This is the next bad sci-fi that you need to see. Critics have spurned it as “the science fiction that even science fiction fans won’t like”. That’s a pretty harsh call. Let’s assess why Survivor did not survive the heat of film reviewers.
It has a splash of sci fi favourites like Kevin Sorbo and Rocky Meyers. It has a dazzling leading lady played by Danielle Chuchran who has been cast in many of director John Lyde’s films before. The premise, a standard trope in the science fiction realm of plot arcs, starts with a crew who have never left their ship as they search for the new earth. Of course, a planet presents it self and no one thinks to hesitate to see if there are any hostile life forms.
There is another reason this film is disappointing, and surprisingly critics haven’t touched on this. If this team of soldiers and scientists have been travelling for decades after Earth collapsed, why is the crew the most non-cultural group of people ever seen. There is not a single person on the ship, speaking role or otherwise, who isn’t a straight up Anglo-Saxon Caucasian person. Logistically speaking, the remaining survivors of earth would have a bit more diversity. Regardless of logic, it comes off as plain insulting.
Ridiculous undertones of racism aside, the main let down for this one can be summed up in two words – Monster Mash. The script wasn’t fantastic, the visual effects weren’t mind-blowing and the characters struggled to make a viewer actually give a damn about them while things fall apart towards the end when it’s just monsters coming at you left, right and centre. Not particularly believable monsters either, just growling things you might have seen at Halloween.
But this is the double-edged sword, or perhaps double edged bow and arrow, as you will see Danielle Chuchran carrying around in Survivor. There comes a power in knowing the script is weak, the characters are flat but hey, if people want an awesome monster mash then this is the place to see it. Chuchran pulls off some pretty cool scenes fighting her way out of the desert packed with aforementioned monsters. And of course, as science fiction has always been about this at its core, there’s a message in there critiquing life now as it is with the idea of a future.
Survivor may have done better as a television series, giving the characters room to grow and sub-plots a chance to flourish. All the elements are there for a fun binge-session of sci fi action. Instead, we get just over two hours of Danielle Chuchran jumping and climbing things a lot while Kevin Sorbo occasionally pops up to give her mental strength in dire times. It’s unfortunate Survivior didn’t reach its potential, but it is still an opportunity to pop some popcorn and find that so bad can sometimes be so good.
Review Score: ONE STAR (OUT OF FIVE)
Running Time: 89 minutes
Survivor will be available on DVD from 22nd April 2015 through Eagle Entertainment
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