The Colony

I saw this film 2001 and didn´t like it too much.

John Ritter is a security agent who´s given the opportunity to move to a totally crimeless society outside the town. He moves to this place with his family, and in the beginning everything seems like heaven. But after a while he and his family begins to think that everything is not right.The man (Hal Linden) who´s running the place is a very excentric old man with a lot of strange ideas... Pretty good idea (but I´ve seen it before....)

Security specialist Rick Knowlton (John Ritter,) upset by a life-threatening incident is invited to live in a securely closed society "The Colony". At first, the parents, children, and family dog are happy. Then people get over antsy about nitpicky rules. This masks something more sinister.

If you are familiar with computers, you may notice this movie is a little dated.

If you are thinking the colony is nowhere as bad as a Homeowner's Association, then you may be interested in the filming location of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, USA.

Warning if you cannot watch cruelty to dogs and ferns then you may find this upsetting.

Starring the fantastic late great John Ritter The Colony is a made for television thriller with a concept alone that it deserves credit for.

It tells the story of a family who move into an exclusive gated community but begin to have concerns about the overwhelming number of rules they must live by and the strange behaviour of their fellow residents.

It's all very 90's (If that makes any sense) but despite the usual gliches it's quite an entertaining little venture. There are a couple of plot holes but thankfully nothing too major and Ritter is excellent as always.

A harmless way of killing 90 minutes.

The Good:

John Ritter

Some interesting ideas

The Bad:

Cliched

Ending could have been better

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I would happily sacrifice some freedoms for that quality of life

Three's Company meets Barney Miller meets WKRP in Cincinnati. Hey it's a 70's sit com re-union! Jack Tripper, Barney Miller and Herb Tarlick meet in the creepy Stepford like Southern California community of "The Colony". This was a great movie. Anything with Jon Ritter is totally worth watching. He is such a warm and heartfelt actor. Since his passing, it is comforting to be able to watch him again and feel closer to the good old days of one of the greatest shows of all time, Three's Company. Hey, it's not a big budget Hollywood Blockbuster, but you already knew that. So get the popcorn ready and sit back and enjoy a thoroughly entertaining movie.

Welcome to the Colony. It's very sleek, effete, modern and totally upper middle classish. Externally it's a well constructed paradise replete with its own efficient private security enforcing the C&R, the fine print covenant and restrictions which govern life, but what lies behind the pleasantries and the security screens?

Colony featured excellent performances by Hal Linden as the evil genius who created the colony and John Ritter the neophyte who allowed to enter the circuit walls engirding the Colony is drawn into discovery of the hidden secret.

I never liked John Ritter's personal philosophy of endemic liberalism but it is strange to watch this 1980s made for TV movie and witness its eerie prophesy for life in a nearly paranoid state.