16/04/2012: The Divide [2011]

The Divide is a dark and disturbing story of a group of apartment dwellers in New York City struggle to survive in a basement after a nuclear attack on the city. The move is brutal and relentless as it explores the psychological effects that these conditions would put on the group of strangers, as time passes and supplies dwindle.





I wasn't exactly sure where the plot of The Divide was going to go when I started watching it. Post-Apocalyptic movies are a favourite of mine, and this coupled with the name The Divide, had me thinking of the Fallout series of video games (my favourite). However the thing The Divide most relates to is the Zimbardo Prison Experiment, a real life psychology experiment that put 20 average men split them into guards and prisoners and let them play prison for 2 weeks. This experiment was called to a stop after 6 days, but no one will forget the effects and personality changes that took place so rapidly in those 6 days. That experiment has already been made into a couple of movies, as has its premise. However, while The Divide changes the scenario a bit, the results are much the same.

One problem I had was pinning down what genre The Divide actually is. It contains elements of psychological horror, nothing supernatural, as well as sci-fi elements, which I'm not sure were completely necessary.  Overall though, The Divide is a dark psychological thriller, that makes you think, where would I stand in this situation, and while we may think we would take the moral high ground, I think that would not be the likely case. In the end, I think that The Divide shows that no one is above the insanity or brutality when it comes to survival.

Who brings a fire-axe to a gunfight?

I don't want to ruin a lot of the plot, because that really is the whole movie. Simply put, the movie follows the group of survivors over an unspecified amount of time, although I'm sure it would be surprisingly short. As expected, tensions build, lines are drawn, and soon insanity and basic survival instincts are controlling the small apartment buildings basement. The film was shot in chronological order, and so you can actually see as the actors slim down, on a special diet, as radiation sickness slowly creeps in, along with other darker thoughts.

The most important aspect of The Divide is of course the actors. Any movie this dependent on human actions and mental states requires a strong group of actors, and while they are unknown, I think The Divide has put together a strong cast. I promise you, thinks get insane but the last thing you are thinking about is how well the guy is acting.

Random Sci-Fi elements anyone?

When it comes down to it The Divide is a strong movie, although something you will never watch comfortably, or for a laugh. The movie starts to feel a little long in the middle, but I have certainly had movies that felt worse when it came to length and pacing. I still feel like the unexplained sci-fi elements as pictured above were a little unnecessary, but they kept things interesting in the beginning when they needed to.

So will I be recommending that everyone go and watch The Divide. Not really. It is not a movie I would recommend to genre fans for either its horror or sci-fi  aspects. I will not recommend it to anyone who is looking for something fun or entertaining. The Divide is something I will recommend to anyone interested in psychology or the darker side of human nature. That is its strong suits, and that is where it fits.

Link:
The Divide IMDb