers—the same one who killed Grace.
During the closing parts of Humane, Bob is faced with no other option but to cover for the Yorks and protect them from punishment, or else he risks death himself.
Losing control, he lashes out as Noah gets ready to inject him, screaming that they all deserve to die because they’re the real cause of the planet’s problems, and he’s only trying to save humanity. Suddenly, the scene changes to show Noah playing the piano at an event attended by his family.
Ashley and Charles are no longer there, but Dawn sits beside Jared, proud and smiling. It seems the family was spared after all, and Bob helped them avoid the worst. In the final moments, we see a news report claiming that Ashley and Grace were the ones who enlisted that week.
This made-up story paints them as friends who made the ultimate sacrifice to encourage others to help the environment. Bob’s face, now covered in bandages and showing signs of pain, fills the screen. While the Yorks appear to be continuing their lives without consequence, Bob’s original plan to bring justice fails.
He thought he could humble the rich by using the enlistment law, but he ended up exposed for who he truly is. Though his goal made sense in theory—highlighting how the rich always use their privilege to escape consequences—his bitter and smug attitude from the beginning gave him away.
His wife had sacrificed herself, so maybe grief pushed him into this mindset. Finally, his mission failed, and his true self was laid bare.
