The Colony [1995]

Upwardly-mobile computer yuppie John Ritter and his happy family move out of crime-plagued LA into a security-conscious, upper-income estate that is heavily signalled by a pre-credits murder as the 1990s equivalent of Stepford. Gradually, as the friendly staff reprimand Ritter for jogging in inappropriate attire or take away the family's pet dog to snip its vocal cords to cut down on after-hours barking, our dimbo heroes suspect that something's amiss in this real estate broker's fascist dream. Though the jabs at gated communities are well-aimed, this cable TV movie's idea of real values [hugging the dog and saying grace] are almost as horrifyingly fake. And that it's-all-a-conspiracy plot is wearing very thin.
KIM NEWMAN

First Published In: Empire [issue unknown]

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