Shibuya's Theater N may not exactly fit the definition of a grindhouse — its polite staff and lack of dodgy-looking stains on the seats rule that out — but any cinema doing a late-show revival of 1978's notorious "I Spit on Your Grave" earns the comparison. Theater N has been getting good mileage lately out of a repertoire of edgy low-budget/indie horror and rock docs, combined with the occasional offbeat art film.
My girlfriend dragged me down there to see the documentary on hard-luck Hole drummer Patty Schemel, "Hit So Hard," last month, and when the preview for "The Divide" came up, we were both blown away. Now, previews are notorious for suckering you into lousy films — anyone seen "Dark Shadows" yet? — but I'm happy to report that "The Divide" mostly delivers on its promise of a postapocalyptic panic thriller.
The premise is simple enough: A nuclear device is triggered in an unnamed Western city. A mass of terrified people flee for the safety of their building's basement before the spreading blast hits them. Only a few make it in before the superintendent bars the door shut. The jittery survivors scream as they hear the building above them collapse. With the radioactive cloud and rubble and God knows what else happening on the surface, they realize they will be trapped down there for the long term. Let the mind games and power struggles begin.