Myron Clemons
A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Stevieboy666
"One day it started to snow and it never stopped". In the future a new ice age has wiped out most of humanity but there are pockets of survivors living in underground colonies. Three brave men undertake a dangerous mission to another colony only to find butchered bodies and a gang of ruthless cannibals led by a Michael (Hills Have Eyes) Berryman look-a-like.
There seems to be a lot of negativity here. Sure, the CGI isn't great and the film does look more straight to video than cinema release. But I found this Canadian film to be tense, scary, well acted, bleak & it has a great fight scene near the end. Was better than expected.
Dean Gillings
SPOILERS! The first half was very enjoyable. Laurence Fishburne's character's nobleness set against Bill Paxton's character's almost cartoony evil was very promising and well acted by both. A great plot point was introduced where the climate change could be reversed. Then at almost precisely the 50% mark, it turned into what was essentially a zombie film. Nothing was made of Fishburne's and Paxton's characters' animosity, the lead "feral" survived narm levels of violence without any ill effects, people with guns faced up against zombies and waited forever to pull the trigger. It was frustrating to watch. Watch the first half, you've got an 8* movie right there. The second half is 3* at best.
Mac Flagg
NO SPOILERS HERE: A review without a plot summary.How do movies like this get made? I mean, with all the money involved, doesn't someone stop and actually look at the product?Fist off, the script. It must be said that if a plot has to rely on the main characters making a litany of stupid mistakes to move it forward, then its probably not a great, well thought out story to begin with...and that's exactly what we have here with The Colony. There are countless places in the film where the story would have ended abruptly, if only the characters made a good decision. Using character stupidity as a major plot device, in a movie of this genre, is just lazy writing/filmmaking, plain and simple.The script is also ripe with over used horror troupes, which simply fall flat in the modern era of cinema. Audiences have just become to sophisticated for paint-by-numbers suspense for it to cause anxiety, fear, or thrills, simply because it's so predictable. Again, lazy writing/filmmaking.The story also lacks a well defined main theme, whether it be life in an post-apocalyptic earth, a treat from an outside source, or finding salvation. Without direction, the movie as a whole feels empty and meaningless.There is almost no character development. The story is imbalanced, in that, so much time is spent on the journey to and from a location in the film, there's no real time for the audience to get to know and care about the characters. Bill Paxton's character is way underdeveloped and underutilized. Laurence Fishburne's character was only fleshed out enough to be serviceable, but the audience feels not real connection to him, or any of the other characters for that matter. Therefore, it is difficult for the viewer to realty care about any of their fates. Hence, when one of the main characters dies, it carries no emotional impact.The bad force in the film is given no explanation, no back story, and it is very hyperbolic, to the point its almost cartoonish, where it loses its intended impact...especially during the climax if the film.The special effects in the film are only serviceable, as they're just a step above video game quality. This wouldn't have been so bad, if it weren't for the directors Peter Jacksonesque camera sweeps around and above some of the larger digital set pieces.The none of the actors gave memorable performances. Many of the actors seemed to just, "phone it in," as if this film was nothing more than a payday.The cinematography does achieve the feeling of vast openness of the outdoor set pieces. However, the film fails to produce the feeling of true isolation or the claustrophobic effects of living underground.If one could turn back the clock to 1987 and this were a made for TV movie, then it might have been something. But, this film was released in theaters 2013, so it fails to impress. Though, this isn't a film I'd place on the Worst Movies of All Time list, there's nothing worthy about it to make it worth recommending, even if its on Netflix and its a lazy Sunday. There are far better ways to waste your time.
