The Divide

When a nuclear strike hits Manhattan, terrified residents of an apartment building push and shove each other in a frantic dash to the basement, which Mickey (Michael Biehn) the janitor converted into an underground bomb shelter following 9/11. Quickly taking command, Mickey orders the door bolted, allowing no one to leave until the danger of radiation has passed. Of course, he's confronted by a motley assortment of egocentric individuals, including troublemaker Josh (Milo Ventimiglia), his stepbrother Adrien (Ashton Holmes), and enterprising Devlin (Courtney B. Vance), who's determined to make outside contact via two-way radio. Plus, there's bullying Bobby (Michael Eklund) and passive Sam (Iván Gonzáles). On the distaff side, there's Marilyn (Rosanna Arquette), protecting her whining daughter, Wendy (Abbey Thickson), and Eva (Lauren German), Sam's level-headed wife. Trapped for days with no hope of rescue, the survivors grow increasingly helpless as supplies of canned food and bottled water dwindle—ultimately turning on one another to inflict both physical and psycho-sexual torment. As they perish one-by-one, The Divide's sole mystery becomes who (if anyone) will ultimately emerge from the bunker. Working from an incoherent script, French filmmaker Xavier Gens stumbles with this bleak, low-budget, sci-fi thriller, failing to establish empathetic characters or sustain claustrophobic suspense before serving up a disappointing conclusion. What Gens chooses to dwell on instead is the graphic, violent horror of human desperation and debasement, involving sadism, torture, dismemberment, rape, and murder. A depraved, repugnant film, this is not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include an audio commentary by director Xavier Gens, and actors Michael Biehn, Michael Eklund, and Milo Ventimiglia, and a trailer. Bottom line: a small extras package for an ugly film.] (S. Granger)