Title: The Divide

Running time: 122/minutes, Unrated, Available on DVD

Survivors of a nuclear attack are huddled together in an apartment building’s basement, made into a bomb shelter by the superintendent (Biehn) who had initially attempted to lock them all out, but they forced their way in. After a run-in with some men in hazmat suits who weld them in, they slowly descend into madness as they come to terms that maybe they should’ve stayed with those above ground who didn’t get inside.

This is one of those movies where I put in the “I didn’t like it, but didn’t hate it” file. The negatives outweigh the positives, but there’s something about this film that I can’t stop thinking about. It could be that the filmmakers and actors really encapsulated a lot of people’s fear about the possibility of a worldwide nuclear demise, and what would happen if we weren’t so lucky to die in the blast and we were all just sitting around waiting to die a slow death.  We see some of the characters who were affected by radiation poisoning and that the idea of duct tape protecting us from the fallout was naive. Sure duct tape is awesome, but c’mon.

In a way this film is somewhat reminiscent of Cube, with the ensemble cast and imminent death in a small space, but edgier and psychotic. The seemingly harmless characters evolve into maniacs and sadistic sex monsters. The acting by all was very good; Michael Biehn and Rosanna Arquette stood out the best.

The special features include the theatrical trailer and commentary with Directer Xavier Gens and Actors Michael Biehn, Michael Eklund

The Divide is sometimes difficult to watch and certain scenes will stay with you for a while. It allows people to see the negative side to surviving something so catastrophic, and that’s probably why it didn’t sit very well with many other critics. If you like end-of-the-world themed movies, and you don’t mind being bummed out, then give this one a try.

Total Rating: C

Reviewed by: JM Willis