The Survivalist

This was a very good survival film, there were a dozen ways it could have gone and the story explored more scenarios then your average film without the rookie mistake of becoming chaotic.

There's empathy, rawness and a silence that makes you contemplate which way the story will flow as well as characters that you grow to really root for.

I hated the ending as I felt it was unnecessary, the ending really should have ended with the rabbit (don't worry not a spoiler at all)

Sometimes movie endings go for the shock factor and unfortunately that's exactly why the ending fell flat for me. Regardless it was a great movie all the actors were amazing and convincing.

Your heart will race and you will bite your nails because you will grow to root for atleast one of the characters and May even start to feel protective over them. Due to the silent moments, incredible cinematography and survival atmosphere you'll enjoy if you like thrillers.

However if you're interested in movies with a lot of dialogue this isn't the film for you.

Some unknown disaster has struck the planet causing a severe food shortage, it's every man for himself. The title character is held up all on his own in the woods, subsiding on the meagre scraps he can grow and repels anyone who encroaches on his land.

Then a woman and her, rather plain looking, daughter show up asking to trade. The Survivalist, devoid of all human contact apart from the marauders he kills, cannot resist the pull of some female companionship.

This film has a very small stage, concentrating entirely on the three central characters. Dialogue is minimal but effective, the Survivalist is especially grumpy and non-communicative.

There is a lot of nudity, expect dong shots and people washing their bits in the river and some very grubby sex scenes.

The scope of the story is small but the stakes for the characters are high. It has a poke around at desperation and necessity. Would you pimp your daughter out for a bowl of soup? I suppose it depends how hungry you are.

Well made, well acted, small budget but clever lighting makes it look gritty rather than cheap.

A very good, low octane watch.

This film is a prime example of how well researched material can take the smallest of budgets, minimal dialogue and a complete lack of soundtrack and turn this into a masterpiece.

The viewer is given no background story and none of the characters are fleshed out. There is next to no information on anyone in the film apart from the main character, and even with him, there is very little information given. But that is the point. The strength of the film lies not in the story but the idea of what one does to survive when life goes back to basics. The viewer's attention is drawn to the intensity of the situation, the survival skills that are actual knowledge one needs to survive in the wild. The cold and barren undertone of the film should have been the reason for its failure. Instead, it serves to emphasise the stark and bleak situation that all the characters are faced with. The script does not pull any punches and a strong stomach is needed for some scenes. And if you get the gist of the film so far, then you will already know whether there is a happy ending or not...

I overall liked the movie. It didn't try to take on a large topic. It wasn't fun or nice or had a happy ending, just a well told story. Many movies are trying to be more than they are, and this wasn't one of them. It was very well acted and has great visuals. Often times, movie will go for 1-3 minutes without any dialogue, which I found to be an effective way to tell the story.

Main 3 characters didn't have any allusions of hope; they were just there trying to survive day-to-day. I am a fan of the Dystopian genre; however, often times, it ends up being unrealistic or trying to a franchise maker. This didn't try any of it, and just succeeded to be a strong movie.

The opening shot of 'The Survivalist' cleverly sets the situation in which the film is set: the camera follows two lines on a graph, one showing oil production, the other world population. While the oil one starts to reduce, the population one continues its dizzying climb (appropriately, the film is set in Ireland, home of the European Union's highest birth rate!) until suddenly plummeting. Thus the scene is set.

An unnamed man (Martin McCann) lives in a forest, protecting his vegetable garden from occasional marauders with his rifle, his knife, and his totally naff haircut. This hand-to-mouth existence is disrupted one morning when a mother and daughter appear, seeking to barter the sexual favours of the daughter (Mia Goth) for food. The two women stay and, although suspicious, the man gradually, slightly, lets down his guard - but are the women as innocent as they appear?

Essentially a three-hander, at first glance this could make a good play, although live audiences might find their attention wandering during the long periods where nobody speaks as they tramp through the forest, do gardening, or irrigate the crops by urinating on them. But on film these sequences have a quiet beauty (well, not the urination) and, crucially, writer/director Stephen Fingleton - who has won several awards for this work - doesn't over-play them, or drag them out - something of which certain other directors of far more experience would be guilty.

The acting is good, with all three leads providing low-key but believable - as far as the circumstances allow - performances. Olwen Fouéré is especially noteworthy as the older woman seeking to manipulate things in order to survive, and McCann provides some good facial expressions that well convey emotions that would otherwise remain unexpressed, such is the monosyllabic speech of his character.

Combining human interest with tension and threat, this is a low-budget gem that is well worth seeing if you get the chance.