The Colony

Name: The Colony
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Released: September 20, 2013
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 28

2013

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 53 Ratings

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5.3

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5.3	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 53 Ratings

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The Colony

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Movie Details & Credits

Image Entertainment | Release Date: September 20, 2013 | Not Rated

Summary: Forced underground by the next ice age, a struggling outpost of survivors must fight to preserve humanity against a threat even more savage than nature.

Director: Jeff Renfroe

Genre(s): Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 95 min

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Critic Reviews

Ernest Hardy

Sep 17, 2013

The Colony has modest rewards: It's decently acted, delivers some well-executed jolts, doesn't insult the viewer's intelligence, and is mercifully free of ironic distance. Read full review

Empire David Parkinson

Jun 20, 2016

Notwithstanding the efforts of a game cast, this is a grotesque miscalculation that disrespects the memory of those who perished in one of the darkest episodes in recent history by turning it into a piece of white-knuckle entertainment. Read full review

Time Out London Cath Clarke

Jun 27, 2016

Everything here feels inauthentic, from the cast speaking their lines in English to the unthrilling final escape attempt. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Godfrey Cheshire

Sep 20, 2013

The problem is that the filmmakers' aversion to any hint of storytelling originality means that the main impression The Colony leaves is one of almost stupefying over-familiarity. Read full review

Kyle Smith

Sep 30, 2013

Can’t somebody come up with a monster that does something more interesting than run at you screaming, “Yeeaaaarrrrgh”? Read full review

Tirdad Derakhshani

Sep 19, 2013

There are a few nice scares in The Colony, and the female lead, Rookie Blue's Charlotte Sullivan, looks really, really cute in blond dreadlocks. But she can't save the movie, nor can her impressive costars, Bill Paxton, Kevin Zegers, and Laurence Fishburne. Read full review

R. Kurt Osenlund

Sep 16, 2013

Greedily tries to cram every dystopian curse into one misbegotten plot, resulting in something wildly disjointed, even if its pieces arguably connect. Read full review

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User Reviews

GatsuBerserker

Oct 11, 2015

If you are not too nitpicky about plot holes and some irrational details you should watch it 'cause it's enjoyable and entertaining. Decent acting, survival, adrenaline it's all there. You know, movies don't have to be 100% realistic to be entertaining, that's the point of imagination, it'sIf you are not too nitpicky about plot holes and some irrational details you should watch it 'cause it's enjoyable and entertaining. Decent acting, survival, adrenaline it's all there. You know, movies don't have to be 100% realistic to be entertaining, that's the point of imagination, it's not real. I'll give it a 10 to raise the raiting a bit but it's objectively 7 or maybe 8.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Duczek

Jul 9, 2014

I didn't expect too much due to the bad reviews, but supprisingly I enjoyed it thoroughly. The characters were played convincingly, the plot was quite intresting and the action was well paced.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Xyled777

Nov 28, 2013

We watched this just because Bill Paxton and Lawrence Fishburne were in it and were definitely pleased. There were more than a few times when we were saying "Huh?", but overall we loved it!

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Bunkerfox

Oct 6, 2014

Good visuals and great acting can't quite elevate this film above it's lackluster writing and predictable plot and characters

It's a great post apocalyptic setting, and the visuals really reinforce that, whether it's how the colonies are shot or the CGI they've used, they all create aGood visuals and great acting can't quite elevate this film above it's lackluster writing and predictable plot and characters

It's a great post apocalyptic setting, and the visuals really reinforce that, whether it's how the colonies are shot or the CGI they've used, they all create a brilliantly bleak atmosphere.

The acting, especially from Fishburne, Paxton and Zegers, is very good. Fishburne especially excels. It's just a shame him and Paxton aren't given more screen time. Paxton as well could have done with a lot more chances to build his character, who in the end is let down by lazy and cliché writing

The story is ok but a bit by the numbers. It does feel a bit like like the creators had a great idea for the first half of a film but then couldn't think what to do with the rest of it. they set up a great situation and setting but they don't go anywhere with it and instead fall back to a by the numbers monster movie and the characters are never given enough time to really develop

It isn't a bad film by any means and is quite enjoyable to watch, but its plot and characters mean it will never be a must-see film… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

masterjohnson1

Mar 18, 2014

Not as good as I thought it would be judged on the trailer that I saw but it was not the worst film I have ever seen it was good for what it was and I would not recommend this to anyone

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

MamaTLF

Sep 21, 2013

The idea for the story is good, the twist in the story excellent and cast promising. But the plot development has flaws in logic that turns the story on a path full of unnecessary events and character development. That coupled with naive last half of the movie and the ending that seemedThe idea for the story is good, the twist in the story excellent and cast promising. But the plot development has flaws in logic that turns the story on a path full of unnecessary events and character development. That coupled with naive last half of the movie and the ending that seemed rushed with no explanation, the movie is just a shell of what it was supposed to be.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

dumeril7

Jan 2, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Actually, the harsh critics are exactly right on this one. It's unoriginal, contrived, and worst of all, it makes no sense. On the positive side, it's good looking the cinematography and and special effects are well down. It has a better acting cast than it deserves. The problem is that it has holes in the plot you could drive a truck through and it develops a bunch of subplots that ultimately go nowhere and just detract from the story. (SPOILER ALERT) Some examples: 1) The explanation for how "feral people" doesn't stand up to logic: The world has a long history of starving people and they've never turned into what these people turn into. 2) Why are common sicknesses all of a sudden so deadly? I know they're in a closed environment, but people live on ships and in the arctic today and common illnesses aren't nearly the grave danger they make them out to be in this movie. 3) The whole power struggle between Mason and the rest of the crew gets a bunch of screen time but ultimately fizzles out, failing to advance the story, set up a key plot element, or add drama. 4) The feral people follow our hero back to his colony by following his footprints in constant wind and snow which would obliterate those footprint in a matter of hours. 5) When the hero grabs seeds to take to the thaw-out zone to re-seed the earth, he grabs a couple jars! There are many, many others. Frankly, it feels like this film started out with a significantly different story and it got a half-baked rewrite in the middle. Perhaps it was originally a zombie movie then a lot of what is in the film makes more sense. But as it stands, it's just a pretty mess.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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