The filmmakers decided to combine a post-apocalyptic adventure with a zombie picture, and it was a pretty good idea. Here, Earth has entered a second ice age, killing most of the human race, but scattered outposts of survivors remain in underground locations. One such place is Colony 7, where about 50 people hunker down in an abandoned factory and try to survive off of some saved seeds used for farming in a greenhouse along with melted water. It's not easy, with the common cold being fatal and infected people forced to either leave or be shot. There are several stories going on, the efforts to survive, the well-meaning but not entirely successful leadership of Briggs (Laurence Fishbourne) the love story between Sam (Kevin Zegers) a young resident loyal to Briggs and pretty botanist Kai (Charlotte Sullivan) who is in charge of the seed inventory, and militant army veteran Mason (Bill Paxon) who wants to install himself as the colony's dictator. This comes to a head when a distress signal is picked up from Colony 5,a similar outpost a couple of days away. When Briggs, Sam, and another resident (Atticus Dean Mitchell) hike there to provide aid, disaster strikes. The film boasts convincing sets and snow, good photography, decent acting, and a some intelligent ideas. So why isn't it all that exciting? For some reason, the writers never do anything new or novel with their material and everything dissolves into routine zombie mayhem, except that these zombies are just too clever to be believable. Not only are the various stories not resolved successfully, it's becomes increasingly unbelievable. Clear footprints in the snow when it's snowed non-stop for 48 hours is one of the more ridiculous events. There are others, as well. The ending is also so rushed and abrupt, I felt cheated and so did many other viewers, judging from the reviews.
211 Reviews
Slow to start, predictable, horrible ending.
jasonbolduc27 April 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The movie starts off slow, but there is some attention to detail about how life would be like in an underground Colony.
The acting in general is average - the actors did well given the plodding pace of the story. Laurence Fishburne, Kvin Zegers and Charlotte Sullivan worked their parts but were hurt by shallow/wooden acting from Bill Paxton.
The CGI and general set construction was good. Quite realistic setup - might be good to see just for all the hydro/aquaponic setups... at least I found that interesting.
I didn't appreciate how the movie ended, but no spoilers. Just don't expect great things.
All in all, an OK movie but not worth the current 7.0 rating!
The acting in general is average - the actors did well given the plodding pace of the story. Laurence Fishburne, Kvin Zegers and Charlotte Sullivan worked their parts but were hurt by shallow/wooden acting from Bill Paxton.
The CGI and general set construction was good. Quite realistic setup - might be good to see just for all the hydro/aquaponic setups... at least I found that interesting.
I didn't appreciate how the movie ended, but no spoilers. Just don't expect great things.
All in all, an OK movie but not worth the current 7.0 rating!
Why doing bad when yo can do good?
albert-marcos24 July 2013
When I first heard about this film I thought it was going to be like "It" (80's version, of course)or even "30 days of night". I love apocalyptic movies mixed with frozen world and eventually with monsters. Unfortunately, "The collony" turned to be another inconsistent and time- wasting entertainment movie. Yes, I'm talking about usual empty characters, boring plot and of course a good looking hero unable to express anything. A bit of action at the beginning but after knowing the villains you realize nothing good will come. Hollywood guys, please, you have huge resources, spend some more bucks on the script and on the casting and save on fx, anybody can create explosions on the computer but doing a good film is beyond that.
Just a film that could have been much better
duckrogers00723 July 2013
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.
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.
Probably realistic, because people are naturally stupid
siderite30 July 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The Colony started a lot better than other post apocalyptic movies. It presented a cataclysm (one pretty hard to believe, but let's just assume we can go past it), a survivor colony, with characters and ideas and rules and an event that changes the status quo. I was beginning to feel good. Not only a decent film, but a sci-fi horror as well.
Then audience profiling cast its ugly head. The characters have to be cardboard clichés that we've seen in so other bad films. The old people have to be surpassed and replaced by the young. The villains just want to destroy and snarl. In the end, it just turned into a joke: a highly organised team of survivors run away aimlessly firing guns in every direction but the enemy, while a pack of wild humans attack with machetes and other similar devices, like a bad remake of the Anglo-Zulu war.
Bottom line: started good, continued bad, ended stupid. So an average Hollywood sci-fi.
Good actors like Bill Paxton and Laurence Fishburne are stuck in films like this. They do their best, but really, that is limited by the single dimension of the script. In the end they have to be either good or bad and anyway they have to die for the main, young, beautiful, incredibly stupid main characters to rise to the opportunity. Things like these make me not trust the hope of humanity surviving a disaster.
Then audience profiling cast its ugly head. The characters have to be cardboard clichés that we've seen in so other bad films. The old people have to be surpassed and replaced by the young. The villains just want to destroy and snarl. In the end, it just turned into a joke: a highly organised team of survivors run away aimlessly firing guns in every direction but the enemy, while a pack of wild humans attack with machetes and other similar devices, like a bad remake of the Anglo-Zulu war.
Bottom line: started good, continued bad, ended stupid. So an average Hollywood sci-fi.
Good actors like Bill Paxton and Laurence Fishburne are stuck in films like this. They do their best, but really, that is limited by the single dimension of the script. In the end they have to be either good or bad and anyway they have to die for the main, young, beautiful, incredibly stupid main characters to rise to the opportunity. Things like these make me not trust the hope of humanity surviving a disaster.
Great start but goes flat quickly
jaywalker81224 July 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The movie went with a good start. Developing the characters and the storyline. But somehow it all went downhill about halfway through. It would seem as if the director lost interest in making a movie. They never gave any reason for the cannibals, why they existed and who their leader was.. Just lots of snarling and teeth baring. Even the big fight scene to kill the cannibal leader was finished off quickly leaving me with a "huh?" The action and fight scenes were not very inspiring and quite predictable. The sudden predictability of whats to happen next dragged all the way to the end. After the end, I got the feel that the story ended very abruptly and everything was left hanging.. I must say Fishburne put in a good performance but lending his name did nothing to save this movie.
Violent dystopian Scifi that takes place at a far future with lots of fights , chills , blood and gore
ma-cortes10 February 2020
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.
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.
Decent beginning horrible 2nd half.
robfisherking5725 July 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I had some hope for this movie which had some great talent in it with Laurence Fishburne Bill Paxton Kevin Zegers all did a fine job.Some one said Bill Paxton acting was wooden well maybe that's how the part was written but what ever it's not really that important. The first half of this movie sets up a post apocalyptic world where every thing is frozen and the temperature hasn't risen in years.So their living in this big installation where they have to grown their own food and raise live stock.It's a place where the flu can be very deadly and they have to kill a few people to make sure the flu doesn't spread . This sets up a dire and bleak world . But the hope lies in some day finding a way to reverse some of the extreme weather.
In the middle of the movie they loose communications mysteriously with another colony close by . The mystery of the lose of communication is set up nicely and you wonder why they went dark. I wish we never found out because after traveling to the other colony (Both Laurence's character and Zegers along with a 3rd person)the movie breaks down into a stupid c horror film . Well the reason **spoiler alert** Is cannibals . These cannibals look like zombies for some reason with pointy teeth.It's explained latter that they are "feral humans" it seems that if humans go with out food for a period of time they turn into this ..WTF? what ever. Anyways the cannibals follow the Laurence's char and zegers back to their own colony well Laurence doesn't make it and sacrifices himself to save the others.Zegers unwittingly leads the feral humans to his colony. and that where it gets really stupid.
The ferals break into the colony so easily .I mean you guys had decades to prepare for an attack wouldn't they have shored up the doors and reinforced everything?But what ever. Th ferals are also magic it seems going thru vents and popping out of the cabinets to attack the humans . WTF again? How do these ferals know every nook and cranny of the installation better then the humans that were their almost half of their lives. Well anyways it's stupid and ends stupidly of course the ferals die not before they kill a bunch of humans that we don't care about.Including Paxton's character.Oh yeah they also located an area of green warmth on the map thats like a nirvana thats where the try to travel towards at the end. But at this point nobody cares.
In the middle of the movie they loose communications mysteriously with another colony close by . The mystery of the lose of communication is set up nicely and you wonder why they went dark. I wish we never found out because after traveling to the other colony (Both Laurence's character and Zegers along with a 3rd person)the movie breaks down into a stupid c horror film . Well the reason **spoiler alert** Is cannibals . These cannibals look like zombies for some reason with pointy teeth.It's explained latter that they are "feral humans" it seems that if humans go with out food for a period of time they turn into this ..WTF? what ever. Anyways the cannibals follow the Laurence's char and zegers back to their own colony well Laurence doesn't make it and sacrifices himself to save the others.Zegers unwittingly leads the feral humans to his colony. and that where it gets really stupid.
The ferals break into the colony so easily .I mean you guys had decades to prepare for an attack wouldn't they have shored up the doors and reinforced everything?But what ever. Th ferals are also magic it seems going thru vents and popping out of the cabinets to attack the humans . WTF again? How do these ferals know every nook and cranny of the installation better then the humans that were their almost half of their lives. Well anyways it's stupid and ends stupidly of course the ferals die not before they kill a bunch of humans that we don't care about.Including Paxton's character.Oh yeah they also located an area of green warmth on the map thats like a nirvana thats where the try to travel towards at the end. But at this point nobody cares.
Not Scary. Pretty Good. There is a message in here.
bob-rutzel-121 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
An ice-age fell upon the Earth and people went underground to survive. Problems escalated when Colony-7 could no longer contact Colony-5 and leader Briggs (Lawrence Fishburne) decided on a team to see what was wrong there. Oh, oh this can't be good. Don't go, don't go, but they did.
What we find at Colony-5 is almost unspeakable, as human cannibals killed everyone except one man and relished at the sight of the new meat from Colony-7. Now, the race was on for the team to get back to Colony-7. The cannibals were never explained. They were just there. An argument could be made that these people living underground, without sunlight, without food and high disease rates went mad and lost all control.
The cannibals are portrayed as though they were Zombies, but wait a minute - they were human, alive and could speak. But, they didn't. And, no one from the Colony-7 team made any attempt at dialogue with them. I thought that was strange. Why no attempt to talk? Were the cannibals too far gone? Apparently so. Near the end, Sam (Kevin Zegers) asks the cannibal leader, "what do you want?" To which the leader replies, "More."
This was not as scary as it could have been, perhaps because it was known what Colony-7 was dealing with. There were a couple brief scenes that showed some bloody gore as the cannibals were finishing up hacking those from Colony-5; and one final one at the end that was kind of hard to take for the way it happened.
The suspense, tension and pacing were very good. The cinematography was outstanding and the acting all around was also good.
Will this be the way it goes when the next ice age comes upon us? Save your seeds for when the sun again appears. They will be needed. Oh, load up on ammo. Pretty sure that will be needed too. (7/10)
Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Bloody gore: Yes, briefly. Language: Some F-bombs, not too many.
What we find at Colony-5 is almost unspeakable, as human cannibals killed everyone except one man and relished at the sight of the new meat from Colony-7. Now, the race was on for the team to get back to Colony-7. The cannibals were never explained. They were just there. An argument could be made that these people living underground, without sunlight, without food and high disease rates went mad and lost all control.
The cannibals are portrayed as though they were Zombies, but wait a minute - they were human, alive and could speak. But, they didn't. And, no one from the Colony-7 team made any attempt at dialogue with them. I thought that was strange. Why no attempt to talk? Were the cannibals too far gone? Apparently so. Near the end, Sam (Kevin Zegers) asks the cannibal leader, "what do you want?" To which the leader replies, "More."
This was not as scary as it could have been, perhaps because it was known what Colony-7 was dealing with. There were a couple brief scenes that showed some bloody gore as the cannibals were finishing up hacking those from Colony-5; and one final one at the end that was kind of hard to take for the way it happened.
The suspense, tension and pacing were very good. The cinematography was outstanding and the acting all around was also good.
Will this be the way it goes when the next ice age comes upon us? Save your seeds for when the sun again appears. They will be needed. Oh, load up on ammo. Pretty sure that will be needed too. (7/10)
Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Bloody gore: Yes, briefly. Language: Some F-bombs, not too many.
Awful
tecnogaming21 July 2013
I don't know what the makers were thinking, why will you cast Lawrence Fishburn if you're not going to use it in any meaningful way?.
The movie portraits humanity after the ice age has begun. The Colony only explains partially what happened to the planet and why we as humans destroyed it burning all the fossil fuel which contributed to a new ice age, all humanity is lost and the only remains are some "colonies" beneath the earth.
The starting point is quite good, the first minutes of the movie too. Although it is clichéd, it is standard sci-fi, it develop it's characters sufficiently enough but then.. it speeds up its downward spiral once the "enemies" appear on the scene.
The movie has an incredible change of pace once the enemies arrives with poorly execution on the director's side and just god awful fight scenes... Hardcore music and slaughter, i'm in the 80's again?, is this a joke?, I could accept that kind of embarrassment on a B low movie, I just can't accept it in a movie with Lawrence Fishburn that began as well as this one.
It's like the director throw away the script and said "just put the rock music and kill everyone, because that's cool!"... He appears to just shoot himself in the foot with the directing the movie takes.
It goes without saying that this was actually an incredible missed opportunity to tell a interesting story of the survivors of humanity... and a potential hope for the story.
The conclusion to this mess is, kill your opponents swiftly and survive.
I wanna kill myself for wasting all this time. How can they ruin their own potentially good story is beyond me. It seems Hollywood is full of stupid people that takes stupid decisions in the making of movies these days.
Avoid it, if you want to see killing, see it with some meaning added to it. If you want action and scares, go watch Dawn of the Dead, is 1000 times better than this horrendous mess.
The movie portraits humanity after the ice age has begun. The Colony only explains partially what happened to the planet and why we as humans destroyed it burning all the fossil fuel which contributed to a new ice age, all humanity is lost and the only remains are some "colonies" beneath the earth.
The starting point is quite good, the first minutes of the movie too. Although it is clichéd, it is standard sci-fi, it develop it's characters sufficiently enough but then.. it speeds up its downward spiral once the "enemies" appear on the scene.
The movie has an incredible change of pace once the enemies arrives with poorly execution on the director's side and just god awful fight scenes... Hardcore music and slaughter, i'm in the 80's again?, is this a joke?, I could accept that kind of embarrassment on a B low movie, I just can't accept it in a movie with Lawrence Fishburn that began as well as this one.
It's like the director throw away the script and said "just put the rock music and kill everyone, because that's cool!"... He appears to just shoot himself in the foot with the directing the movie takes.
It goes without saying that this was actually an incredible missed opportunity to tell a interesting story of the survivors of humanity... and a potential hope for the story.
The conclusion to this mess is, kill your opponents swiftly and survive.
I wanna kill myself for wasting all this time. How can they ruin their own potentially good story is beyond me. It seems Hollywood is full of stupid people that takes stupid decisions in the making of movies these days.
Avoid it, if you want to see killing, see it with some meaning added to it. If you want action and scares, go watch Dawn of the Dead, is 1000 times better than this horrendous mess.
Actually a 7.5/10, but I'll give it an 8 since it's a B-movie done well
tetraslash22 July 2013
First off, since IMDb doesn't allow half-ratings and the current IMDb average is way below what the movie's truly worth, I decided to up my rating to an 8. I've been giving thought as to whether I should settle on a 7, but knowing that The Colony was a B-movie, I generously gave it an 8.
This movie is surprisingly done well. I have a personal liking for post-apocalyptic settings, and this one hits the nail on the spot, for what they chose. As the plot states, a small colony of survivors attempt to survive an ice age, and some unforeseen circumstances occur.
There isn't much I can say about the movie, apart from the fact that I felt that it was definitely worth the time to watch. It's a really solid movie, and you won't regret watching it. The acting was fine, there were no outrageous moments, and there were no issues with the other details in the movie, such as the CG (which was done pretty good).
The pacing of the movie is relatively nice, and the movie finishes just right. The movie wasn't stretched out, nor cut short. Any post-apocalyptic movie can easily be over- or underdone (trying to cram in too many subplots in a small timeframe, or not putting in enough to take full availability of the setting), but this one has just enough.
There's not much else I can say without spoiling the movie, so I'll just say that if you like post-apocalyptic movies, you're sure to have a kick out of watching this one.
This movie is surprisingly done well. I have a personal liking for post-apocalyptic settings, and this one hits the nail on the spot, for what they chose. As the plot states, a small colony of survivors attempt to survive an ice age, and some unforeseen circumstances occur.
There isn't much I can say about the movie, apart from the fact that I felt that it was definitely worth the time to watch. It's a really solid movie, and you won't regret watching it. The acting was fine, there were no outrageous moments, and there were no issues with the other details in the movie, such as the CG (which was done pretty good).
The pacing of the movie is relatively nice, and the movie finishes just right. The movie wasn't stretched out, nor cut short. Any post-apocalyptic movie can easily be over- or underdone (trying to cram in too many subplots in a small timeframe, or not putting in enough to take full availability of the setting), but this one has just enough.
There's not much else I can say without spoiling the movie, so I'll just say that if you like post-apocalyptic movies, you're sure to have a kick out of watching this one.
Decent movie!
RightOnTime129 April 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I really enjoyed this movie. I thought that Lawrence Fishburne and Bill Paxton had great roles and I was impressed with Kevin Zegers as Sam.
It was refreshing to see Bill Paxton in that type of role in the movie.
I thought the movie had a good flow and there was no instance where I was bored.
This is an independent and a low budget movie so don't expect amazing CGI scenes or backgrounds. With that being said, they did a great visual job to this movie.
I did have two issues with the movie. At the beginning it started out with a promising feel of isolation at a colony base, but they had incorporated a cheesy chase scene. It's not that the chase scene wouldn't work, but the way it was shot reminded me of some corny horror movie which didn't take its self seriously.
After that the movie was just fine, which made this scene seem awkward in the movie.
As for the ending- without giving away too much- Pretty much left the audience hanging. I was hoping they would at least follow through with a plot point which was expected to conclude at the end of the movie, instead, we never saw the outcome.
I believe they did this to catch the audience off guard and not follow through with predictable results. I think this gives the movie its own spin, but I felt it would have enhanced the conclusion and the story if they had actually concluded that plot point. Because this is not done in the movie, the great story you are following just ends abruptly making you wonder why they ended it this way. Are they going to make sequel and explain this? It's unlikely.
With all this being said, I enjoyed the movie and I would definitely buy this on DVD. If you are a sci-fi/horror fan, I recommend you go see this movie!
It was refreshing to see Bill Paxton in that type of role in the movie.
I thought the movie had a good flow and there was no instance where I was bored.
This is an independent and a low budget movie so don't expect amazing CGI scenes or backgrounds. With that being said, they did a great visual job to this movie.
I did have two issues with the movie. At the beginning it started out with a promising feel of isolation at a colony base, but they had incorporated a cheesy chase scene. It's not that the chase scene wouldn't work, but the way it was shot reminded me of some corny horror movie which didn't take its self seriously.
After that the movie was just fine, which made this scene seem awkward in the movie.
As for the ending- without giving away too much- Pretty much left the audience hanging. I was hoping they would at least follow through with a plot point which was expected to conclude at the end of the movie, instead, we never saw the outcome.
I believe they did this to catch the audience off guard and not follow through with predictable results. I think this gives the movie its own spin, but I felt it would have enhanced the conclusion and the story if they had actually concluded that plot point. Because this is not done in the movie, the great story you are following just ends abruptly making you wonder why they ended it this way. Are they going to make sequel and explain this? It's unlikely.
With all this being said, I enjoyed the movie and I would definitely buy this on DVD. If you are a sci-fi/horror fan, I recommend you go see this movie!
A cold movie without the cold
paulcf-510-91046229 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Watched this movie last nite, sad to see Bill Paxton and Laurence Fisburne in such a terrible event.
It's got so many technical 'holes' in it I won't even go there, many of which have been addressed already in other reviews.
You could easily see that Mason/Paxton would be the renegade turned hero and Fishburne would be the hero, yada, yada...a very predictable event. The Zombies are nothing new now of course, and as such are a weak attempt to introduce horror and plot to scare you when they could not think of anything else.
The bad ending: OMG, let's just carry some seeds and plant them in the next colony that has a hole in the clouds...
And I love it when it is supposed to be cold and you hardly see their frosty breath outside. Or in the helicopter with holes all around and it seems as warm as inside a house, etc...etc...
Just another end of the world movie based on a committee plot borrowing from many other ideas...yawn, a really terrible move for some great actors who deserve a lot better!
It's got so many technical 'holes' in it I won't even go there, many of which have been addressed already in other reviews.
You could easily see that Mason/Paxton would be the renegade turned hero and Fishburne would be the hero, yada, yada...a very predictable event. The Zombies are nothing new now of course, and as such are a weak attempt to introduce horror and plot to scare you when they could not think of anything else.
The bad ending: OMG, let's just carry some seeds and plant them in the next colony that has a hole in the clouds...
And I love it when it is supposed to be cold and you hardly see their frosty breath outside. Or in the helicopter with holes all around and it seems as warm as inside a house, etc...etc...
Just another end of the world movie based on a committee plot borrowing from many other ideas...yawn, a really terrible move for some great actors who deserve a lot better!
These are really stupid "survivors"
tejaym30 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Maybe you enjoy rolling your eyes and yelling at the screen. You need to ignore little things, like why don't they zip up their coats in the frozen tundra? Medium things like why doesn't the constant snow and wind cover their tracks? And big things like, that was a really obvious coup, you need to ask that dude more about these monsters before running off, and how many years have they been in this shelter without securing the entrance? Too stupid to live.
A very solid movie
petarmatic22 October 2013
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.
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.
So many glaring "whys"
nomen_meltdown2 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
As in... (spoilers!) WHY would Briggs, Colony-7's best shot at maintaining strong-but-humane leadership, go all dead man's switch with the dynamite instead of setting it down and running? WHY would the roving cannibals choose to live such a stupid existence? Because if you're on the ragged edge of survival and you come across a safe, warm place where 50-some people are renewably cultivating food and long-term survival is a viable option-- yeah, slaughtering those people for meat and wrecking up the place is a *stupid* choice.
WHY did the cannibals apparently forget how to speak when it would have helped them coordinate their senseless violence? Why just ineffective howling and grunting? WHY would Mason try to force people who wanted to leave to stay, under conditions he'd resolved to make miserable (virtually guaranteeing an erosion in his leadership capital), if he didn't believe that danger really was coming? Why not let them leave with what little they can carry (up to what you can afford to part with) and then you aren't responsible for taking care of them anymore? But making them stay-- and what, work?-- at gunpoint is a recipe for bad work and inevitable mutiny.
And finally, WHY the transparent, hackneyed attempt at the end to draw some kind of equivalence between the cannibals-- who kill people wantonly-- and Sam beating the 'feral leader' to death in justifiable defense of himself and his people? Because the long, "look at his savagery" shot of Sam was clearly intended to depict him as not much better when his reason for violence was completely different. Hell, he *wanted* to run, not fight, and he only flipped out because he was cornered by a relentless aggressor.
I gave it three stars for the design/use of sets and for the visual effects, and Fishburne's competent acting of his character despite writing that didn't stand out at all. That said, I really can't recommend this. It's too formulaic, too superficial, and the motivations of the antagonists are absent-- they're just stereotypically 'bad' for no good reason.
WHY did the cannibals apparently forget how to speak when it would have helped them coordinate their senseless violence? Why just ineffective howling and grunting? WHY would Mason try to force people who wanted to leave to stay, under conditions he'd resolved to make miserable (virtually guaranteeing an erosion in his leadership capital), if he didn't believe that danger really was coming? Why not let them leave with what little they can carry (up to what you can afford to part with) and then you aren't responsible for taking care of them anymore? But making them stay-- and what, work?-- at gunpoint is a recipe for bad work and inevitable mutiny.
And finally, WHY the transparent, hackneyed attempt at the end to draw some kind of equivalence between the cannibals-- who kill people wantonly-- and Sam beating the 'feral leader' to death in justifiable defense of himself and his people? Because the long, "look at his savagery" shot of Sam was clearly intended to depict him as not much better when his reason for violence was completely different. Hell, he *wanted* to run, not fight, and he only flipped out because he was cornered by a relentless aggressor.
I gave it three stars for the design/use of sets and for the visual effects, and Fishburne's competent acting of his character despite writing that didn't stand out at all. That said, I really can't recommend this. It's too formulaic, too superficial, and the motivations of the antagonists are absent-- they're just stereotypically 'bad' for no good reason.
Did its job.
PanoactionImagineer6 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers
For all the negatives i have read i must say; This was well produced and the acting was good, it moved at a good pace and for all its commercial considerations it delivered entertaining value. Certainly as compared to other films that missed the thrill target (Oblivion), i think this one held onto itself. It was a clean story that when supported by the "Scary" Bill Paxton and the determined Laurence Fishburne was well watchable. The VFX suited the budget range and served purpose well. The novelty of the real location and the technical undertaking of shooting in its extreme isolation, I salute all. It is hard to get those shoots done, i know! For the spoilers - Hindsight, always allow you to see another ending to a film!
So overall i give it a 7 as a film that will fill the gap nicely whilst you wait to gamble your money on the next £100m Hit or bomb, as they are these days!
So overall i give it a 7 as a film that will fill the gap nicely whilst you wait to gamble your money on the next £100m Hit or bomb, as they are these days!
Bad Science
Theo Robertson4 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
In the near future a second ice age has destroyed civilisation . In an underground base dubbed Colony 7 a handful of survivors make radio contact with another underground colony - Colony 5 -and a three man expedition track through the icy wasteland to make contact with Colony 5
This had all the makings of a good film . A couple of well known names and a fascinating premise where mankind struggles to survive against an eco-disaster . Very quickly the film shoots itself in the foot and long before the end credits start you'll be shaking your head wondering why it turned out so mediocre . It's not dreadful but if you took out the names of Fishburne and Paxton you'd think you were watching one of this productions that are constantly churned out by the SyFy channel night after night
You can easily forgive the very clumsy clunky exposition given at the start of the film because it exists to merely fill the audience in on the scenario and it's very difficult to make exposition sound natural . What is less difficult to forgive is the dodgy science used through out the movie
From the outset it's difficult to buy in to a colony like the one shown here surviving . People live underground but even if they were able to grow tomatoes and other plants as seen here it's difficult to believe they'd be able to grow them in large enough quantities to keep the colony alive . Someone does point out that rabbits are their main source of protein but throws a major spanner in the works because rabbits are so rich in protein that they lack essential fats and minerals to sustain human life in the long term . Look up " rabbit starvation " to find out what I mean . This leads me to ask what are the colonists doing about fats and carbohydrates in order to survive ? There's also a subplot about infections and flu outbreaks which leads characters being quarantined but in reality viruses have an incubation period so a quarantine wouldn't be effective because people would the carry the virus before they display any symptoms . Mind you this is to probably to illustrate Paxton's character Mason as a potential despot so may be it's not a valid criticism
The story then quickly takes a turn of a quest to explore Colony 5 and when the expedition reaches here the movie turns in to an action adventure horror that you've seen before where the colony has degenerated in to barbaric cannibalism . I've no idea why but for some reason eating human flesh seems to interfere with the powers of speech so the cannibals run around communicating via growls and snarls . It's also at this point we learn that a weather station has pushed back the ice age in a 8 mile radius . Hmmm . That's very convenient if say the cannibals chase a lone survivor back to Colony 5 and have a battle where Colony 5 is destroyed down to the fact that the colonists don't shoot the cannibals every chance they get
THE COLONY had a lot of potential but blows it by concentrating far too much on the action and horror aspects . Like so many American films it sets up a post apocalypse scenario merely to use it as an excuse to have action sequences and a high body count . One does lament the British apocalyptic literature of Wyndham and John Christopher who would have come up with a similar scenario but would have developed the storyline so in a much more credible and thought provoking way
This had all the makings of a good film . A couple of well known names and a fascinating premise where mankind struggles to survive against an eco-disaster . Very quickly the film shoots itself in the foot and long before the end credits start you'll be shaking your head wondering why it turned out so mediocre . It's not dreadful but if you took out the names of Fishburne and Paxton you'd think you were watching one of this productions that are constantly churned out by the SyFy channel night after night
You can easily forgive the very clumsy clunky exposition given at the start of the film because it exists to merely fill the audience in on the scenario and it's very difficult to make exposition sound natural . What is less difficult to forgive is the dodgy science used through out the movie
From the outset it's difficult to buy in to a colony like the one shown here surviving . People live underground but even if they were able to grow tomatoes and other plants as seen here it's difficult to believe they'd be able to grow them in large enough quantities to keep the colony alive . Someone does point out that rabbits are their main source of protein but throws a major spanner in the works because rabbits are so rich in protein that they lack essential fats and minerals to sustain human life in the long term . Look up " rabbit starvation " to find out what I mean . This leads me to ask what are the colonists doing about fats and carbohydrates in order to survive ? There's also a subplot about infections and flu outbreaks which leads characters being quarantined but in reality viruses have an incubation period so a quarantine wouldn't be effective because people would the carry the virus before they display any symptoms . Mind you this is to probably to illustrate Paxton's character Mason as a potential despot so may be it's not a valid criticism
The story then quickly takes a turn of a quest to explore Colony 5 and when the expedition reaches here the movie turns in to an action adventure horror that you've seen before where the colony has degenerated in to barbaric cannibalism . I've no idea why but for some reason eating human flesh seems to interfere with the powers of speech so the cannibals run around communicating via growls and snarls . It's also at this point we learn that a weather station has pushed back the ice age in a 8 mile radius . Hmmm . That's very convenient if say the cannibals chase a lone survivor back to Colony 5 and have a battle where Colony 5 is destroyed down to the fact that the colonists don't shoot the cannibals every chance they get
THE COLONY had a lot of potential but blows it by concentrating far too much on the action and horror aspects . Like so many American films it sets up a post apocalypse scenario merely to use it as an excuse to have action sequences and a high body count . One does lament the British apocalyptic literature of Wyndham and John Christopher who would have come up with a similar scenario but would have developed the storyline so in a much more credible and thought provoking way
The Spoiler already exists in the "Storyline" section
fureetutawk1 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I think Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who was allowed to write the storyline for this movie should be banned from writing anymore story lines and should have this one removed. Who in his right mind writes a PLOT SYNOPSIS with SPOILERS? "Briggs sacrifices his life by blowing up a bridge to give the others time to..." (paraphrased). He should be tarred and feathered.
I can't bring myself to even watch the movie, now. I already know Laurence Fishburne kills himself. Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggghhhhhhh
Oh, and ... aaaarrrrgggggghhhhhh
And since IMDb keeps saying I don't have enough lines (because we all LOVE reading long, windy, wordy reviews) I'll say one more time:
Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhh
I can't bring myself to even watch the movie, now. I already know Laurence Fishburne kills himself. Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggghhhhhhh
Oh, and ... aaaarrrrgggggghhhhhh
And since IMDb keeps saying I don't have enough lines (because we all LOVE reading long, windy, wordy reviews) I'll say one more time:
Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhh
Words that elevate and words that condemn
bmradux22 July 2013
I watched this movie without watching the trailer. I watched the trailer afterwards, and sadly it's one of those trailers that tells the whole story. Anyway... I rated this movie as a 7 because I'm a sucker for details. There is one scene and one word that makes it worthy of the Sci-Fi genre, and gives this movie sudden, unexpected depth, even though it might largely be by contrast. It is indeed a shame that the last word of the movie almost subtracts everything added by my favorite scene and finishes by throwing this one back into the inescapable black-hole-bin of clichés. As for those of you not attracted to over-analyzing golden nuggets - you will still find a very decent (6-ish) action movie as my fellow reviewers suggest.
A mixed-up mess leads to a missed opportunity
synthboy20009 April 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Firstly, let's make this clear: "The Colony" is a B movie and needs to be reviewed as such. Unfortunately "The Colony" doesn't actually know what sort of B movie it is. It's sure enough that it's post-apocalyptic but after that it gets a bit lost. Is it an intelligent, sci-fi thriller? Or would it rather be a full-on zombie-style action flick complete with blood and gore? In the end it tries to be both and ends up falling somewhere between the two.
It starts well enough, setting up a slightly preposterous but logically thought out apocalypse, taking time to explore that and also the relationships between the survivors, highlighting tensions and foreshadowing future conflict. However, after that it chucks all that to one side and devotes an awful to of time and effort to a conflict with zombie-style cannibals. Before going back to the original conflicts. And then repeating itself with another cannibals showdown.
This flitting back and forth means that neither section really gets developed enough or receives the conclusion that it deserves. If they'd either done away with the cannibals and focused on the internal conflict between the survivors or brushed over the actually reasons behind the apocalypse to free up time for full-on, seat-of-your-pants cannibal terror then "The Colony" could have ended up a cult gem. Instead in ends up as a highly forgettable mess.
Which is a real shame as you've got a good cast and a great setting. Both Laurence Fishburne and Bill Paxton do the best they can with the material they've been given but neither really gets enough screen time and there really isn't enough time of them facing off against each other. The former NORAD headquarters has a great post-apocalyptic vibe and makes for a very pretty backdrop but if more time had been spent in one of the silos rather than dividing time between two then it could really have come to life. I wanted to see crawlspaces, walls blown through, traps made with the facilities. We get none of that.
So, in summation, a missed opportunity due to the writer failing to actually decide which film he wanted to make before he started writing.
It starts well enough, setting up a slightly preposterous but logically thought out apocalypse, taking time to explore that and also the relationships between the survivors, highlighting tensions and foreshadowing future conflict. However, after that it chucks all that to one side and devotes an awful to of time and effort to a conflict with zombie-style cannibals. Before going back to the original conflicts. And then repeating itself with another cannibals showdown.
This flitting back and forth means that neither section really gets developed enough or receives the conclusion that it deserves. If they'd either done away with the cannibals and focused on the internal conflict between the survivors or brushed over the actually reasons behind the apocalypse to free up time for full-on, seat-of-your-pants cannibal terror then "The Colony" could have ended up a cult gem. Instead in ends up as a highly forgettable mess.
Which is a real shame as you've got a good cast and a great setting. Both Laurence Fishburne and Bill Paxton do the best they can with the material they've been given but neither really gets enough screen time and there really isn't enough time of them facing off against each other. The former NORAD headquarters has a great post-apocalyptic vibe and makes for a very pretty backdrop but if more time had been spent in one of the silos rather than dividing time between two then it could really have come to life. I wanted to see crawlspaces, walls blown through, traps made with the facilities. We get none of that.
So, in summation, a missed opportunity due to the writer failing to actually decide which film he wanted to make before he started writing.
A Frozen & Scary Dystopia
in198424 July 2013
7.4 of 10. Saw this close to Oblivion and preferred Colony. Both are solid dystopian sci-fi, with this having the far more solid science behind it, which helps with the believability and immersion. The only other qualities they share involves isolation and some annoying narration by the lead character.
Colony has a strong horror aspect to it, including an answer to the question of what might be the middle-ground between human and zombie. There's very little tech involved, contrary to what those seeing Lawrence Fishburne in it might expect. The action, however, is almost entirely fight related, with some connected to the extreme climate conditions and the decaying nature of the cities they're using for shelter.
Outside of a forced end kill and gaps in how the enemy creatures manage to get to certain places, there are no horrible or weak scenes. Budget issues are more evident in undeveloped story elements than the FX.
Colony has a strong horror aspect to it, including an answer to the question of what might be the middle-ground between human and zombie. There's very little tech involved, contrary to what those seeing Lawrence Fishburne in it might expect. The action, however, is almost entirely fight related, with some connected to the extreme climate conditions and the decaying nature of the cities they're using for shelter.
Outside of a forced end kill and gaps in how the enemy creatures manage to get to certain places, there are no horrible or weak scenes. Budget issues are more evident in undeveloped story elements than the FX.
Familiar post-apocalyptic shenanigans
Leofwine_draca12 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
THE COLONY is a mid-budget Canadian post-apocalypse action movie about survivors struggling to make it in a world that has entered a new Ice Age. There are shades of THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW in the scenes of characters trekking through an Arctic tundra in search of fellow man, but overall this turns out to be a straight rip-off of THE THING mixed with bits from ALIENS.
The opening of the film sees survivors huddling in a freezing base and dying off thanks to a deadly flu (a sub-plot that turns out to be rather extraneous). When they lose contact with a fellow colony, a trio of men decide to make a trip to find out what's happened, only to run afoul of a mortal enemy. The film features a good role for Laurence Fishburne, who gets to play a likable character for a chance, and a chance for Kevin Zegers, of FROZEN fame, to shine as the youthful lead. Bill Paxton also appears but is somewhat underutilised until the climax.
THE COLONY features endless CGI landscapes and the like, which didn't impress me too much, and average direction. I was disappointed that the villains turn out to be simple cannibal types who aren't very scary at all, and the chief villain is almost identical to an incidental bad guy in GAME OF THRONES. Still, the film does boast a fast pace and plenty of action, so it's an easy enough watch.
The opening of the film sees survivors huddling in a freezing base and dying off thanks to a deadly flu (a sub-plot that turns out to be rather extraneous). When they lose contact with a fellow colony, a trio of men decide to make a trip to find out what's happened, only to run afoul of a mortal enemy. The film features a good role for Laurence Fishburne, who gets to play a likable character for a chance, and a chance for Kevin Zegers, of FROZEN fame, to shine as the youthful lead. Bill Paxton also appears but is somewhat underutilised until the climax.
THE COLONY features endless CGI landscapes and the like, which didn't impress me too much, and average direction. I was disappointed that the villains turn out to be simple cannibal types who aren't very scary at all, and the chief villain is almost identical to an incidental bad guy in GAME OF THRONES. Still, the film does boast a fast pace and plenty of action, so it's an easy enough watch.
Could have been better - full of holes
pinsent-883-60567729 December 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I had hopes for the story but its a waste of your and apparently my time. If you can get past the few holes in the story it is not to bad but I can not do that. And I do not normally pick apart movies but it was big holes. I am only going to do 4 bigger holes that I saw. The acting was decent though.
1. Snow?? Always snowing they said, stormy etc. Yet the (zombies) could follow them after hrs of walking due to the tracks they had in the snow. I live in a winter climate here and on a normal snow day a track can be filled in rather quickly if the wind is blowing. Thus no tracking unless they got out very fast and could see them. Oh and it was after the night they stayed in the chopper.
2. The Chopper for safety sleep. Why is this chopper that looks like it has been there for a long time since the 18yr old boy didn't know what it was used for. And yet it was on the very top of the snow, now a mountain or anything on a huge pile of snow.
3. I would shoot. I know they have to make the movie exciting but if a normal person who had 20 or so people after them and they already shot a few of them would shoot at the rest. No, instead lets look at the zombies in all their glory while they get closer and come after us. Ah sorry I have a gun, bye zombie. I found myself saying shoot, shoot, shoot over and over. There you go, they finally heard me through the TV. :)
END SPOILER 4. Main bad guy. This guy is the strongest etc, but who really can take a beating at the end with whack after whack and have no damage at all other then a little blood.
Could have been much better if there was a bit of thought to plot holes, but alas, they do this kinda thing in so many movies now.
1. Snow?? Always snowing they said, stormy etc. Yet the (zombies) could follow them after hrs of walking due to the tracks they had in the snow. I live in a winter climate here and on a normal snow day a track can be filled in rather quickly if the wind is blowing. Thus no tracking unless they got out very fast and could see them. Oh and it was after the night they stayed in the chopper.
2. The Chopper for safety sleep. Why is this chopper that looks like it has been there for a long time since the 18yr old boy didn't know what it was used for. And yet it was on the very top of the snow, now a mountain or anything on a huge pile of snow.
3. I would shoot. I know they have to make the movie exciting but if a normal person who had 20 or so people after them and they already shot a few of them would shoot at the rest. No, instead lets look at the zombies in all their glory while they get closer and come after us. Ah sorry I have a gun, bye zombie. I found myself saying shoot, shoot, shoot over and over. There you go, they finally heard me through the TV. :)
END SPOILER 4. Main bad guy. This guy is the strongest etc, but who really can take a beating at the end with whack after whack and have no damage at all other then a little blood.
Could have been much better if there was a bit of thought to plot holes, but alas, they do this kinda thing in so many movies now.
Too quick of and end
JohnZMG5223 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I'm a die-hard apocalypse type movie fan and I've accepted most movies whether its cliché or not but this movie just ended too short, after the problem comes up that reveals the after problem that causes the story to set in motion it just ends just ends. The CGI and music were good and the story line could've been more thought out instead of The Hills Have Eyes snow edition, it reminded me a lot of the Chernobyl Diaries which wasn't that great either. Anyways the characters weren't really developed, the leader of the cannibal pack I think was supposed to be this bad-ass guy but all he ever did was walk in a trench coat and roar as for Briggs his sacrifice didn't feel as terrible because it wasn't really developed. The blonde was also supposed to be this bad-ass but frankly wasn't. Mason was supposed to be the stubborn leader but he only showed it a few times. And the most annoying moment is that instead of telling mason about the safe zone the lovebirds keep it closed. Its full of clichés and you should only watch it only if its on TV
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