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.

The Survivalist is BAFTA nominated film about a man who is trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world where food is scarce and where people will kill to take it from you . He comes across a mother and daughter and isn't sure he can trust their intentions. This is Grim to say the least. Not grim in a bad way because the story dictates it should be that way but it is hard watch at times. It's graphic as well. Sexually and violently and the characters on display don't say match. Possibly because they are continuously suspicious of each other or maybe because of what they have witnessed in the past , words are as scarce as the food they crave. Good performances from Martin McCann ( we never get to know his name) and Mia Goth add up to an interesting film that might not be to everyone's taste.

This won't be everyone's cup of tea. I however have watched plenty of absolute rubbish and this film is well acted, filmed and written. I'm a big Walking Dead fan and this reminded me quite a bit on it, although more a slower stronger tequila without zombies than the beery dead. The atmosphere is palpable and a lot is left to the imagination as to the whys and whats however the interplay in a low number of characters is pretty intense. You do need to be able to enjoy this kind of thing and there's a lot of subtext social commentary in here, not much is in your face explicit generic movie script that spells everything out. Shot beautifully in Ireland, intense stuff with no laughs, but I thought pretty fresh.

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...