The Divide [DVD]

A truly unsettling film, but that's by no means a bad thing. The acting alone is incredible, which just makes the characters' descent that bit more believable. Though you are left with a lingering sense of "what the...?!", it does make you understand how the guys in the shelter were feeling, since the questions left unanswered to the viewer are the same that were facing the characters'. A clever device, in my opinion. I'd definitely recommend this, especially to those who don't mind having their psychological wits tested.

This is one of the better recent low budget apocalyptic movies, albeit the majority of the movie is set in the basement of an apartment building. However most of the budget was blown in the first two minutes on fleeting glimpses of the nuclear(?) firestorm before the survivors take shelter. As others have commented the film then follows most survival in a confined space cliches. The scene with the scientist/soldiers was never expanded on and if you were wondering up to that point why the film has an 18 certificate you'll soon find out, as the story takes several darker turns and shows how quickly humans might revert to a primitive state when the confines of civilisation and law are removed. More than a few squeamish and uncomfortable moments.

The cliches return at the end and the images are lifted straight out of the Fallout play book It is a less than happy denoument which leaves much unexplained. Like other recent movies this attempts to tell the stories of the people caught up in the events rather than explain the events themselves.

Why 3 stars? Because it is certainly a film worth watching once, but not sure there's anything different on offer with repeated viewings. Probably a rental job.

I didn't like this film and I regret that I bought it, for many reasons, not the least of which is that I was deceived by the image and teaser on the cover of the DVD.

I thought I was buying a SF film about survivors of a nuclear war trying to go on with their lifes. This film however is something diiferent. The original cataclysm is barely shown and is never explained - we never learn what exactly happened. The whole story is in fact a study in the slow but certain disappearance of all social order and even purely human reflexes amongst a group of people who are trapped in a cage without exit (an underground shelter) and with dwindling food and water supply... The person in hazmat suit on the cover is relevant only to a small segment of the film, as almost everything happens in a couple of pieces underground.

The film is full of incredibly vulgar language - it seems that absolutely everybody speaks with the "F" bomb beginning every sentence. There are purely obscene moments of sexual nature (nothing to do with love-making). Excrements, menstrual blood, rotting bodies and swarming cockroaches, all play considerable role by moments. There are very graphic scenes of murder, rape and torture. In one word, this film has more in common with "Saw" franchise than with SF movies. This is most of the plot and of the scenario - and this film REALLY disgusted me.

I would rate this thing one star, if it was not for the last five minutes, which contain one pretty cruel but really intelligent twist, which I didn't see coming at all. I also must admit that actors did a rather good job and the cast is strong: Michael Biehn, Rosanna Arquette, Courtney B. Vance, Milo Ventimiglia and Ashton Holmes all did very well. It is however Lauren German (an actress I never heard about before), playing the main female role, who offers the best performance - she sure can act.

But other than the last five minutes, watching this film was for me personally a VERY unpleasant experience. My advice - avoid it, except if you really like films in which people torture, rape and murder other people in the middle of rotting bodies and crawling insects...