Originality might be as scarce as seeds are in director Jeff Renfroe's icy postapocalyptic thriller The Colony, but stylish direction and urgent pacing help elevate the clichéd screenwriting slightly above Syfy Original Movie territory in this story about a desperate group of survivors fighting for their lives against a terrifying, all-consuming threat.
Mother Nature has cast an icy spell over the Earth once again, driving the few remaining pockets of humanity deep underground. Under the leadership of Briggs (Laurence Fishburne), the inhabitants of Colony 7 have managed to endure against all odds. They've been maintaining close contact with Colony 5, the only other community known to have weathered the chilling winds above, but eventually their neighbors' radios go mysteriously silent. Determined to find out exactly what happened in Colony 5, Briggs ignores the objections of his vocal rival Mason (Bill Paxton) and ventures out to investigate with Sam (Kevin Zegers) and Graydon (Atticus Mitchell). By the time Briggs and his crew discover exactly what they're dealing with at Colony 5, however, their own base may have been compromised.
A rainy-day movie if ever there was one, Renfroe's efficient little thriller benefits enormously from the director's talent at creating a believably bleak future on a limited budget. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have names like Fishburne and Paxton headlining the cast, but Renfroe grabs our attention early on with an effective setup, subjecting us to the same claustrophobia as his isolated protagonists through atmospheric camerawork and desperate dialogue. Though the screenplay, written by Renfroe in collaboration with Patrick Tarr, Pascal Trottier, and Svet Rouskov, echoes a number of influential sci-fi thrillers, it's the execution that holds our attention -- even once we realize that the writers aren't expanding on those influences in any discernible way. Like a snowbound version of Douglas Aarniokoski's 2011 thriller The Day, The Colony is a film that's simply content to play within the well-defined parameters of the postapocalyptic genre. As a result, your enjoyment will hinge on your willingness to accept the archetypes and familiar scenarios at face value rather than lament the lack of innovation.
Make no mistake -- if you're looking for flaws here, you're sure to find them. That said, Renfroe's modest budget affords him the opportunity to create a future that isn't out of the realm of possibility. Add to that a good eye for detail, a fair amount of talent in front of the camera, and a memorably fierce villain, and you've got all of the ingredients for an indie effort with teeth (and sharpened ones at that). True, The Colony will be seen as a failure by smug viewers who measure their love for cinema by their ability to stay one step ahead of the storyteller, but for those just in the mood for some simple escapist fare, this competent genre yarn delivers enough chills and thrills to entertain right up to the bitter end.