PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I’m going to start with this: if you’re checking out Divinity, please keep an open mind. And don’t let that opening statement scare you off either. Or, maybe do, because if that statement would put you off from seeing a film, you wouldn’t enjoy it anyway.
Divinity Synopsis
In an alternate world that doesn’t seem too far off from our own, scientist Sterling Pierce (Scott Bakula, NCIS: New Orleans 2021) is working on a serum that increases human longevity. Sterling dies before he can make it stable in humans, but his son Jaxxon (Stephen Dorff, Leatherface 2017) takes over and seemingly completes it. Now, in Jaxxon’s time, society is filled with beefy, muscle-bound dudes and slender model-y women who are living longer lives but at a cost, they can’t reproduce. (No shade, but that may be for the best…)
From a brief show of advertising, this reality is very male pleasure-oriented. Cue alien Starseed brothers (Jason Genao, On My Block 2021, and Moises Arias, City of Ghosts 2021) and a race of mysterious women guardians led by Ziva (Bella Thorne, Paradise City 2021) to the rescue.
The Starseed brothers arrive on the planet intending to show Jaxxon the harm he’s doing. Meanwhile, the mysterious guardian women are on their own mission to save a rare and unique woman, Nikita (Karrueche Tran, Claws 2022); who in her own right will be humanity’s salvation.
When the brothers meet Nikita, something really beautiful happens between them. The Brothers and Nikita come together to stop Jaxxon Pierce, but things take a crazy and huge shift, as things tend to do, and the film gets crazier from there.
Takeaways
I simplified the synopsis because when you’re watching it, I feel like it takes about a good 20 minutes before you can really make sense of anything, and it’s not until the last few moments of Divinity that you get a better understanding of what’s going on. But even then the story has a big “what the fuck” moment at the end. I mean, it makes sense, it’s just… trippy.
The whole presentation of Divinity is highly stylized, and as I mentioned when the brothers meet Nikita, it’s very beautiful. Before that, things were weird and awkward, much like Jaxxon is. Then after the heroes meet, as you get more of a sense of what this reality on this planet is like. And I can’t stress enough, it just gets increasingly weirder.
There’s this super fun fight sequence that resembles the old Ray Harryhausen stop-motion effects. This is a result of director Eddie Alcazar’s (The Vandal 2021) modified stop-motion technique called ‘Metascope’, which, I loved. I can see how some may not feel it wasn’t an appropriate fit. But I was prepared to go on a journey with this film. So I had no expectations and was just completely open to all of the surrealism on display.
Final Thoughts
I definitely enjoyed the aesthetics and VFX. The sound design and score were also fantastic. Which, the score was done by DJ Muggs (Cypress Hill & House of Pain) and Dean Hurley (Twin Peaks). I’m a little mixed on the actors’ performances. Because you have some great moments with Jason Genao, Moises Arias, and Karrueche Tran; all three performances are excellent. Scott Bakula and Stephen Dorff are fantastic, especially Stephen with how he traverses his arc.
But then there are the “purity protectors,” I believe they’re officially called, who I was referring to as “the women guardians”. I’m not sure if it’s how they’re presented, or what it was exactly. And while I appreciate what they symbolized, they’re really the only part of Divinity that felt a bit hokey for me. Well, okay, and the muscle-bound dudes felt similarly for me also.
But really, I’m not even saying these two things are flaws. Because I feel that it could be just a personal thing. And regardless, Divinity was so good, they didn’t even matter to me.
You’ll likely dig Divinity if you love surrealism and sci-fi. Or if you just really want to see something super weird and different. Either way, I’m telling everyone I know to check it out. Eddie Alcazar really did something unique and special.
Divinity is set for theatrical release in New York on 10/13, Los Angeles on 10/20, and nationwide on November 3rd.
That said… whew… Just seeing the trailer, I knew I was in for some kind of trip.
