I find that when movies compare themselves to the work of M. Night Shyamalan, it is usually a bad sign. While Shyamalan has made a few decent films, twist endings go back to the days of Lovecraft and EC Comics and make for great cinema if done correctly. I find that when blurbs about movies released since The Sixth Sense use it as a comparison, it is often trying to justify the fact that the film seemingly rambles on without a point and you hope that things will be resolved in the climax. In the case of The Survivor, I found myself confused and not really caring about the fate of the lead character. When the final reel played out, I was left wondering why I wasted another chunk of my life on Elite's "Aussie Horror 2" box set.

Robert Powell (from Zeffirelli's "Jesus of Nazareth" mini-series) stars as Keller, the pilot of a commercial airliner that crashes on take-off and explodes. The rescue crew is shocked when Keller walks away from the crash with nary a scratch while everybody else on the plane died a fiery death. Keller wanders through the rest of the movie trying to find out why he was the only survivor and we get more and more confused as he tries to unravel the mystery with the help of a woman (Jenny Agutter) and his work buddy. I don't know what it was with the movie but I was really disinterested the whole time.

The Survivor is based on a novel by James Herbert and was directed by David Hemmings who first made a name for himself as an actor in movies like Barbarella and Camelot. Argento fans will recognize him as the star of Deep Red. Hemmings worked as an actor throughout his career but also found employment as a director on US television shows such as "The A-Team" and "Magnum PI". He was seen more recently in Gladiator and Gangs of New York before his death in 2003. I can see why, as a director, he ended up working in television as he didn't seem to have the style required to helm a feature film. Along with the Indiana Jones-inspired adventure Treasure of the Yankee Zephyr, The Survivor indicates that Hemmings lacked the ability to keep an audience interested for the extended time that a feature film requires and was much better suited working on the shorter bursts of action that are utilized in television.

One good thing I can say about this flick is that the crash sequence was well done as the plane crashed through a residential area complete with a few destroyed buildings and screaming civilians. It also had quite a cool explosion resulting in a fairly intense opening to the film. Even though the rest of the film progressively spun away from this promising beginning, it was an impressive scene. It is also always a pleasure to see Jenny Agutter in a film as she is beautiful and a great actress. This was released the same year as An American Werewolf in London and a few years after Logan's Run so genre fans should instantly recognize her from those films. We also find a photographer character that I couldn't help thinking was a nod to the role that made Hemmings famous in Antonioni's Blow-Up. Finally, it should be noted that this was the final screen appearance of genre vet Joseph Cotten who was in Baron Blood and Soylent Green as well as a number of other classics. Cotten played the priest.

Although this movie had shades of Unbreakable and Carnival of Souls, it just didn't have enough confidence to recommend. I think for a movie like this to work, the entire creative team needs to believe wholeheartedly in what they are doing. This type of magic is difficult to achieve and, when done correctly, the results can be memorable and enchanting leading to inspired discussions and repeated viewings. In other cases, they end up like The Survivor where you find yourself scratching your head and trying to find something that likely wasn't there in the first place. (Josh Pasnak, 8/15/07)

Directed By: David Hemmings.
Written By: David Ambrose.

Starring: Robert Powell, Jenny Agutter, Joseph Cotten, Peter Sumner.

Picture Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen.

Picture Quality: This is a decent looking transfer but the fact that it is non-anamorphic widescreen detracts from the viewing experience.

Extras: We get a trailer (that is is surprisingly presented in anamorphic widescreen) and a five question trivia game.