Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

The Divide Blu-ray Movie Review

Worst case scenario survival.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 1, 2012

Not exactly the Garden of Eden.

For those with their heads buried in the sand, take notice: many believe the world to be on edge, perhaps more so than it has ever been before. Ever wonder why zombies, natural disasters, and dystopian visions of the future are such a huge hit on the screen, within video games, and throughout the world of literature? People are scared. People want to know what might be coming. People want to know how to deal with it, how to accept it, how to survive it, whatever "it" might be. Indeed, the future's as uncertain as it has ever been. Political strife, fears of war, entire first-world nations on the brink of economic collapse, rogue planets supposedly inching their way into the solar system, and even a little thing called the Mayan Calendar and December 21, 2012 have people wondering just what the future might hold, and the outlook certainly isn't all roses. Conspiracy theories are gaining traction, survival books and websites and television shows are all the rage, and firearm and ammunition sales are climbing towards record highs in large part because of, but not exclusive to, the fear of that little four-letter word: doom. But if from "doom" comes anything even remotely resembling Director Xavier Gens' (Hitman) The Divide, well, better to just die right off the bat when the old stinky "S" hits the fan rather than live through the hell on Earth that awaits the foolish and unprepared.

Survivors.

Mickey (Michael Biehn) could probably be described as a "prepper," a man taking every precaution against some unforeseen future event where food and water may become scarce and a closed-off lifestyle away from the outside doom might be preferable to the apocalypse playing out in the world. Mickey's the landlord for a New York apartment building, and his greatest fears are one day brought to fruition. The sky reigns missiles; the city falls under siege, and then the big one hits: a nuclear blast lays waste to the entire area, and only God knows where else. Mickey's built a crude but effective shelter underneath the building, stocking it with enough beans and water and essentials to see him through a good long disaster. But the panic of the moment leads several more bodies through his door. Now, rather than surviving on his own, he's got more mouths to feed, more tempers to cool, more fears to assuage. With the people in, he seals off the door and cuts right to the chase: it's bad out there, opening the door means certain death, and he's not about to let anyone so much as crack it open. But as the initial horror turns to acceptance, acceptance turns to paranoia, and hints of the outside world come trickling in, the survivors begin to lose their sanity, creating their own rules, their own hierarchy, their own apocalypse within the confined walls of Mickey's personal bunker, bringing to life a world just as damned and lost as the one that awaits any soul that unfortunately lives long enough to see it.

The Divide, in essence, showcases what boils down to absolute worst-case scenario survival. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong, which in this case includes surviving the initial event. Insanity, low resources, a closed-off environment, terrible living conditions, uncertainty as to what's happened and what is happening outside and why, and perhaps most important of all, survivors lacking the survivor mindset all lead to unbelievable chaos that's well off the scale even for an end of the world scenario. Basic barbarism and a dwindling of intelligence, not togetherness and smart survival instincts, are the result of people forced together when their world is forever altered in, literally, a flash. The Divide is explicit, grotesque, disturbing, and disgusting. It's truly more horrific than bombs and bullets; to see the spiritual and emotional slowly rotted away proves much more disturbing than the quick destruction of the flesh. The picture creates unspeakable tension and atmosphere so thick the audience can almost taste and smell it, not just see it. This is one of the most brutal, bleak, and hopeless movies ever made. It offers absolutely no entertainment value save for the most sadistic audiences, but it does serve as something of a wake-up call to at least make its audience stop and think about how to prevent such a rapid spiral towards unspeakable hell when hell itself manifests on Earth.

From a thematic perspective, the picture proves infinitely disturbing but at the same time endlessly captivating. Whether soaking in the environment that is the bunker, taking in the horrors of the opening minutes, or desperately looking on as order yields instant chaos and a gradual descent into something far worse, The Divide never loses its audience, no matter how bad things get, which turns the story takes, how far into despair it travels. The opening moments of pure fear as people push and shove -- no, instinctually trample -- others in an effort to survive as the world literally crumbles around them may very well be the most terrifying single moment in post-apocalyptic filmmaking history. Certainly nobody really knows what might happen in the case of all-out nuclear attack on a major modern city, but if the result is any less intense than the sheer pandemonium that is the opening seconds of The Divide, then there may be a hope for humanity after the fact. The movie successfully makes the audience a member of the survival group. The fear of the unknown haunts the characters and the viewer simultaneously, and as the fear of the known within the confines of Mickey's bunker slowly trumps the fear of the unknown outside of it, the picture draws its audience in even more tightly, concerned only with escaping one hell, even if it means entry into another. The picture is well made and surprisingly well acted. Michael Biehn is certainly no stranger to post-apocaplyptic filmmaking, previously starring in The Terminator and playing several scenes in a world that's different but certainly just as hellish and hopeless as this. The remainder of the cast gives it a full-on go, diving headfirst into the lowest rungs of humanity and selling the viewer completely on the dire circumstances that shape one of the most relentless and unforgiving movies certainly since The Road and throughout the history of dystopian cinema.

The Divide Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Divide's 1080p Blu-ray transfer is murky and lifeless, which reflects the original source and stylings. It's as bleak and hopeless as the movie, not quite as dead as The Road but close to it. Gray is the order of the day. Gray walls, gray tiles, and nearly colorless clothes are the rule, and even the good old Stars and Stripes appears as pale as ever. Only fiery explosions seen at the beginning of the movie offer any sort of vibrancy. Fine detail, however, is strong, even through the dull colors and lifeless backdrop. Skin textures are visibly complex, and the image picks up and displays all of the dirt, worn-down bricks and stone, rusted odds and ends, and filthy tiles with ease. The picture is naturally sharp and accentuated by a modernly heavy grain structure. Only a handful of shots ever stray towards a soft or pasty look. Black levels are fine, never too destructive to surrounding details, and skin tones reflect the worn down color structure. The image isn't pretty, and it's not meant to be. This specific look plays a significant role in shaping the movie's atmosphere, and it's reflected accurately on Anchor Bay's Blu-ray disc.

The Divide Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Divide's Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless soundtrack proves sonically intense and emotionally chilling. As the film opens, a great sense of chaos fills the soundstage. Missiles fly through the air, explosions pound the listening area, a building begins to collapse, and frightened people stampede down a staircase in search of somewhere to hide. The chaos absolutely surrounds the listener, the deep, constant rumbles creating a fearful atmosphere. The din comes across as a little unkempt, and the low end becomes a hair rattly, but it seems a more jumbled presentation suits the scene nicely. Once in the bunker, the rumbles continue and largely remain throughout the movie. That heavy sense of foreboding and uncertainty lingers, and even as the listener becomes accustomed to its presence, the effect remains chilling and deep. Additionally, the track spreads around all sorts of little sonic nuances. It doesn't matter what they are -- some are easily identified and others not -- but the sum total and absolute immersive sensation is a real highlight and sonic treat, even if the sensation is largely built on fear rather than clean and friendly sound effects. Music plays smoothly and with adequate clarity and spacing, but again the bottom end comes across as somewhat rattly. Dialogue is center-focused and crisp. This is one of the more constantly-active soundtracks out there; the chaos might mean that absolute clarity isn't the order of the day, but the total effect is startlingly intense.

The Divide Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Other than the film's trailer (1080p, 1:51) and a DVD copy on disc two, The Divide contains only an audio commentary track with Director Xavier gens and Actors Michael Biehn, Michael Eklund, and Milo Ventimiglia. The participants jump straight in, discussing the process of shooting the opening scenes. They follow by speaking on the length of the shoot, the score, cut scenes, the work of the cast, the director's style, the film's gore and violence, the picture's structure and plot, and more. Gans' comments are a little more straightforward while the actors serve up a little more light and anecdotal commentary. The end result is a track that's both fun and informative. Fans of the film will want to give it a listen.

The Divide Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Simply stated, The Divide will frighten most every audience that gazes its way. The picture is endlessly brutal and absolutely unforgiving. It wreaks havoc on the mind more so than the body as its characters turn a safe zone into a living nightmare worse than anything that may be the realities of the world that nuclear holocaust suddenly and forcibly made them leave behind. If nothing else, The Divide may awaken figuratively sleeping audiences into the need to at least consider their world and look deep within themselves and decide how far they may fall or how tall they may stand in the face of absolute chaos, disaster, and despair. The film isn't for anyone without an iron will to see it through, but those audiences will be rewarded with an almost one-of-a-kind experience. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of The Divide offers quality video, strong audio, but only one extra of note. Despite the disappointing absence of a more thorough supplemental collection, The Divide comes highly recommended.