The Colony

SPOILER: I was surprised to find how low grade this film received, since I found it be very good actually. With a low budget of what it had to deal with it turned out very good.

It deals with post apocalyptic colony underground while it is constantly snowing outside. It is showing very well how people turn into animals in self defense. We had a similar situation in Sarajevo in 1992-1995. When society fails, community is either doomed or it receives help from outside. Since in this film there was no help from outside even the remnants of the civilization left in the colony were attacked by a gang of cannibals.

If you like sci fi post apocalyptic films this one is for you.

I hadn't even read the synopsis for the movie before picking it up at the local secondhand DVD store. All I saw was what looked like an arctic disaster movie and one that had both Bill Paxton and Laurence Fishburne on the cast list.

Director Jeff Renfroe manages to start out with a rather impressive feat of establishing a very interesting setting and a fair story, along with some detailed characters. But that all changed to the worse and the movie fell into mediocrity once it was revealed what had happened to the inhabitants of the neighboring colony. I just didn't like that approach to the story one bit, it was just ludicrous.

I liked the arctic setting of the movie, and the visual effects department did manage to make it look realistic and that did a lot for the movie. Because if a movie like this had poor effects and CGI it would just collapse like a poorly constructed card house.

Kevin Zegers didn't really have what it took to deliver in this movie, and as such then he wasn't a strong main actor for the movie, which did slow down the movie a bit. He is usually an adequate actor, but didn't really pull it off in "The Colony". It was without a doubt Bill Paxton who were the one carrying the movie, despite having only a secondary role in the movie. Laurence Fishburne was there simply because he is Laurence Fishburne.

It was a shame that director Jeff Renfroe opted for that approach to the incident of the neighboring colony, because it was a severe crippling blow to the movie. "The Colony" had potential, but it was abruptly cut down by the direction in which the story went.

Interesting atmosphere, solid set of actors, good opening of movie which draws you somewhat in, waiting what will happen next.

Solid graphics...

Film moves on and somewhere in the end of first third of it, CUT!.

Its like somebody came in to the set and said: "Wrap it up guys, we are closing!".

End is terrible, and over all everything that happens in first part of the movie is blown in the rest of the movie.

Nothing special, already seen, and definitely not gonna see it again. Not even recommended.

Its like short B-movie based on a short survival comic book story. Like I said i don't see what they where thinking, or what went wrong and who is a guilty party.

Graphics, actors, set, atmosphere, story, it all holds separately as parts of good movie but all together just fails terribly.

Nice Sci-fi with the usual concept : several people struggling for survival . Passable dystopian tale with loads of violence, action , fights , and turns . Groups of people - colonies - are forced underground due to another ice age . Colony 7 is formed by a group of survivors (Zegers , Fishburne, Bill Paxton , Atticus Mitchell , Lisa Berry , Lucius Hoyos, John Tench) . In order to survive they plan an expedition to find supplies and other survivors . A little team goes to check on Colony 5 , which they lost contact with . When the group (Kevin Zegers as Sam , Laurence Fishburne as Briggsget) arrives there , they will be forced to make difficult choices about sacrifice , courage, allegiance to get their final destination . As they find that the colony has fallen and there is a whole new enemy that they have to face on their way back and they have to make impossible decision about themselves and their companions at Colony 17 . As they face dangerous challenges after another as they unlock the truth about the past and ultimately the future of his world . When the world changes the rules of survival change with it .When the earth froze, the rules of survival changed forever.One day, it started to snow, and it never stopped.

It's a standard but also original Science Fiction movie with no much sense where there is suspense , thriller , getaways and pursuits , frenetic action , crossfire , struggles , explosions , violence , cannibalism , plot holes and characterization enough . Thrilling rendition that picks up every mote of bleak despair of a story by Patrick Tarr in which a group of unfortunate people are forced underground by the next ice age, as a struggling outpost of survivors battle to preserve humanity against a threat even more savage than nature . Highlights of the movie are the creepy encounter with the ominous creatures and the breathtaking battle on the iron bridge. This ¨The Colony¨ movie is a sci-fi , action and drama that contains trills , chills , high body-count and overwhelming state-of-art FX . Set in an unknown future when the global warming has caused a new Ice age , as the entire world is frozen except for those are hidden underground .Stars Larry Fishburne and Kevin Zegers giving an acceptable acting as the brave fighters who take desperate , risked choices to protect the ones they love , as well as they must confront unexpected and brutal enemies . Support cast is decent such as : Bill Paxton , Charlotte Sullivan, Atticus ,Viergever, John Tench, among others.

The picture contains a colorful but dark cinematography by Pierre Gill , it was mostly filmed in North American Aerospace Defense Command , base in North Bay, Ontario, Canada . As well as sinister production design has been rendered with meticulous attention to a futurist detail . And a thrilling and adjusted to action musical score by Jeff Danna . The motion picture was professionally directed Jeff Renfroe . Jeff is a craftsman who has made a few films , such as : Civic Duty , One Point O , He loves me . And he has directed several episodes of notorious series as Houdini y Doyle , Remedy ,Dominion, Rogue , Killjoys , Haven , Reign , Cardinal , The Hardy Boys , Bad Blood , Beauty and the Beast, The art of more , Being human , and several others. Rating 6/10. Acceptable and passable .The flick will appeal to Science Fiction enthusiasts.

While I do believe the story line here had tremendous potential, hence the reason I went to see 'The Colony' in the first place, the whole experience truly was a let down. The plot line was far too predictable and reminiscent of '30 Days of Night' which was a far superior cinematic experience for the genre.

'The Colony' left many unanswered questions from beginning to end, like how the climate truly turned so cold based on man-made weather stations to the point in the movie where it seemed this effect was being reversed. By the end of the film I hoped we'd get some answers on that score but that was left hanging.

And of course what led to the entire break down of civilization as a whole which is the underlying story of this movie beyond the clichéd explanation that people will do almost anything under great stress doesn't go far enough.

I think in the end I was looking for a more intelligent film which is what actors like Laurence Fishburne and Bill Paxton have brought to projects in the past, I'm a little surprised they agreed to do this film on the script alone.

4 Stars