The Colony
Directed by Jeff Renfroe
Distributed by Alliance Films
The Colony takes place in a bleak and dismal future, where the actions of mankind have brought Earth into the next ice age. The film had potential to create an intriguing story about survival, but apart from strong visuals, it fell flat.
In this future, a handful of humans have managed to survive, living in underground colonies sheltered from the unforgiving weather. They live in fear of the common cold, as living in the enclosed quarters leaves them susceptible to spreading disease and anyone with a cough is quarantined.
One thing this film managed to do well was set design and art direction. The underground stations feel cramped, and isolated, dark tones set the stage for a grim tale.
The colony in which the film takes place receives a distress signal from another nearby colony. The colony leader, played by Laurence Fishburne, embarks on a rescue mission to discover the source of the distress call and help any survivors.
At this point it was apparent that illness was the greatest threat to survival, and everything seemed to be leading up to some kind of zombie variation with the unknown downfall of the other colony. This was only reinforced when the rescue party finds one survivor who forebodingly tells them to “define dead” when asked if the rest of his colony had died.
It was therefore pleasantly surprising to find that the main villain of the film was a horde of feral cannibals. With the cannibals came the only other thing the film succeeded in, fight sequences. The action was stylistically appealing and refreshing, easily becoming the highlight of the film.
Unfortunately the action was used sparingly, instead The Colony dealt mainly with the effects of damaging the environment and how humans can descend to the level of savage beasts in the face of desperation. In the end, director Renfroe was unable to find a balance between action and exploring other issues, leaving The Colony feeling as if it had a duty to preach to the audience.
