‘The Colony’ is a Better Sequel to ’30 Days of Night’ Than ‘Dark Days’ (Review)

Written by: Daniel Hadley

Directed by: Jeff Renfroe

Cast: Kevin Zegers, Laurence Fishburne, Bill Paxton

Sci-Fi and horror are two genres that should go hand in hand, and there are many great examples these two genres having been melded in to something truly fantastic. But I’m hard pressed to think of a good example that has come along in recent years, Prometheus maybe…Meh. The Colony, a Canadian production, looks to make its mark and it boasts a great cast, a bleak setting and some striking visuals. But when the credits rolled I couldn’t help but come back to a familiar feeling… Meh.

The Colony reminded me a lot of 30 Days of Night, in fact this could almost be a sequel set in a snowy post apocalypse. The plot is as such: After the earth is frozen by the next ice age the last remnants of humanity take refuge in huge underground facilities referred to simply as colonies. When colony five sends out a distress signal, the neighboring colony answers the call, only to find that the entire colony has been overrun by a clan of fang toothed, screaming cannibals who are pretty much identical to the vampires from 30 Days of Night. Actually they are the vampires from 30 Days of Night. There is literally no difference except maybe that they are easier to kill.

I will say that this is a well-made movie, the CGI is well implemented and never over used. The acting is fine, Laurence Fishburne and Bill Paxton add some gravitas to the preceding, though both are woefully underused. The action is staged well enough and gets pretty brutal towards the end, though it’s nothing you haven’t seen before.

The main problem with this movie is that it feels so rushed. The characters are never given enough time to grow on us and the world they inhabit is barely explored. Despite some opening narration and some exposition from Laurence Fishburne we’re given very little time to become immersed in this world. The movie suffers from its short length and rushed pace and as a result everything comes off as a little too shallow.

The lack of any well-developed characters leads to a lack of caring when they are later eviscerated by the cannibal antagonists. As I said, the action is well staged and often times pretty brutal. The cannibals use knives, spears, axes and machetes to slice their way through the colonists, and the ensuing carnage held my attention for the most part. The one thing I found most puzzling was that the colonists have guns, quite a lot of guns and as intimidating as a machete wielding, blood smeared, screaming cannibal can be, they don’t do to well against a bullet, so why are the colonies so easily over run?

With all the bad I have said about The Colony I didn’t hate it and it works well as a time killer, so if you’re curious, check it out, it’s a better sequel to 30 Days of Night than Dark Days was.

Rating: 3/5