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TV show review: CONTINUUM season 4
PHOTOGRAPHY

THE DIVIDE

DVD Review by David Blackwell

 

DETAILS:  122 minutes, audio commentary, theatrical trailer

VIDEO:  2.35:1

AUDIO:  English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish Mono

Subtitles:  English SDH

 

STUDIO:  Anchor Bay Films/ Preferred Content/ Instinctive Film/ Julijette Inc/ BR Group/ Ink Connection

RELEASE DATE:  4-17-2012

THE DIVIDE is the latest film from director Xavier Gens.  In it, eight residents of an apartment building force their way into a basement shelter built by their superintendent Mickey (Michael Biehn) as nuclear explosions strike New York City.   AS time goes on, tensions grow as Mickey continues to control the rationing of the food and a dvide grows between the people living in this shelter.

 

THE DIVIDE is a gloomy film.    Its claustrophobic style of apocalypse doesn't focus on hope.  It focuses on survival when the future is very grim.   The beginning of the movie with those nine people stuck in the shelter sets off the events in the movie to the shocking ending.   The acting is strong with soem strong performances from Lauren German and Michael Biehn (who is underappreciated as an actor).

 

Michael Biehn is the man who wishes he didn't survive the events of 9-11-2001 (and other fellow firefighters died) while each of the people in the shelter have their own demons that prey on them.   THE DIVIDE shows people doing things they wouldn't normally do and it is partly due to the situation they find themselves in.  Fear leads to the darker sides of many of them coming out.   THE DIVIDE isn't a movie for everyone- it chronicles how a safe haven turns into a hell hole.  It goes to dark places and is mostly shot in dark areas.    I couldn't tear myself away from the horrific things that happened in the movie as I was curious to see where it would all end.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Audio commentary with Actors Michael Biehn, Michael Eklund, Milo Ventimiglia, and Director Xavier Gen talk about the production and how funding fell apart that lead the originally cast actors such as Melissa George and Robert Patrick to drop out.

 

Also on the disc is the theatrical trailer.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:    THE DIVIDE is a welcome addition to the post-apocalyptic genre.  It is a nice throwback to the strong sci-fi and horror movies you see arrive on VHS while bypassing the movie theaters to find their life on home video.

 

this DVD review is (c)4-29-2012 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  send all comments to feedback@enterlinemedia.com