The Divide (2012)

Just perfect...

A lot of fun.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The Divide is utterly and relentlessly dark in it's expressions of the very worst of human behavior. It was difficult and repulsive to watch,yet I found myself unable to turn away....(much like just having to look at the roadkill on the road as you drive by) For my tastes, this movie had just the right amount of gore and violence to realistically tell the story. The acting over-all, was generally well done and believable up to, Id say, excellently done. The story/script had surprises and twists at every turn that I didn't see coming. (That is a major plus in my viewing experience and usually very rare) There is nothing that bores me more then to already guess what will happen....I didn't have that problem with this movie. This is not your typical, same ole' same ole' post-apocalyptic flick and although it seems professional critics looked down on this movie, I personally thought it was the best one of its genre I've seen in YEARS. Although for those of you that have weak constitutions I'd warn you to pass, but if you aren't afraid of looking at UGLY truths, Id say GO FOR IT! Im glad I did.

First and foremost, do not believe a word anyone who reviews this film as anything less than a 6/10 has to say. There is undeniably a lack of persuasive material at the start of this film; more could definitely have been made of the initial attack, the acting is by no means as compelling as that in the second half. However, this is a film very, very much for those who like to completely immerse themselves in the storyline and appreciate the effort put into a twisted one. What The Divide does so impressively, in my mind, is take your initial, average nuclear-detonation bunker survivalist meet and greet and turn it into something so much darker.The character development (more the character decay) throughout this film is some of the best I have seen in any horror. Multiple characters are seen to unsurprisingly lose their minds, but the fashion in which it occurs is truly harrowing. There are scenes I did not expect to come across in a movie with such despicable reviews. There is thought applied here on the filmmaker's part. Without wanting to give too much away, the deterioration of one female character's mind and body is almost troubling to watch. Sexual aggression is a theme rife throughout and it is not a film for those unaccustomed to such psychological torment.Most impressive in my mind is the total absorption of the characters in these actors. It is the closest, and for that reason, most troubling enactment of societal breakdown I can envision in such a scenario. So confined, so reliant upon one another... that can and does turn nasty. The make-up is very impressive bar a few, unfortunate details (likely to not even occur to those not looking) and the actions of the character in the final scenes are some I considered exciting, spontaneous, opportunistic and required where others did not. I would suggest those of that opinion do not possess the intellectual spread to appreciate her reasons for doing as she does.A fine, fine film. One I will not forget.

Apparently as in 99.999% of these apocalyptic films and end of the world scenarios-no black women will be around. The one black guy sacrifices himself for the white woman or gets killed off early in the film unless he is an established actor and then he has a little more time to be the sacrificial lamb for white folks.The white woman who cannot run 3 ft without falling down or depends on everyone else protecting her somehow manages to survive the monsters, the chaos, the fires, floods, and does so with little disruption to hair and makeup.Often, she will look as fresh as the proverbial daisy, fails to sweat like normal people and if injured or mussed, will have minimal evidence of such. The racism we are all indoctrinated to repeatedly on TV and in movies is such standard fare-it is never even mentioned in any critiques and can readily be predicted without fail. Hollywood's bigotry shines through every time.

A lot of movies did the whole "survivors stuck together try to survive each other", but not quite as vividly as The Divide. And also, not as disturbing. A simple premise - a few people escape a nuclear blast and find themselves stuck in a shelter, in the basement of a building.Tension soon builds up and conflicts arise. As the movie progresses, the characters slowly descend into madness, whether because of the situation or the fact that they got irradiated. The actors' performance is amazing, especially of those who start losing it. You can feel yourself growing more and more afraid of them, just as the characters in the movie, a feat few other films accomplish so brilliantly.There were some things not quite fully thought out, though. At some point, the movie introduces additional villains, in the form of soldiers in hazmat suits, but in my opinion they were unneeded. They were mainly there to give an excuse for the death/disappearance of a character and a door closed forever, but they just add confusion and those things could have been achieved in other ways. Especially since they remain unexplained in the end.A word of caution - the movie is BRUTAL. I've seen slasher flicks with less violence, so be prepared going in.