THE COLONY (2013)

Genre: Thriller/Sci-Fi
Director: Jeff Renfroe
Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Zegers, Bill Paxton, Charlotte Sullivan, Dru Viergever, Atticus Dean Mitchell, John Tench, Lisa Berry
RunTime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Some Gore)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/thecolonymovie
 
Opening Day: 3 October 2013 

Synopsis: Award‐winning director Jeff Renfroe (One Point Zero, Civic Duty) delivers an actionpacked, post‐apocalyptic thriller in his icy feature THE COLONY. Set during the next iceage, an outpost of colonists struggle to survive below the world’s frozen surface. Short on supplies, and plagued by illness and internal conflict, the colonists suspect the worst when they mysteriously lose contact with their only other known settlement, Colony 5. When Colony 7’s leader Briggs (Laurence Fishburne ‐ Contagion, The Matrix Trilogy) decides to lead an expedition to discover what happened, he is challenged by Mason (Bill Paxton – Aliens, Twister), his former comrade‐in‐arms, who has his own ideas of what is best for the colonists. Briggs takes two volunteers on the mission, the young Graydon, and Sam (Kevin Zegers ‐ Fifty Dead Men Walking, TV’s Gossip Girl), a strongwilled mechanic who seizes the opportunity to confront the icy wasteland that orphaned him. When they reach their destination, the team discover a threat much worse than nature and must battle to save themselves and protect their fellow colonists in what might be humanity’s last stand. A riveting, intense story of survival, humanity, and desperation, THE COLONY is a rich addition to the post‐apocalyptic action genre.

Movie Review:

In short, The Colony is yet another predictable post-apocalyptic flick. Normally for such circumstances, you are bound to encounter zombies, vampires, aliens, the undead or anything that goes “Arghhhhhh…” and The Colony unfortunately never deviates far from this tried and tested formula.

The year is 2045 and the weather has gone bonkers. Earth has turned into a frozen wasteland as it continues to snow non-stop. In colony 7 led by Briggs (Laurence Fishburne), the remaining survivors known as colonists have ventured underground growing limited amount of food sources to keep warm and alive. When they receive a distress signal from another colony, Briggs and two of his mates, Sam (Kevin Zegers) and Graydon (Atticus Mitchell) decide to trek across dangerous iceland to check things out.

At this point, I hope you are not expecting an intelligent drama involving global warming or a man-against-nature-survivor tale set on ice. The threat comes in fast and fury in the form of yikes! Ferals. What’s that again? It’s cannibals to be precise. Yikes! A sole survivor is found by the trio and a fight to survive ensues, unleashing blood, gore, violence and a terrible excuse to let go of the busy (probably expensive) Fishburne.

Shot on a shoestring budget in Ontario, this Canadian production also boasts an original member of Alien and one who doesn’t shine away from tornados, Bill Paxton, in the obligatory villainous role. Things simply aren’t that interesting without a human character that is both equally ambitious, cowardly and making entirely implausible stupid decisions like ignoring Sam’s warning of the ferals. This aside, the flick manages to deliver passable CGI and production values slightly surpassing the average B-movie.    

To writer-director Jeff Renfroe’s credit, The Colony does churn out other merits like decent fight choregraphy and explosions (helps to keep you awake), a distinctly cold, bleak landscape and a climatic set piece given the limited resources on hand. Having two Hollywood veterans in the picture lends some need be presence in this otherwise low-profile title while up-and-coming Kevin Zegers (The Mortal Instrument: City of Bones) and Charlotte Sullivan provides some eye candy amid all the crazy running and screaming.

For sure, you can definitely forget about any logic conclusion why humans turned into cannibals. Combining elements from The Hill Have Eyes, Event Horizon, The Day After Tomorrow and defeating its core purpose of telling a stimulating sci-fi, survival tale, The Colony soon descends into a gruesome slasher movie after the initial setup. Someone forgot to remind Renfroe that The Road and The Book of Eli are examples of a great post-apocalyptic movie, not the above mentioned anyway. 

Movie Rating:

("Arghhhhhh!" Let me get outta of The Colony)

Review by Linus Tee