We dare you to watch this post-apocalyptic flick till the end!

In this 2011 Canadian flick a handful of New York tenants are forced to seek shelter in the basement of their apartment building when the city is attacked with nuclear bombs. As resources dwindle and cabin fever takes its toll tempers flare and conflict rise as they descend into violence and savagery.

The real danger isn’t the mysterious invaders or creeping radiation sickness but themselves it seems. “L’enfer, c’est les autres” as the man said . . .

What we liked:

- It is all rather unremittingly grim. Like watching one of those elaborate ‘Seventies social behavioral experiments designed to illustrate how crap human nature is. (For that they only had to consult a history book you know.) This is Lord of the Flies territory all right . . .

- Don’t be put off by the fact that this movie is directed by Xavier Gens, who also directed the lame ass movie adap of Hitman. Unlike most modern movies The Divide actually has something to say even though that something is rather pessimistic and negative.

- Gens does a good job at opening up the action despite the claustrophobic setting (most of the movie takes place in the apartment building’s underground basement). Tension is sustained throughout and even the scenes meant to relay boredom doesn’t bore.

- Acting is decent especially Michael Biehn who protected Sarah Connor from the Terminator back in 1984. Biehn never became a star but here he is excellent as the misanthropic janitor Mickey. Another 1980s star appearing in The Divide is Rosanna Arquette.

What we didn’t like:

- It is all rather unremittingly grim. And not a lot of fun either. Do we need to be told how cack humanity is in our entertainment or don’t we get enough of that in our daily news headlines?

- The movie is very violent and disturbing. It is not for everyone and at times it feels as if it challenging you to keep on watching. I know many people who won’t sit it out. Sensitive viewers should beware.

- The characters aren’t very pleasant or likeable.

- People do dumb things to advance the plot, which is rather infuriating.

- Some plot aspects make no sense such as [BEGIN SPOILERS] the foreign soldiers that pitch up halfway throughout the movie. They are there to harvest human organs? Of radioactive bomb victims? Really? [END SPOILERS]