‘The lucky ones died in the blast.’ Ok, you have my attention.

I stumbled upon this trailer for the post-apocalyptic indie thriller The Divide the other week, and have been dying to write something about it ever since. Exuding claustrophobia (reminiscent of The Descent) and portraying the fragile nature of the human spirit (reminiscent of Cube), The Divide has all the hallmarks of an indie classic.

The film tells the tale of nine nuclear holocaust survivors struggling to live together in an apartment building basement in New York. As the trailer unfolds, what starts out as fairly standard fare quickly escalates into ‘what the heck is going on!?!’

Oh, and did I mention Michael Biehn (Terminator, Aliens) is in it??  I’ll have me some of that!

Enjoy!

There isn’t much I don’t love about this trailer. It gives you just enough but not too much, and the last 30 manic seconds leave you wanting more. I also love how they introduce some very different story elements right at the end, just to throw you off.  The soundtrack is bang on too and builds with the trailer nicely. And, as it eludes to in the trailer, Michael Biehn looks to have turned in one heck of a performance. Superb stuff!

Is this your sort of thing, and are you as excited to see it as I am? What’s your favourite post-apocalyptic movie?

Nine strangers—all tenants of a New York high rise apartment—escape a nuclear attack by hiding out in the building’s bunker-like basement. Trapped for days underground with no hope for rescue, and only unspeakable horrors awaiting them on the other side of the bunker door, the group begins to descend into madness, each turning on one another with physical and psycho-sexual torment. As supplies dwindle, and tensions flare, and they grow increasingly unhinged by their close quarters and hopelessness, each act against one another becomes more depraved than the next. While everyone in the bunker allows themselves to be overcome by desperation and lose their humanity, one survivor holds onto a thin chance for escape even with no promise of salvation on the outside.

Directed by Xavier Gens (Hitman), The Divide stars Lauren German (Hostel: Part II), Michael Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia (Rocky Balboa), Michael Eklund, Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction) and Courtney B. Vance (TV’s Flash Forward).

The Divide is only scheduled for a limited US release at this stage, from 13 January 2012. Please, oh please, let it come to New Zealand.