The Divide

I don't know why this rating is so low. If you like the dark side of humanity you will love this. It's totally believable and a great take on humanity at its lowest as opposed to the happily every after commercial stuff.

-- www.Ramascreen.com --

THE DIVIDE is dirty, disturbing, uncomfortable, and I like it! Post-apocalyptic thrillers are usually a messy business and that's what this Xavier Gens-directed film delivers. It's sheer madness, a terrifying look at society going down the drain and at humanity when it's lost its senses, of what could happen when the chips are down and fear takes over. THE DIVIDE is not for the faint of heart..

Turning a fallout shelter, a save haven and protection into a hellhole is the aim of this film. The tagline says it all, 'the lucky ones died in the blast' and so the remaining characters are not. I wasn't a fan of Gens' previous works, Hit-man was generally disappointing but that was to be expected of any video game-based movie, but THE DIVIDE goes to show that Gens may not be a lost cause after all when it comes to filmmaking. There have been movies in the past where they'd collect a number of people, lock them in one inescapable location long enough and you'd get to see who'd endure, who'd rebel, who'd break down, and who'd take charge. Give it enough time and they'll turn on each other and ask the question of 'who died and made you king?!', that's exactly THE DIVIDE's mission, when suspicions fester and morals go out the window.

Because the story is set in a basement room, the film dwells in the dark the entire time. And because of its R-rated horror approach, the characters find themselves eventually doing something that they themselves did not know they were capable of and we the audience have the options of either sticking around or looking away. Fantastic job by the cast ensemble, you've got Eva (Lauren German) who tries to remain sane and level-headed through the ordeal, and there's Marilyn (Rosanna Arquette) who suffers mental problem after the failure to protect her daughter, and then there's Delvin (Courtney B Vance) who at first may seem to be the reasonable one of the bunch, and you also have the cocky sh*theads Bobby and Josh, played by Michael Eklund and Milo Ventimiglia respectively, the shelter itself is owned by an ex-firefighter Mickey (Michael Biehn) who'd rather not share if he had the choice. The movie is a character study that's not too hard to crack but it's not an easy chew either. Right from the start of the beautifully done CG nuclear explosion, you know that it's not going to end well, because there is no way that these characters could stand each other, not with the limited resources they have and the frustration that comes from being self-imprisoned. And so the story shows how their interaction crumbles and insanity creeps in. THE DIVIDE is an excellent sci-fi horror that demands attention.

-- www.Ramascreen.com --

Well damn that one got intense, can't believe I hadn't seen this film before now, it is well worth checking out, if your looking for a gripping thrill ride. Just like with every film, this has its ups and down, but that doesn't draw away from the enjoyment. With a group of somewhat strangers trapped together for however long, as they each slowly die from the fallout, each having to change in the face of this new world, some evolving to learn how everything works and others descending into madness / jealousy / or paranoia. Definitely worth checking out, just make sure to bring a big old bucket of popcorn and plenty of pop as you won't want to leave.

I found this film by chance, without having heard anything about it, so I went in with no expectations. But I love me a good apocalyptic flick, even though most are very predictable. This one is not predictable. And even though the setting is after the apocalypse, the story is really about human nature, a la Lord of the Flies.

The peoples reactions to the events, and to each other, are extreme, yet believable. The acting is very good, among the best i've seen lately in a sci-fi picture. Yet it was the writing that truly took me in. The story is paced very evenly, and proceeds towards it's inevitable conclusion without pause or remorse.

I have to say that this movie is not for children or even most adults. There are strong elements of violence and sexuality that are far beyond what most people can stomach. With this in mind, however, I found the psychological elements to be far more disturbing than the graphic scenes. We don't like to think that people are capable of certain things, but in extreme conditions people can be pushed to do the unimaginable.

This is the the important point of the film, rather than the storyline, or "how the world ends". It's about how we can self destruct, as individuals.

While I will be disturbed by the imagery for a few days, I really still loved this movie, and recommend it to anyone with a strong stomach.

After the first 20 minutes I would have given The Divide a 1/10. The characters are cliché and the dialogue is so cringeworthy that any self-respecting horror lover would quickly roll their eyes.

So I stopped the movie. I could've sworn I'd seen very good comments about the fil here on IMDb. I flipped open my laptop, re-read some of the reviews and sure enough, they were mostly positive.

Weird. Rarely a mention of the laughable acting and joke of a script. I decided to watch on.

It suddenly got better. The acting remained appalling but they introduced a sci-fi element that was kind of cool. The intensity ramped up and I became locked into the film. I watched it through to the end. All the way 'til the end of the credits. I was left with this very bad feeling. Very bad indeed. I guess it reminded me of being a scared kid. I'm not talking about my-brother-freaked-me-out-on-Halloween scared, I'm talking about I-saw-my-neighbour-drown-a-bunch-of-puppies-in-a-barrel scared.

Remember when you were seven years old? Did you ever see something you were much too young to see? Remember that feeling? Scared and a bit ashamed? Seeing something you're just not emotionally mature enough to handle? Remember how your heart raced?

Did you ever want to un-see something? I want to un-see The Divide.

One part of me wants to rate it a zero. But I'm a horror fan and it scared me, riveted me. How can I rate it less than a six? I would prefer I never saw the movie. So perhaps that makes it 'good', I'm not sure. It depends. I mean horror is supposed to freak you out. And it really has some original story elements. I suppose I respect it. Bottom line, it gave me nightmares. How can give a horror film that gave me nightmares less than a six?

Having said all that, every copy of this film should be incinerated and the ashes buried somewhere in the arctic tundra, away from people.

Some films require you to commit. Some demand a hefty price. For The Divide, it's a price that must be paid in advance and there are no refunds.