The Divide

  • Review Date: January 12, 2012
  • R
  • Genre: Thriller
  • 2012
Review

Common Sense Media says

Grim, unpleasant, gruesome nuclear holocaust thriller.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

AGE
9
QUALITY
 

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that The Divide is an unpleasant, incredibly gruesome nuclear holocaust movie in which survivors slowly turn on one another and sink into degradation. It's filled with blood, gore, humiliation, torture, beatings, and a constant sense of fear and dread. A consensual sexual relationship between adults eventually turns into sexual slavery, followed by rape. Language is also very strong and frequent, with constant use of words like "f--k," "s--t," and "p---y," and characters occasionally smoke and drink. For those interested in the nuclear holocaust genre, something like The Road would be better worth your time.

  • Positive messages0
    In this very grim, hopeless movie, all human relations fall apart after a disaster, with virtually every character betraying, killing, or brutalizing someone else.
  • Positive role models0
    The main female character, Eva, shows some civility, kindness, and empathy through most of the movie, but even she eventually succumbs to degradation.
  • Violence5
    In addition to beatings, shootings, dead bodies, gurgling blood, and gore, The Divide has rape, torture, humiliation, severed fingers, and the chopping up of decaying bodies. A little girl is kidnapped; children are also seen shaved and experimented upon and stuck in hibernation chambers. There's a sense of fear and dread around nuclear fallout; the characters grow sicker and more horrific looking as the movie goes on. And the tone of all this is realistic, mean, and hopeless, rather than thrilling in any way.
  • Sex5
    At first a female character willingly engages in sex with a male character, but their relationship soon degrades into violence (sexual and physical). There's also some innuendo and "girlie pictures" pinned to the walls of the basement.
  • Language5
    Constant very strong language includes multiple uses of "f--k," "s--t," and "p---y," plus fewer uses of "ass," "a--hole," "c--k," "goddamn," "c--t," and "faggot."
  • Consumerism0
    Not applicable.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking1
    A main character smokes cigars. Other characters occasionally smoke cigarettes and take swigs from bottles of booze (whisky?).
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What's the story?

As a nuclear bomb drops, a band of humans races down into the basement of an apartment building, where the super, Mickey (Michael Biehn), has prepared a stockpile of food and survival tools. At first they hope for survival -- but instead they're attacked by men in radiation suits, who kidnap a little girl. After that, the group falls apart, slowly turning on one another and slipping into degradation, chaos, and violent struggles for power. Only one among them, Eva (Lauren German), seems to have enough heart to survive.

Is it any good?

 

Though nuclear holocaust movies are grim and depressing as a rule, it's certainly possible to make good movies in the genre, like 2009's The Road. But THE DIVIDE aims for a dark, cutthroat tone, focusing on exploitation elements without the thrills that are usually involved. The result is both extremely dismal and extremely uncomfortable.

The characters consist of a bunch of standard-issue types that are easily manipulated into conflict without much challenge or depth. Only Rosanna Arquette as a grieving mother seems to go the extra mile. Director Xavier Gens lets his camera restlessly roam the basement corridors without much else to do, and the effect is like pacing; it's tense, but in a bad way. Finally, at 122 minutes, the movie is needlessly, relentlessly, torturously long. Bottom line? Avoid this at all costs.

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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about The Divide's brutal, gruesome violence. Is it necessary to the story? How else could this movie have made its point?

  • Is there any glimmer of hope in this story? Is it possible for kindness and empathy to win the day over savagery?

  • Eva is arguably the most likable character here; do you consider her a role model?

  • How does the movie portray sex? What message does that send to viewers?

This review was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Kid, 11 years old
January 13, 2012
AGE
2
 
Ok
Ok, you asked for it. One more featured hated movie, I'm leaving CSM forever. Wanna lose a user? Put up another badly reviewed movie for the six zillionth dozen time!
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Helped me decide (13) | Had useful details (14) | Read my mind (15)
Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
January 14, 2012
AGE
18
 
SOOOOOOO INAPPROPRIATE!
SO MUCH DEATH!!! There is rape, tourture, mutalation and pretty much everything else in this movie! It is sooo good, but I have been mentally scarred!
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Helped me decide (13) | Had useful details (12) | Read my mind (11)
Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 13 years old
January 14, 2012
AGE
16
 
THUMBS UP TO PEENUT2K7!!!!
NOT FOR KIDS?WHAT THE???this dosent even contain anything bad that would get a not for kids!!at least iffy 16!wtf!i saw this with my dad(had to,bcuz it's R) on opening weekend and we were both laughing like it was a comedy.mpaa is rubbish!i know I felt sick and wanted to throw up during the torture and rape,but come on,why is it not for kids?WHYYYYYYY???because you people are just spoiling parent's impression of the film?!?
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This review was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Studio:Anchor Bay Entertainment
Director:Xavier Gens
Cast:Lauren German, Michael Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia
Genre:Thriller
Run time:121 minutes
Theatrical release date:January 13, 2012
DVD release date:April 17, 2012
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:disturbing strong violence and sexuality, and for pervasive language
This review was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
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