The Tribe (2016) User Reviews

Missed Opportunity

[Theo Robertson · 5/10 · 15 February 2017]

Three sisters have survived a pandemic that has devastated humanity . Living in their remote outpost their lives change when a young man looking for sanctuary turns up

With a synopsis like this I was reminded of the Don Siegel/Clint Eastwood 1971 movie THE BEGUILED . It is something of a Western that could take place in a 19th Century homestead rather than a post apocalypse scenario in the 21st Century . Unfortunately the screenplay constantly misses opportunities or more specifically can't make up its mind what it wants to be . The sexual tension created by the character dynamics is explored but quickly forgotten when the plot takes a swift turn . At this point I was expecting the very real female fear of sexual assault seen earlier in Boyle's 28 DAYS LATER to take centre stage but again this isn't really followed up

All this is a pity because it's an independent feature which is impressive from a technical point of few with the main aspect being the striking cinematography . It's a great looking low budget film but goes to prove cinema is visual storytelling and if the story isn't focused it makes for an unsatisfying film

The Tribe: Bizzare yet watchable thriller

[Platypuschow · 6/10 · 9 February 2018]

For me The Tribe was one of those pick and mix movies, therefore I went in with no expectations at all.

It tells the story of three sisters who live out in the desert, it's set in a post apocalyptic world that was hit by a pandemic and they are fighting to stay alive.

A core rule they have is not to let anyone in should they appear and when they break that rule it changes everything.

With a fantastic leading lady, great setting and interesting premise The Tribe had me gripped and is anything but predictible. Trouble is the ending both makes and breaks the movie in that it is merciless, open ended and totally out of left field.

I enjoyed the Tribe but certainly wanted to have liked it more, the ending just left me with a bad taste in my mouth and I'm honestly not sure what the creators were going with there.

Well cast, interesting but flawed.

The Good:

Great leading lady

Interesting ideas

Unpredictible

The Bad:

Ending is questionable

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I spent half the movie trying to work out if that was Melissa Benoist

Danika is one of the weirdest looking kids I've ever seen

We're here to help you.

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 29 July 2017]

Two teen girls and their mute younger sister live alone in a bomb shelter and the house above it. They live off of canned rations and some home grown items. Water is scarce. The mute girl is losing her hair. 18 minutes into the film we discovered this is after "it happened." (Almost a bumper sticker.) Ryan (Michael Nardelli) a cute young boy wonders into their homestead. Jenny (Jessica Rothe) likes him. Sarah (Anne Winters) doesn't trust him. The family circle becomes disrupted.

The film ended odd, putting it in line for a cult feature. The production was a slow mover. The dialogue had no zip. Half the film seemed to be Sarah pointing a gun at someone and having it taken away from her because the barrel is too close. You'd think she would learn after the first few times.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity. Anne Winters exposes her shoulder.

Great directing and acting lead to disappointing story

[Snootz · 2/10 · 18 February 2017]

Micro-spoiler is near the END of this review with lots of warning.

If films were judged solely by directing, cinematography and acting, this would be a winner. But there are still concepts we refer to as plot and story line that are part of the genre, and in those areas this story falls apart.

This film is quite realistic and understandable and lead the viewer to believe this will carry throughout the film. It even offers a plot twist that is fairly well done. But that plot twist turns into hard-to-swallow, then ludicrous premise and winds up in surrealistic absurdist "What was that?" ending. It leaves the viewer wondering exactly what point were the film makers trying to make?

This is not a cerebral film with a hidden message that savvy movie-goers will pick up on. This is a film that loses all its momentum and element of belief in a self-indulgent plunge into the ridiculous. The director tries to be clever and fails. What is supposed to be a plot twist turns into a plot twisted, one that leaves us disappointed not only in the reality that the movie failed to deliver-- but disappointed that it failed to live up to its tremendous potential.

MICRO-SPOILER FOLLOWS. It's not much of a spoiler... but necessary to properly discuss this film.

This is one of the few films that I can say was very successful right up to the last five minutes, throws in a potentially great plot twist-- then throws it all away in a surreal binge that is so anti-climactic it ruins all the film had accomplished to that point.

All that is needed to discuss the sole problem with this film is to mention the point from where one of the characters (I won't state which one) turns out to be totally off-the-wall crazy. That's okay; that particular element really adds to the film. But the final resolution of that is so unbelievable and ludicrous it's like an anti-plot to the rest of the film. Then the very last scene leaves us scratching our heads wondering what the writer and director were smoking when they decided to throw it in there. I can think of at least two alternative endings that would have made this a very good film. (Although frankly, I could have done without the gratuitous gory violence thrown in to an otherwise excellent drama.)

If we wanted a quick plot synopsis: excellent acting, excellent directing, excellent filming, sudden DUD.

When it comes to hitting the target, this one strikes with the arrow butt-first and no reason as to why.

A well acted, well directed...

[sfinancing · 3/10 · 19 November 2017]

...invitation to take a nap.

I kept hoping for an interesting spin in this poorly written snoozefest of a movie...still waiting.

I say it was well acted by the young cast and can see where they made the most of the minimal cardboard dialogue.

Directing and cinematography are well done considering that nothing interesting actually happens.

Production values are decent for an indy but they should have spent some money on a rewrite of the script or chosen a better one to start with.

Minor twists on the Z for Zachariah plot line, but nowhere near as interesting as that young adult book was half a century ago.

Don't recommend wasting your time on this one...but again the young cast did well with what they had to work with, so your call.

Wasted opportunity

[rmmil · 2/10 · 4 October 2018]

As happens far too often in post-apocalyptic movies, little is explained about the world, we know even less about the main characters, and the ending is a pointless drag. Spending about 3 seconds of dialogue talking about their dead parents with a 2 second flashback doesn't count, either.

I really don't understand this style of writing, but it seems like, very often, in movies such as these directors want to give little backstory to the world or characters, I suppose because the director thinks the setting builds enough tension and investment that you don't need such things, or making you wonder about the world is supposed to...add something? They are wrong.

Without any real backstory for the world or story for the characters you never really care about anyone, and isn't the point of movies to create an emotional response? Instead of trying to world build, at all, the movie focuses on sad characters acting sad, and then everything takes a wide left turn, to create some sort of tension or something actually happening, and then everything gets really stupid. I would say that a character acts wildly OUT of character near the end of the movie, but that's giving too much credit to the writers, because they never built anyone up enough for us to know what was or was not in character, anyway. Let's just say that a character suddenly (literally, this motivation comes from nowhere) wants to do something that no human would ever do, especially after everything else they've already been through, unless this person was completely insane. And no one acted that insane during the movie.

My opinion is that the director / writers knew this was a stinker so they tacked on a "shocking" ending just to make people wonder, or get them talking or, more likely, make people feel like something actually happened during the 90 minute run, even if it was just ridiculous.

The movie manages to get 2 stars for Jessica Rothe alone, she is definitely an up-and-coming star and she has some decent acting skills. Odd side note, this movie says "2016" for the release date, but Jessica Rothe is considerably older looking in "Happy Death Day", and it came out at the beginning of 2017. My guess is that this piece of garbage was filmed a few years ago and sat on the shelf, endlessly, but then Jessica Rothe became moderately successful so this got released after all.

Tedious, Frustrating

[bemyfriend-40184 · 2/10 · 1 August 2021]

Watched about 40 minutes. Fast-forwarded. The ugly guy shows up. Of course he's trouble. Fast-forwarded some more. They all kill each other. And I don't even care why. Seen on Tubi, the free streaming site, which has older theater films; and newer indies.

A Must See if Only To See How Bad a Movie Can Be

[Wayseer · 2/10 · 4 April 2017]

I am not sure where all the stellar reviews came from for this movie. I can only assume that many family and friends of this movie rated it. All the elements were in place to make a great movie, sadly many opportunities were missed while making this lackluster movie.

They apparently had zero technical advisers on the set. A muzzle loading rifle only shoots ONE bullet. It then requires a long and involved manual process to reload it, from the muzzle. You need to pour a measured amount of black powder into the muzzle, then ram some wadding and a bullet down the muzzle (front) of the barrel with a big stick, like the one attached to the rifle. This process takes 2-4 minutes by someone skilled in such a task.

I guess there are some magical muzzle loading rifles out there that shoot as fast as you can squeeze the trigger without the need to reload them. I am in the market for such a magical rifle to use while I am am riding my unicorn.

The genre is sci-fi so such a magical gun makes sense, I guess. I only finished watching it in the hopes it would get better as it had a good start. I did not get better. Much discipline was learned on the part of this viewer to not end this abomination early on during the viewing/waterboarding. An extra star given for the ladies fine attempt at acting. They will get better I think.

The 'Tomato' people owe me 90 minutes of my life back.

Uneven Post-Apocalyptic Thriller *MILD-TO-MODERATE SPOILERS*

[Stovepipe99 · 6/10 · 5 July 2017]

This movie is a great example of a film that I wish had just been slightly better. A trio of sisters is surviving on an isolated ranch after an apocalyptic plague event has devastated their surroundings. One day a handsome young man, Ryan, arrives and the sisters' equilibrium, already shaky, falls apart.

The movie's strength, in my opinion, was the acting. Setting aside the actress who plays the youngest daughter (who had an odd pouting expression for much of the movie that I found distracting), there was good chemistry between the sisters and between the sisters and Ryan. The movie is at its best when it taps into the very real emotional conflict that arises when there is an emergency and the people involved have very different ideas of what is the best course of action. One sister wants to kill Ryan, the other becomes fond of him. One sister thinks they should leave the homestead, the other wants to stay. This conflict felt very organic, and the movie does a good job of keeping the character of Ryan ambiguous so that you don't know which sister is in the right.

In the movie's final act, the sisters face a different threat, and this is where the movie loses its footing. The final act tries to bring in themes involving both the plague and the little sister, and both of those things have been too underdeveloped in the first two acts. The little sister has no dialogue, and she is also not given any powerful non-verbal content--so when she is pushed to the center of the action it doesn't click. Characters assert different things about the plague, and yet I as a viewer didn't have enough of an understanding of the plague to know how to take their opinions.

The very end of the movie was confusing to me. I'm not sure if it's a case of the writer/director having a solid idea and just not conveying it clearly, or if it's a case of the writer/director not knowing how to end the movie and just going with something kind of ambiguous and vaguely sensical. Whatever the case may be, I felt let down by the conclusion of the film.

I watched this movie for free on a streaming service, and I think it's worth checking out. I just really, really wish it had landed the ending.

Suck fest

[davejohnson7552 · 1/10 · 30 July 2019]

It's like they were trying to make it bad. It's stupid but not the funny kind of stupid. Just really bad in every way. Looks like the apocalypse has plenty of lip gloss and hair care products. And also a muzzle loader that works like a repeating riffle for some reason. Just dumb. No excuse. Also I can't spoil this because it was already rotten.

An uncluttered approach adds to the power of this story.

[Victoria King · 9/10 · 21 November 2016]

I had the pleasure of viewing this film at the Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto back in June. There was much to be impressed about in this first feature. From the choice of frame to the clarity of the performances all the elements were orchestrated to draw the audience along into the inevitability of the situation without ever becoming predictable. The director utilized her (albeit limited) resources to optimum effect to create a feature that stands firmly on its feet with no apologies and which delivers a punch, the impact of which belies its modest budget. The audience left the screening replete after this slow burning thriller, visually and intellectually satisfied. I have the feeling we will be seeing a lot more from promising director Ms. Roxy Shih.

A post apocalyptic homestead

[thekarmicnomad · 7/10 · 28 April 2017]

A disease has thinned the population to near extinction. Three sisters are left alone at a remote ranch that their survivalist father built before killing himself. The girls wait hopefully for the rains to return, then one day a young man walks out of the desert.

The three sisters are excellently portrayed and are great characters. The clashes between the eldest sisters as they question the instructions left them by their father before he deserted them are electric.

When the outsider arrives the girls appear to be low hanging (and ripe) fruit. But looks can be deceiving and various plans collide to create some considerable drama.

The female leads are excellent giving very believable performances. Cinematography is great, making the most of the rugged desert landscape.

I don't want to spoil anything, but don't expect a whole load of rainbows here.

Simple story, well crafted. I choose to ignore the very last scene (on accounts I don't understand it) but I would recommend this.

Not worth your time. Had potential.

[monicawright-00605 · 3/10 · 16 March 2019]

First 45 min was slow and dragging. 15 min worth of drama/action then an ominous leading ending with no second movie/insight. Blah - next.

Very stupid

[rotini-52586 · 1/10 · 28 April 2022]

The stupidest movie I've ever seen in my life. What a bunch of horsecrap this entire movie was. Omg.... What a waste of film. Woman are so nieve ? Is that the message of this movie ? Just idiotic !

Good rendition of desert atmosphere and bleak hope

[AJ4F · 7/10 · 22 September 2021]

Taste in movies often comes down to atmosphere and this one pulls it off with feelings of isolation and enough effective dialog to keep things moving. It thoroughly holds your attention and the ending is hard to predict; another mark of a good film.

My main nitpick would be that someone didn't fully clean the lens in a few panoramic scenes.

While this story and its characters could have been fleshed out more, that's true of many films in their restricted times. I don't understand the low ratings and suggest watching it for yourself.

Loved It

[tansley-85591 · 9/10 · 17 February 2017]

This is a great suspense film about three sisters and their struggles in a post apocalyptic world. This is a drama not a horror film. The story pulls you into their world that contains fear, love, boredom, uncertainty, twists and unexpected situations that leave you completely captivated in their world. You root for these sisters to make it when the future is uncertain. Highly Recommend!

A great movie for those who want a thinking moving about a post-apocalptic world

[Viewer111 · 10/10 · 30 November 2018]

"The Tribe" is a very well done movie that takes place after a catastrophic plague of some kind. The illness is never fully revealed, giving the film a very realistic "from the survivior's viewpoint" feel to it. The main characters, three sisters, are alone on the ranch their parents set up. I do not want to give away any spoliers. Positives: Very well written. Great human interaction drama. Superb acting, especially by the three female leads. Excellent plot. Surprise twists and a very haunting ending. Negatives: The rifle that is used is an interesting piece, but its functionality in the setting is not as accurate as might be expected. As a sport shooter (I do not use black powder) I just ignored the mechanics and stayed with the story line. I guess for some, the rifle's use might be a stumbling block. Had it been a bolt action hunting rifle the setting and scenes would have been exactly the same. Otherwise, I found no other negatives to this very engaging and thoughtful movie. My grade, a solid A movie

A film with an important message.

[TheOneThatYouWanted · 9/10 · 18 February 2017]

You have to remember, this is an indie film with the budget of jack rhymes with pit. And sometimes you forget about that because it is a film with a relatively grand-scope feel to it. The director has an eye, that is for sure. You become invested in the world building and the drama becomes realistic. Anyway, the film is about a couple of chicks and their kid sister riding out the apocalypse in a shed until some lame hipster messes it all up. That is another good thing about this film, it can be seen as a euphemism for what all these lame hipsters and trendies are doing nowadays. They're basically posers and making it out like they care about the environment or politics but they're just doing it to get into your pants so be smart, ladies. But what really pisses me off is how they co-opt things in popular culture just to fit in with the rest of us. Chances are they didn't even watch the latest Godzilla movie or are straight up lying about reading all of the Game of Thrones books. They are what is wrong with society and pretty much the world today. And this film does a masterful job of expressing that. Not to mention that one chick looks pretty good running around in tight jeans. Anyway, my office ranking for this film is a 7 out of 10 but taking into consideration this was made on a shoestring budget, I'll give it an 8 out of 10. And just to offset the current ranking I'll give it a 9 out of 10.