User reviews

Saw this at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

"Divinity" is a story about two mysterious brothers, who abduct a mogul during his quest for immortality. Meanwhile, a seductive woman helps them launch a journey of self-discovery. Director Eddie Alcazar clearly takes influence on films like Lynch and strange art-house science fiction stories and with this being his first feature-length film, there are some great aspects to it.

There are some weird stuff happening. The black and white colors, sound designs, and visuals are very interesting and great. The performances from the cast is interesting as the performances feel kind of weird or dull but I think it was intentional for the setting. It has a surprising cast and for the whole cast, they do a pretty good job on playing their strange roles. I don't mind strange films like these as they are one of the types of genre of filmmaking that I enjoy seeing.

The main narrative is a bit strange and while it's very ambitious, the ambitious tone and presentation takes away from some of the writing elements as the writing elements at points felt underdeveloped or unfocused of what the intentions of the film wants to be. Some of the dialogue moments were pretty rough. The third act does start to feel a bit too silly at times which takes away some of the tension.

Overall, it's definitely ambitious and a very strange type of film to watch. It's no where near one of my favorites on weird art-house films but there are some cool ideas that felt original.

Rating: B-

If you wish you lived in a parallel universe where in the early 1990s, Paul Verhoeven had smoked a lot of weed, then made a low-budget black and white mashup of Eraserhead, Crimes of the Future (1970), and How to Talk to Girls at Parties, Divinity will likely be your dream made flesh. Lumpy, misshapen flesh, covered in grotesque goo.

If even one of those elements gives you mixed or negative feelings, Divinity will probably not be your cup of tea. This is not a film like Aliens or Barbie, with so many different well-made elements that just about anyone will enjoy the experience. Divinity is (metaphorically, not literally) a Masters of the Universe (1987), Tokyo Gore Police, or Revenge of the Ninja (1983). If it's not exactly on your wavelength, your experience (like mine) will probably be similar to seeing a Facebook ad for a supposed medical device that clearly has off-label purposes you're not interested in. You might (like me) appreciate that it was made with love and has a good cast (Scott Bakula in particular), but you will probably be bemused by the experience as a whole.

It struggles to be an artsy presentation but fails. Bakula's performance is good. That is the only good point, and the only reason I give 4 stars. I do not give points for effort when the production directing efforts seem to be more about how to make it as cheaply as possible while pretending it is an artsy film. The black and white is extremely poor quality throughout the entire film, grainy and unwatchable, as if that is supposed to make me appreciate this more. Put it in color and teach the actors how to deliver lines, I'd give it a better score. But, they obviously wanted it presented this way, and thought people would love it. The actors (other than Bakula) each move and speak as if they were born without emotioin, live without emotion, and die without emotion. WAKE UP. If people were really like this - they wouldn't CARE about living forever.

Starts out okay while you wonder what is going on.... but once you piece the story together you can't stop looking at the horrible practical effects. By the time you are ready to see the story move to the next level, you are all of a sudden watching a claymation celebrity death match with horrible stop-motion... the only way to truly understand the crap ending this movie has, is to sit through it yourself. We are left with a horrible mess of a film that leans too heavily on 50 year old film tropes to help trod along this story's narrative. The filmmaker got lost somewhere along with way with this movie, as the very ending makes no real sense. Though I'm sure there are people who will come up with their own explanation and say "see, this us what he meant". But no no, he was actually just confused.

Divinity (2023) is a science fiction movie produced by Steven Soderbergh and it was certainly an experience.

Positives for Divinity (2023): The movie looks fantastic with the black and white cinematography and it feels very old school. The performances from the cast are good enough for what the movie asks from them. There are moments where you get some artsy imagery sprinkled throughout the movie. And finally, the movie achieves its main goal with its plot even if not everything worked for me.

Negatives for Divinity (2023): The movie is a little too weird and artsy for me. There are scenes where I was scratching my head in confusion because I didn't know what was happening. The movie is very small paced, but in a way that felt forced by the filmmakers. And finally, this is a movie that I won't be rewatching anytime soon.

Overall, Divinity (2023) is a movie that won't be for everyone, but I'm happy that I did watch it because it was an experience that I will remember.

Fantastic visuals, numbing story to the brain. While I do appreciate the straightforward allegories that were apparent, it seemed like this movie was relying on the visuals to save it. The story is super simple with overarching metaphors involved, yet, it seemed like certain scenes were missing it. The pacing was super off, but the visuals almost make up for it. Every shot looks like a charcoal pencil drawing that just adds to the nature of the film. Great concepts, yet not expansive to the point where I feel the lore could be elaborated on. I recommend solely for the visuals and set design, yet it's not much of a pleasing story.

I watched Divinity (2023) in theaters this evening. The storyline delves into a futuristic society where a new serum grants immortality, but at the cost of rendering people unable to have children. When the serum's creator is kidnapped one night, it raises questions about the secrets he holds that led to these actions.

Directed and written by Eddie Alcazar (Perfect) and starring Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap), Stephen Dorff (Blade), Bella Thorne (Blended), Karrueche Tran (Claws) and Caylee Cowan (Willy's Wonderland).

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It evoked shades of several other films such as Infinity Pool, Logan's Run Sin City, and Equilibrium. It's a clever and unique addition to the science fiction/horror genre, with an excellent villain transformation sequence that casts a shadow over the entire film. The concept is highly original, and the setup is intriguing. The film boasts some intense fight and bite scenes, with one fight sequence that I enjoyed but had to deduct points for. 😂 However, the absolute ending is pure science fiction gold.

In summary, Divinity is a movie that will likely find its passionate admirers and harsh critics, but as a fan of new science fiction concepts, I thought it was worthwhile. I would rate it a 8/10 and strongly recommend it.

It would seem the movie Divinity is what you get when a writer/director envisions what his movie should look like, but forgets a plot and script. Looking like some grainy B&W 1950's sci/fi horror film, a genuine sci-fi from the 1950s, even the bad ones, would be more entertaining than this. The story here seems to be about some elixir that can bring eternal life, but told with little dialogue, none of it matters. Actors , who seem to have been called upon to just show up, act poorly as they seem to have little to do which falls upon the writer/director of this fiasco. And while the look of the film is interesting for the first 10 minutes, it soon becomes monotonous. The way a film looks is never going to replace a great script and interesting story.

While watching this movie it reminded me of Tetsuo Iron Man. The themes of body modification and technology overtaking the core of what it means to be human. Some scenes also reminded me of a bad b-movie like something from an Ed Wood 50s sci-fi or even Neil Breen. There were definitely things I hadn't seen in a while like stop motion animation techniques in place of CGI. It feels like a breath of fresh air at this point where we are just inundated with things that look the same. It is not going to be everyone's cup of tea but if you like Ray Harryhausen, Tetsuo: Iron Man, cheesy sci-fi movies, you may like this.

Divinity is a very stylized, black and white sci-fi/horror adjacent/thriller. Destined to be divisive, but very much worth checking out if the trailer peaked your interest.

The film is very strange but I was never lost. There is a clear and defined plot that isn't convoluted. The acting is rough around the edges, the dialogue is not polished, but in many ways this contributes to the style of the film.

That's not to say this movie is "so bad it's good." The style will not work for everyone though. The one thing that is inarguable is the movie's ability to stay cemented in your brain. This is a movie that I don't believe will leave your mind so quick like a big budget Hollywood film.

Is this movie empty, vapid and all style over substance? Is it a deep and meaningful reflection about what humans value? For me, somewhere in between but nonetheless a very entertaining film.

Divinity will definitely find its audience but it still isn't the next Blade Runner. Check it out.

Eddie Alcazar's Divinity is one of those hyper-experimental films where you're either joyously in or vehemently out in the first few frames, the sort of cosmically unhinged arthouse scifi-shocker madness that filmmakers like Panos Cosmatos or Alejandro Jodorowsky traffic in. This type of work is so insanely stylized, visually blown out and structurally impenetrable they're really not for everyone but if it's your thing, you'll know it. Stephen Dorff plays the half mad heir to a pseudoscientific cosmetics corporation founded by his guru father (Scott Bakula, of all people) that specializes in life extension techniques with some, shall we say, mildly egregious side effects. When he's kidnapped by two radicals with a murky agenda and force-fed a gargantuan dose of his own formula, he begins to... change and the decision to shoot him up with it backfires spectacularly. Elsewhere, his odd bodybuilder brother (played by that super jacked influencer guy from all those great slow motion memes with the slowed down version of "baby don't hurt me" in the background) ponders his absence and launches a hilariously theatrical rescue mission. There's a healthy dose of gooey body horror as Dorff transforms into something monstrous, an extended cameo from Bella Thorne who has still not learned to read a line without sounding just so awkward and it all culminates in a visually delicious stop motion animation battle that would make Ray Harryhausen proud. This kind of thing will always inevitably get accused of being style over substance and, well, I'm a style man myself so my response to that is when you have style this good, the style *is* the substance and you really don't need much else to make it work. Aesthetic is everything, as they say. Well, as I say. This works, if you're in the mood for something thoroughly weird, like a cassette futurism nightmare with a stark black and white palette and berserk full moon energy that doesn't let up.

Saw a track by a band I follow that was called "Inspired by Divinity". The movie poster was quite peculiar, so this got me to watching the movie. Knew nothing about it, so was surprised that it turned out to be quite an interesting experience. There is also some connection to Soderbergh, who believed in the director - Eddie Alcazar and helped to make the film.

So, the cast is great. The look of the film - grainy black and white is mostly great, if you like that sort of thing. The setting - the mystery of the universe, the quest for immortality (this is not a spoiler - all this becomes apparent in the first 2-3 minutes of the movie) - well, what's not to like.

The movie is a cross between an old experimental movie of an auteur director and a first student picture. It doesn't look bad and there are quite a few famous faces on the screen, and acting is at a very good professional level. Given the setting of the film, there are lots of pretty faces and fit bodies, which is also a plus.

What's left to evaluate is the story. It starts pretty good, not too original, but given the visuals and great soundtrack it flows nicely. There are some puzzles to be answered, the plot is not convoluted and is actually easy to follow, which again, for an arthouse movie is a big plus. Everything goes down the drain in the last 15-20 minutes. The third act is so unintentionally silly, it made me laugh out loud several times. There is a fight scene that uses some technique invented by the Director, and it was just the eclipse of silliness for me, watching something that conspicuously looks like clay animation throws any dramatic effect out of the window.

After watching the film I've read that the Director didn't have a script when filming the movie. So, maybe that was the problem. Or there was not enough talent to make the story transcend the banal and say something new.

Still, as the movie is only 1.5 hrs, and I enjoyed the visuals and the story up to the very end, I think more people should see it. Giving it 8 stars, although a 7 would be more appropriate. But with a bit more work it could've been a 9, for sure.