Sole Survivor (1983 film)

Sole Survivor

Code Red DVD's release artwork
Directed by Thom Eberhardt
Produced by Don Barkemeyer
Written by Thom Eberhardt
Starring
  • Anita Skinner
  • Kurt Johnson
  • Caren Larkey
Music by David F. Anthony
Production
company
R. & C. Larkey
Distributed by International Film Marketing
Release dates
  • December 1983
Running time
 85 minutes
Language English

Sole Survivor is a 1983 horror film written and directed by Thom Eberhardt. The film is loosely based on James Herbert's book, The Survivor.[1]

Plot

TV commercial producer Denise (Anita Skinner) emerges unscathed as the sole survivor of an airliner crash and feels as if she's about to be caught by something. Her doctor/boyfriend (Ken Johnson) is convinced that she's experiencing "survivor's syndrome" in which sole survivors experience guilt and either commit suicide or put themselves in dangerous situations. Denise also receives some ambiguous warnings from psychic ex-actress Carla (Caren Larkey) who predicted the crash. A series of strange sightings and encounters of zombie-like people escalates until it is apparent that something is trying to kill her as people around her start dying as well. Her skeptical boyfriend thinks Denise is going crazy until he finds out that a number of recently dead people - including one that Denise claims attacked her - were found with all of the blood in their bodies drained into their legs as if they had died standing upright.[2]

Release

The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by International Film Marketing in December 1983. Vestron Video released it on VHS in 1985.[3]

The film was released on DVD in the United States by Code Red DVD in 2008.[4]

Reception

Tristan Sinns of Dread Central rated it 4/5 stars and compared it positively to the Final Destination film series.[5] Bill Gibron of DVD Talk rated it 2.5/5 stars and wrote that the film's slow pace causes it to be dull.[6] Tom Becker of DVD Verdict called it "a chilly and effective little creeper" that pre-dates Final Destination.[7] Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, academic Peter Dendle called it "essentially a reworking of the classic Carnival of Souls" with zombies.[8]

References

  1. ↑ A look back at SOLE SURVIVOR (DVD Review)
  2. ↑ SOLE SURVIVOR (1983) - Bleeding Skull
  3. ↑ "New Releases". Billboard 97 (37): 38. September 14, 1985.
  4. ↑ "Sole Survivor (DVD)". codereddvd.com. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  5. ↑ Sinns, Tristan (2008-04-27). "Sole Survivor (DVD)". Dread Central. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  6. ↑ Gibron, Bill (2008-07-09). "Sole Survivor". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  7. ↑ Becker, Tom (2010-01-15). "Sole Survivor". DVD Verdict. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  8. ↑ Dendle, Peter (2001). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia. McFarland & Company. pp. 164–165. ISBN 978-0-7864-9288-6.

External links