The primary idea of the auteur filmmaking theory is that the director is the author of the movie, and thus, if you look at a director's body of work, you will see patterns and trends. Therefore, the great directors will produce films which have a similar look or share similar themes, but aren't necessarily repetitive. But, how many movies does a director have to make before this theory can be applied? Can you spot themes or fads in one's work if you don't have that many examples? French director Xavier Gens has only made three feature films, but if you examine them, some things jump out. Specifically, if you add the first one to the second one, you'll get The Divide, the third one.

The Divide opens with a shot of nuclear missiles hitting Manhattan. The residents of an apartment building scramble for safety and flee to the basement as building super Mickey (Michael Biehn) seals the door behind them. As the horrific rumbling continues overhead, the group of strangers and acquaintances assess the situation. The group includes; Mother Marilyn (Rosanna Arquette) and daughter Wendi (Abbey Thickson); brother Adrien (Ashton Holmes) and Josh (Milo Ventimiglia) and Josh's lover, Bobby (Michael Eklund); estranged couple Eva (Laura German) and Sam (Ivan Gonzalez); and Delvin (Courtney B. Vance. Mickey lives in the basement, and thus has some supplies on hand. As the days wear on, the isolation and rationing of supplies begins to take a toll on the group. Soon, paranoia and brutality begin to infect the survivors and lines between good and evil are drawn.

No pun intended, The Divide opens with a bang. The opening shot shows the missiles hitting the city. It's hard to argue with a movie which doesn't beat around the bush. The story is literally off and running from the get-go. The survivors make it to the basement, and we then get a chance to know the characters some-what. And just when it looks like this is going to be one of those movies where a group of people are trapped somewhere and they begin to go crazy, they learn that they are not alone and that there are people outside of the basement who may or may not be friendly. This discovery leads to an apex of action and tension, making the first 40 minutes or so of The Divide very exciting and compelling.

And then the movie becomes one of those movies where a group of people are trapped somewhere and they begin to go crazy. Following this exciting opening and unexpected turn away from convention, The Divide settles into a groove where it manages to touch on every cliche of the genre. Sides are chosen as some of the group devolve and become barbaric, while the others attempt to maintain their civility. As the time passes, the scene turns to violence and rape.

The movie then drags on and on in this 2-hour unrated cut as the crazies grow more crazy and those trying to stay sane become more-and-more timid. This is one of those movies where the good are pushed and pushed and we wait for them to finally fight back. We've seen this before and like so many of these movies, things become frustrating and then ludicrous as people who have nothing to lose refuse to fight back. Yes, they are trying to retain their humanity, but that's not worth dying for. The violence and degradation escalates to the point where this sci-fi drama turns into a torture porn movie. We aren't surprised by these The Lord of the Flies activities, but the turn for the worst comes very quickly and feels forced. As screenwriters Karl Mueller and Eron Sheehan squeeze as much man's inhumanity towards man as they can into the movie, we are asked to accept the nuclear way angle, something which hasn't felt real since the 80s.

Bringing back a Cold War topic like the bomb shelter seems like a risky move, but adding a modern, slick approach to the material probably made it seem like a good idea. Unfortunately, the movie’s awesome opening soon gives way to a movies which confuses a study of the human condition with simply attempting to be shocking. The Divide wants to create a claustrophobic atmosphere, and trust me, I wanted to get out.

The Divide has more outhouse action than any modern movie should on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 34 Mbps. The image is sharp and clear, showing only a fine amount of grain at times and no defects from the source material. The grain here is most likely a conscious choice on Gens’ part and it is very fine and not distracting. The movie is dark and populated by dark tones, but the image is never overly dark or bright and any colors which arrive look good. The image has a nice depth to it, and the level of detail is good, as we can make out textures on objects. The Disc carries a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.5 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. This is a generous track, as we get very nice surround and subwoofer effects when the explosions and rumblings from outside of the basement occur. The subwoofer effects are palpable and any explosion rumbles the walls. The stereo effects come into play multiple times as we are treated to various sounds from the left and right speakers which are coming from the various parts of the basement.

The Divide Blu-ray Disc contains only two extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Director Xavier Gens and Michael Biehn, Michel Eklund, and Milo Ventimiglia. The only other extra is a TRAILER for the film.