The Divide (2011 film)

The Divide is a post-apocalyptic horror film[2] directed by Xavier Gens[3] and written by Karl Mueller and Eron Sheean.[4] It stars Michael Biehn, Lauren German, Milo Ventimiglia and Rosanna Arquette.[5] The Divide premiered at the SXSW festival in March 2011 and was released in theaters in the United States on January 13, 2012. It has a 25% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was released on DVD in the United States on April 17, 2012.

The Divide
Theatrical release poster
Directed byXavier Gens
Produced byRoss M. Dinerstein
Darryn Welch
Nathaniel Rollo
Written byKarl Mueller
Eron Sheean
Starring
Music byJean-Pierre Taieb
CinematographyLaurent Barès
Edited byCarlo Rizzo
Production
company
Preferred Content
Instinctive Film
Julijette Inc
Distributed byAnchor Bay Films
Release date
  • March 13, 2011 (2011-03-13) (SXSW)
  • January 13, 2012 (2012-01-13) (United States)
Running time
122 minutes
Country
  • United States
  • Germany
  • Canada
  • France
LanguageEnglish
Box office$130,839[1]

Plot

As nuclear explosions ravage New York City, residents of an apartment block rush downstairs to escape from the building, only to be forced into the basement by further explosions. Only eight of the residents – Eva and her boyfriend Sam, Josh and his brother Adrien, Josh's friend Bobby, Marilyn and her daughter Wendi, and Devlin – manage to force their way into the building's bomb shelter before the superintendent, Mickey, seals the door. The group acclimatises to the cramped surroundings while Mickey asserts his dominance over the shelter and its denizens, much to the chagrin of Josh, Bobby, and Devlin. After some time, the shelter's door is broken open and the shelter is invaded by armed soldiers in biohazard suits; the men's speech is unintelligible and their allegiance remains ambiguous. The men attack the group and seize Wendi, leaving the shelter with her. Devlin and Mickey manage to kill three of the men and Mickey takes a rifle. Josh volunteers to use one of the dead soldiers' suits to leave the shelter and search for Wendi.

Outside of the shelter, Josh finds the area entirely sealed off by plastic sheet tunnels connected to a laboratory. Josh's outfit allows him to explore the lab, where he discovers several unconscious children, including Wendi, in stasis units, their hair shaved off and their eyes bandaged. One of the soldiers checks the ID on Josh's suit and, realizing he is an imposter, tears out his breathing apparatus, exposing Josh to the air. Josh flees back to the shelter, killing two of the soldiers on the way. After Josh returns, the soldiers weld the door shut from the outside, trapping everyone within. Time passes; Josh begins to suffer the effects of the radiation and admits to Adrien that he only went outside to find rescue for Adrien and himself. Eva, in a fractured relationship with the meek Sam, grows closer to Adrien. Bobby volunteers to hack up the bodies of the dead soldiers so their decaying remains can be thrown into the toilet's septic tank. Devlin grows suspicious that Mickey is hoarding resources. Marilyn, having been told by Josh that Wendi is dead, enters into a sexual relationship with Bobby.

Marilyn attempts to convince Eva to sleep with Josh, warning her that the men will want sex. The group grows increasingly angry with Mickey as resources grow scarce, culminating when Devlin discovers Mickey's locked safe room and threatens to taser him if he does not open it. A struggle ensues and Mickey shoots Devlin in the head with the rifle. The group does not believe Mickey's argument of self-defense, and an increasingly ill Josh, and an increasingly deranged Bobby, torture him to gain the code to the safe room. Eva throws the rifle down the toilet to stop Josh using it. Seizing authority, Josh and Bobby are physically and emotionally abusive of Marilyn. Josh makes it clear that he wants Eva, and Sam is unable to stand up for her. Eva and Sam try to protect Marilyn from Josh and Bobby, but are unable to. While Eva is tasked with watching Mickey, Mickey reveals that there is a gun hidden in his safe room.

Josh and Bobby force Eva to hack up Devlin's corpse when Sam cannot, leaving Eva distraught. Josh and Bobby, both losing their hair to radiation sickness, shave their heads. Mickey informs Eva that there is another way out of the shelter, through the septic tank to the sewer. Eva tries to retrieve the gun, but cannot get past the pair. She finds Marilyn's corpse, the two having beaten her to death. Eva notices her hair is falling out and realizes she is also sick; the shelter is not protecting them from the outside because of the broken door. Eva sends Sam to retrieve the gun while she cuts the power to distract Bobby and lures Josh away with the promise of sex. Josh grows suspicious and tries to rape Eva, but she fights him off with help from Adrien. Sam retrieves the gun, but as Bobby, Josh, Eva, and Adrien yell instructions at him to give the gun to them, Sam shoots and kills Adrien, perhaps as a result of jealousy over Eva's affections for Adrien. Josh brutally beats Sam. Bobby turns on Josh and is about to shoot him when Eva cuts his throat with a tin can lid. Eva frees Mickey, who shoots Josh. On his last action, Josh smashes an oil lamp, setting himself alight and causing a fire in the shelter. While Sam and Mickey attempt to put out the blaze, Eva chooses to escape. Eva recovers the biohazard suit and locks herself into the safe room, leaving Mickey and Sam trapped inside the burning shelter.

Breaking through the toilet into the septic tank below, Eva drops into the tank and finds a ladder to the street. She emerges into the remains of the city and stares blankly at the total devastation.

Cast

Production

The film is based on a script by the screenwriting duo of Karl Mueller and Eron Sheean.[6] Director Xavier Gens cast Lauren German, Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Biehn and Rosanna Arquette in leading roles for the film.[7] The film was shot in the Millennium Centre and the Manitoba Production Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[8]

Release

The Divide was released theatrically by Content Films.[9] After its premiere at Austin's South by Southwest Film Festival,[10] the U.S. rights were quickly picked up by Anchor Bay.[11]

Reception

The film has a 25% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes and an average rating of 4.1/10 based on 53 reviews.[12] Nigel Floyd of Time Out wrote, "Its nihilism feels cynical rather than authentically bleak, and the increasingly histrionic scenes start to resemble an indulgent actors' workshop that has spun out of control."[13] David DeWitt of The New York Times wrote that the film is well-made and has good performances, but it "fails miserably" because the only reason to continue watching it is to see how depraved the characters become.[14]

Soundtrack

The score was composed by guitarist and music producer Jean-Pierre Taieb.[15]

References
  1. "The Divide".
  2. "Massive Synopsis and New Sales Art for 'The Divide'". BloodyDisgusting.
  3. "First Image: Xavier Gens' The Divide". DreadCentral.
  4. "Casting News For Xavier Gens' The Divide". DreadCentral.
  5. "Cast Revealed for Xavier Gens' The Divide". Shock Till You Drop. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  6. "Xavier Gens' Apocalypse 'The Divide' Encompasses Genre Cast". BloodyDisgusting.
  7. Matt Goldberg. "Casting Call: Tucci and Gugino in MARGIN CALL; Ventimiglia joins THE DIVIDE; Brosnan, Thornton, Bello, and Ribisi for ST. VINCENT". Collider.
  8. Todd Brown. "Xavier Gens Ushers In The End Of The World With The Divide—now with trailer below!". Twitch. Archived from the original on 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  9. Updated IMDb The Divide
  10. Amy Curtis. "SXSW Film Festival 2011: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly". We Got This Covered.
  11. Fernandez, Jay A. (15 March 2011). "SXSW: Anchor Bay Acquires U.S. Rights to Dark Thriller 'The Divide'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  12. The Divide – Rotten Tomatoes, Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  13. Floyd, Nigel. "The Divide". Time Out. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  14. Dewitt, David (January 12, 2012). "The Divide, directed by Xavier Gems". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  15. "ContentFilm :: The Divide". Archived from the original on 2010-11-21. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
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