Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Divinity Blu-ray Movie Review

"People choose between being able to live forever, and being able to give life."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown February 2, 2024

Bold but unwieldy. Provocative but indulgent. Compelling but impenetrable. Weirdly beautiful but decidedly off-putting. Disquieting but revolting. These are just a few of the contrasting feelings and observations made about Divinity in the 88 minutes it took me to mutter, "what in God's name did I just sit through?" Equal parts riveting and numbing, it's an experimental 16mm black-and-white sexually perverse mad scientist anime brought to live-action life, and that's not even describing ninety percent of the strange, surreal, satirical future-scape world that awaits. In the end, though, it's quite possibly a baffling bait-n-switch; a film that can only be understood (or perhaps fully enjoyed) by its filmmakers and potentially its cast (though I doubt they understand much of it either). You'll certainly be entertained, if you consider "can't stop staring at roadkill" a feeling you're familiar with, and everyone will at the least stick around to see where it all ends up. (Minus the walk-out-of-the-theater crowd.) But a love for Divinity will only be earned by those who love a shamelessly obtuse avant garde enigma.

"What the livin' hell am I watching?"

Capitalist Jaxxon Pierce (Stephen Dorff) lords over a now-barren Earth and develops an immortality serum called "Divinity", originally conceived by his late father (Scott Bakula). However, when two otherworldly brothers (Moises Arias and Jason Genao) crash to Earth, things change dramatically. Their mission? To stop Jaxxon from manufacturing his serum. It seems the method of its synthetization is causing a dangerous infertility rate among the planet's remaining humans. The twins hold Jaxxon hostage, dosing him with his own drug until his body becomes monstrous, setting the stage for a practical effects climax. Written and directed by Eddie Alcazar (Perfect) and produced by Steven Soderbergh (Solaris), the film also stars Bella Thorne, Mr. Universe champion Michael O'Hearn, Karrueche Tran and contemporary adult film performer Emily Willis.

Of his fifth feature, Alcazar reveals, "There was no script for the film... and so I was trusted with the virtue of doing my own thing. I started drawing and sketching ideas, and that’s pretty much how it all came about." Which tracks quite well with the final product. Divinity isn't so much a conundrum as it is an improvised puzzle box, born from the imagination of a man who felt his way along in the dark, following whatever speck of light shone through. The film is a hodgepodge of influences; classics of literature and film -- pop, cult and otherwise -- and other art pieces that fill Alcazar's dreams and nightmares. And Pierce's frightening de-evolution into a musclebound monstrosity follows suit. The oddly humanoid alien brothers arrive in similar fashion to Critters' Ug and Lee, space bounty hunters on a quest to stop a galactic threat, and... hm. Come to think of it, Divinity shares a lot in common with Critters (of all things), if you add heaping tablespoons of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Ang Lee's The Hulk, all things David Lynch, piles of vintage black and white manga, an omnipresent Greek chorus, a stop-motion battle to the death, and enough cultural satire to give the likes of Terry Gilliam, Paul Verhoeven and the late George Romero the giggles.

But spending any amount of time with Divinity is more akin to slowly walking through an art installation in a back alley warehouse. There's genius here, of some unholy sort, and beauty is left to the eye of the beholder. Alcazar is far more interested in creating sensations and experiential emotional reactions than in delivering a cohesive narrative or a resonant piece of experimental film; more happy to watch his audience twist and squirm than in offering anyone a foothold or helping hand. Those who find such independent whirlwinds invigorating will no doubt uncover layer after layer of delights in Divinity, while those who yearn for even the faintest hint of more traditional anchor points will struggle. I fell somewhere in between. I didn't exactly struggle but I didn't feel grounded at any point either, despite the fact that the crossover legacies of father and son found a genuine heartstring or two to pluck at the height of their posthumous relationship's poignancy. Thorne, Willis and O'Hearn are weak points, casting gimmicks essentially, though the central players are up to the task, with Dorff sacrificing his all for his craft. And the music, cinematography, jarring shifts of style and random tangent-ing are as hit or miss as the performances. Ultimately, it's too unmoored, too untethered, too adrift to resonate at the profound level it clearly strikes for Alcazar. One thing is for certain: your response to Divinity, whatever it is, will be entirely your own. And maybe, just maybe, that makes it great cinema.

Divinity Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

No surprise here. Divinity's 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation is as challenging to analyze as the film itself. On the surface, black crush, wavering detail levels, stylized bursts of lo-fi standard definition-like interruptions, and an inconsistent grain field that sometimes spikes and falters seemingly at will make for a frustrating, occasionally ugly image. But there's a haunting draw to Alcazar's world, vividly realized by cinematographer Danny Hiele's 16mm black and white photography. There are moments of striking clarity and just as many moments of frustrating darkness, softness and unforgiving delineation. There are sequences that yield rich detail and texture and others that are swarmed by grain and noise. As far as I can tell, though, there wasn't any sign of errant banding, blocking or other encoding issues. This is, for all intents and purposes, Divinity as it was meant to be seen.

Divinity Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Similar ebbs and flows make for an at-times irritating DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround experience as well, although like its video presentation, the original sound design is presumably the culprit. Whether Alcazar is attempting to infuse the film with a dreamlike quality or simply toying with the bounds of modern lossless and Midnight Movie lossy sonics is irrelevant; it adds to the dervish assault on the sense. Key dialogue (if there is such a thing in a largely improvised film with no real script) is intelligible throughout, even if voices are sometimes lost in the chaos of mad science and music, and effects land with punch. LFE output is aggressive and weighty, dynamics are relatively quite good, and rear speaker activity is assertive and engaging. I wouldn't call the soundfield immersive per se (like the film, entry points are difficult to find) but it's definitely involving, with plenty of directional whiz-bangs to keep things lively. Again, it's sometimes a loud, frustrating experience, so bear that in mind. But I assume this is Divinity as it was meant to be heard.

Divinity Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Midnight Movie Is Dead (Audio/HD, 61 minutes) - An audio conversation (or lament, as is probably more accurate) between Divinity writer/director Eddie Alcazar and producer Steven Soderbergh, moderated by Vinegar Syndrome's Justin LaLiberty, that discusses the death, or perhaps reduction, of the Midnight Movie, aka high concept, low budget experimental films. Alcazar and Soderbergh flex their knowledge of cult classics and subgenre treats, and deliver an engaging, informative and even inspirational chat in the process. It's just a shame it's an audio-only extra.

• The Modern Prometheus: Divinity and Speculative Science Fiction (HD, 16 minutes) - This solid video essay by author and film historian Samm Deighan delves into the influences and films that breathed life into Divinity and helped it grow.

• Behind-the-Scenes (SD/HD, 10 minutes) - The film's behind-the-scenes footage is divided into two intentionally lo-fi, VHS-esque standard definition featurettes (presented in 1080p): "Bella" and "Moises".

• Theatrical Trailer

• Sundance Trailer

• Teaser Trailers with Jupiter, Miki and Ogg

• Stills Gallery

• Booklet - Features an essay by Ariel Esteban Cayer.

Divinity Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

An appreciation of experimental film is almost a prerequisite to watching Divinity, so approach with caution, ye of traditional cinematic tastes. Reactions will be all over the map, so forget what anyone says. Go in as blind as possible and see how you feel about Alcazar's father/son epic. Fortunately Vinegar Syndrome's got you covered with a faithful AV presentation and a decent selection of special features.