'Divided Into Zero'

A short review for a short film.

Divided Into Zero is a 1999 short film by Mitch Davis. It touches on three stages of a child killer's life. Non-linear and surreal, Divided Into Zero is indeed a very grim viewing experience. While not graphic gore wise, this 34 minute short carves vivid images into your mind with a razor blade and is psychologically more disturbing than anything the August Underground films can throw at us.

Images of the killer as a young 7 year old boy slashing at his arm with a razor blade, getting urinated on by a woman in the middle age stage of his life, and abducting a little girl when the killer has approached old age, really show how much this guy's mental heath has fucked up during his lifetime. The most disturbing images in the film are of the abducted little girl with razor blade wedged into her lip and one wedged between her fingers. The killer seems to get off on just staring at the poor girl being helpless and in agony, crying silent tears. Divided Into Zero is no good time film by any means. It is stark, superbly shot, and very clever at interpreting what goes on in the mind of a child killer without giving too much away.

So, if images of a  razor blade wedged into the lip of a little girl, self mutilation, a golden shower, eye drops on a child's doll and lots of surreal images interest you, Divided Into Zero is the perfect film for you... And I think it is a pretty perfect film - Just the right running time, the right amount of horror, the right amount of sleaze and its disturbing as hell.

(Ade Rowe December 2010)