Survivor

Oh, dear... where to begin. 'Cheap' is the word I'd use to describe 'Survivor.' Even the title is hardly inspired. I ran the word 'survivor' through the Internet Movie Database's search to try and find this film, but there are so many other films/TV shows called it, that I had to end up looking it up via an actor's name. In fact, the searching for it online was actually more enjoyable than the film.

Okay, that maybe a little harsh, but it was just so cheap it was hardly worth bothering with. It's about (and I can barely be bothered to regurgitate it all again!) the last few survivors from a doomed Earth, now destined to fly through space while they search for a new home planet. The spaceships all look computer-generated, but that doesn't last long. The ship soon crashes and they have to survive on an inhospitable planet. Or at least one of them does. A lone girl has to basically fight through hordes of native humans (and later monsters) to try and rescue the few remaining crewmates who survived the crash.

It basically plays out like 'After Earth' but with less of a budget. Then again, After Earth hardly set the Box Office on fire, so that is a strange film to base another one on! Later on the cast moves to underground and, what with the inclusion of the monsters, it ends up a bit like 'The Descent.' Even sci-fi fans won't really enjoy this film. It's just too cheap and too unoriginal to really offer anything new. Yeah, if you're really that bored on a Saturday afternoon and you come across this film on TV (no way you would ever feel justified in paying for it!) you may just sit through it. Only if you're bored though. Really bored.

First of all, I didn't expect much from this going into it, which helps with this sort of thing. I was pleasantly surprised.

It's all a matter of expectation. I used to browse the sci-fi sections of the video stores back in the 90s trying to find anything decent and this move was better than a LOT of what I watched back then.

It's better than all of these similar-themed movies I watched back in the day: - Survivor (1987) - Nightfall (1988) - Def-Con 4 (1985) - Cherry 2000 (1987) - Cyborg (1989) - maybe not too much better than this one, but a little.

I would put in on about the same level of cheesy sci-fi action fare as:

• Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) - Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983)

(well maybe not as good as the last one)

Seriously though, if you don't expect much of this, you'll probably be entertained.

• pretty good action

• pretty good low-budget special effects

• plot moves along pretty well without too many lags

• good make up effects

• lots of gorgeous southern Utah scenery

• strong lead performances by Chuchran and Sorbo

Overall, I would describe it as a pretty decent Sci-Fi time waster.

And to reference other commenter's' mentions of Morlocks, this movie is WAY better than the Guy Pierce/Jeremy Irons, The Time Machine (2002)!

If you are interested in another Chuchran/Lyde collaboration, The Curse of the Dragon Slayer (2013) is also a pretty decent 80s style fantasy/sword & sorcery flick.

This "movie" is about a running blond pretty girl. Originally she came from a spaceship, but that does not matter very much. The story is paper thin or to say it precisely, there is no story. It is one of that stories which is that flat, that it bends time and space and you know not only from the beginning how this movie will end, you will just know the complete plot. Thats because you have seen this story in 10 other equal cheap "Oh no! My spaceship crashed!" scifi movies. I am pretty sure the screenplay was not longer then. "Ships having an accident, then pretty girl runs around, kills some evil dudes, finds a horse yadayadayada the end." Its one of that movies you can watch when you already planned to fall asleep at your couch or when you are drunk like a skunk and want to watch some easy nothing. If you watching it sober, you will for sure fast forward half of the movie.

I was pretty much captivated by the lead actress and would have turned it off after 15 minutes if not for her. That face! My guess is she played some kind of sport growing up because she's athletic and easily the best part about this movie since she lends some credibility to the action sequences and has amazingly expressive eyes. As an aside Hollywood seems to have forgotten how important facial expressions are in conveying what is going on, preferring to dazzle with effects and hammer you over the head with inane dialogue.

Anywho, Chuchran does a great job, but it's just too rough with too little plot for anyone to overcome.

Having read the synopsis for this movie, I must admit that I didn't really expect too much from it, and now having seen it, I can honestly say that the movie lived up to the low expectations.

The story is about the last of mankind searching the vast reaches of space for an inhabitable planet. A spaceship tracking a signal has to go into a wormhole, when disaster strikes. The ship is torn apart and the surviving crew is stranded on the alien planet, having to fight for their very lives to stay alive, against hostile humans and monstrous humanoids.

The storyline was essentially adequate, albeit a bit too simple. And there was a bit too much focus on Danielle Chuchran's athletic skills for running and rock-climbing.

The creatures in the movie were looking more like a crossbreed between the orcs and trolls of "Lord of the Rings", which just made the movie seem like a half-hearted attempt at a Sci-Fi movie. And while we are speaking of "Lord of the Rings", the scenes with Danielle Chuchran running around the barren rocky landscape with a panning camera flying around was just too much like the scene where Legolas was running around. At least do something original...

The reason for me sitting down to watch the movie was Danielle Chuchran and Kevin Sorbo. And sure, they made the movie watchable and endurable, but they were struggling hard with an almost non-existing script and storyline.

"Survivor" is a below average Sci-Fi movie, and if you are in for an evening of Sci-Fi, then I would suggest that you find something else, because this movie is not really worth it.

A mere 4 out of 10 stars to "Survivor".