What better way to ring in the New Year than with a review of an apocalyptic film? On January 13th, Xavier Gens’ Sci-Fi Horror, The Divide, hits sporadic theaters around the country and let’s just say that the man who directed Hitman has a very interesting and soul-sucking treat for those willing to sit through the 110+ minute feature.
Starring Michael Biehn, Rosanna Arquette, Lauren German and Milo Ventimiglia, The Divide is about a group of ten people who take refuge in the basement of their NYC apartment building after a nuclear attack occurs, destroying their city and potentially their country. The band of odd characters must survive together for days, testing each others’ patience as their food and water supply begins to dwindle and their fear of isolation and the unknown slowly sinks in.
This film is all about the characters and how they interact with each other in the time they spend locked up in the basement. There is only one character that you might actually like, though it does take a little time to figure out who it will be. What this film aims to do is show you the darker side of humanity and how desperate times can bring the worst out of people even if there is an honest, humane and strategic approach to part of it. Xavier Gens, his cast and crew do an excellent job of making you feel absolutely miserable about the future and that, in the end, you should trust no one if you ever want to survive an apocalypse, or pray that you don’t get stuck with people with deeply rooted psychological issues.
Writers Karl Mueller and Eron Sheean decided that it would make sense if almost every character went completely off the wall and all of their weaknesses and self control were fully exposed as a result of being isolated and lost. This seemed a bit excessive to me and removed much of the realism that I had expected to experience while watching the feature. The only argument I have against this theory is that nobody can really know how they would act if an apocalypse had occurred. It might be becoming clear that I wasn’t feeling their story, or rather their annoying and frustrating characters, and so what bothers me is that they set up a situation that doesn’t seem very likely, i.e. bringing together a group of really screwed up people and locking them up in a bunker (not a mental asylum though it may seem like it).
The one thing I have to give Xavier Gens and his cinematographer credit for is the actual filming style and the types of shots they used. Even in a tight, underground space he manages to capture some long, sweeping shots that practically span the entire set. He does this by filming down from the ceiling, bird’s eye view style, as the people walk or run from one side of the L shaped basement to the other. Additionally, he also manages to keep the despairing tone through the continual use of dark lighting but also manages to keep that same somber tone when he has light flooding the room which I thought was really cool.
I personally saw the director’s cut so I don’t know what ten minutes will be removed for the theatrical version but if you want to start off the last year of the Mayan calendar right, then this is probably the movie sci-fi fans should see. It’s not nearly as good as I was hoping it would be, as I thought it felt too much like a b-rated thriller, but it may be worth two mediocre hours of your time.
Overall, The Divide is a really messed up movie and leaves you with absolutely no hope for humanity unlike so many other apocalyptic sci-fi features, so if you’re fine with that then go for it, otherwise wait for its release on Blu-ray/DVD so that you may sit in despair in the comfort of your own home.
Rating: A psychological apocalypse flick that will leave you with a solid feeling of hopelessness for the future (5/10)
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