6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
Keller is an experienced pilot whose plane crashes in a field near a town. He ends up being the sole survivor, but he's unable to remember what happened that caused the plane to crash. He also can't explain how come he's the only one who survived without even a scratch while everyone else on board died. A local female psychic, Hobbs, who's been having visions ever since the night of the crash, and Keller's own sense of survivor's guilt convince Keller that he needs to get to the bottom of things. Meanwhile, some of the children killed in the crash begin appearing to some of the locals and an eerie series of strange deaths occurs. Keller and Hobbs approach the local priest, who seem to be the only one in town who believes in Keller's innocence and Hobbs disturbing visions.
Starring: Robert Powell (I), Jenny Agutter, Joseph Cotten, Angela Punch McGregor, Peter SumnerHorror | 100% |
Mystery | 9% |
Supernatural | 9% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
BDInfo
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
M. Night Shyamalan seems to be “back”, or at least on the way, courtesy of his well received thriller Split (Blu-ray.com’s Brian Orndorf was evidently less impressed with the film than some other critics). Without getting into the plot dynamics of this film or revealing what comedians refer to as a “callback”, suffice it to say that there’s an unmistakable reference in Split to Shyamalan’s follow up to his breakthrough film The Sixth Sense, 2000’s Unbreakable. That may bring a new audience to this now almost two decade old film, and with the release of The Survivor on Blu-ray, some film historians may wonder if Shyamalan himself may have stumbled across this 1981 Australian production and tucked away a plot point or two in his subconscious, where they showed up again in his tale of David Dunn (Bruce Willis), a guy who manages to escape a horrifying train accident as the lone survivor of the catastrophe, emerging from the carnage with nary a scratch on his body. Something very similar is at play in The Survivor, albeit this time with a 747 instead of a metroliner. After a few introductory scenes, the film begins with a well staged and gut wrenching airline disaster, one that was evidently effected without the help of miniatures and (not to state the obvious, given the film’s production era) without the blandishments of CGI. In this case, it’s the jet’s pilot, Keller (Robert Powell), who walks away unscathed while everyone else in the airplane perishes. That sets the film off onto dual paths, with a procedural element attempting to divine what happened, kind of similarly to Fate Is the Hunter, and another, more presciently Shyamalan-esque element which develops a more supernatural ambience.
The Survivor is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. There is typical age related wear and tear that shows up with fair regularity here, with minor and transitory speckling, dirt and similar issues. While there's fairly evident wobble during the credits sequence, things calm down afterward and there are no further problems in that regard. While the palette is just a trifle variable, tending toward brown a bit of the time, in brightly lit outdoor sequences it's really quite vivid looking, with deep blue skies and accurate looking flesh tones. Grain is well in evidence but has a kind of chunky yellow quality in some scenes, something that can add to an already somewhat opaque appearance (see screenshot 10). Some optical effects also intentionally mask detail levels (see screenshot 4). On the whole, this is an organic looking transfer that shows the age of the elements as well as the low budget nature of the film itself, but which should please fans without undue expectations.
The Survivor features an LPCM 2.0 mono track which quite capably delivers dialogue, occasional bombastic and/or spooky sound effects, and the kind of anachronistic score from Brian May. The haunting voices supposedly emanating from "the other side" can have a somewhat processed sound at times, perhaps due to added reverb, but everything else sounds clear on this problem free track.
Here's a wild thought: M. Night Shyamalan should consider remaking this film. While there are a lot of interesting concepts floating around this feature, nothing is tied together very artfully and a sounder screenplay might have delivered more scares and, ultimately, satisfaction at the denouement. Still, there's a peculiarly haunting ambience to this film and horror fans who aren't expecting an undiscovered masterpiece may enjoy this. Video shows its age, but audio is fine, and despite an apparent authoring error, Severin has assembled some appealing supplements (though don't play the Ginnane Trailer piece in polite company or definitely if there are kids around). Recommended.
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