Chosen Survivors (1974)

A group of diverse individuals are suddenly taken from their homes and flown via helicopter to a futuristic bomb shelter in the desert, nearly two miles below the surface of the Earth. ... See full summary »

Director:

Sutton Roley

Writers:

Harry Spalding (screen story), Harry Spalding (screenplay),

Stars:

Jackie Cooper, Alex Cord, Richard Jaeckel

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jackie Cooper	...	Raymond Couzins
Alex Cord	...	Steven Mayes
Richard Jaeckel	...	Major Gordon Ellis
Bradford Dillman	...	Peter Macomber
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Luis Cabral (as Pedro Armendariz Jr.)
Diana Muldaur	...	Alana Fitzgerald
Lincoln Kilpatrick	...	Woody Russo
Gwenn Mitchell	...	Carrie Draper
Barbara Babcock	...	Dr. Lenore Chrisman
Cristina Moreno	...	Kristin Lerner (as Christina Moreno)
Nancy Rodman	...	Claire Farraday
Kelly Lange	...	Mary Louise Borden

Storyline

A group of diverse individuals are suddenly taken from their homes and flown via helicopter to a futuristic bomb shelter in the desert, nearly two miles below the surface of the Earth. There they learn that a nuclear holocaust is taking place and that they've been "chosen" by computer to survive in the shelter in order to continue the human race. The shelter is designed to allow the people to exist underground comfortably for years, but they are faced with a threat nobody could have predicted: a colony of thousands of bloodthirsty vampire bats finds a way into the shelter and launches a series of vicious attacks where they claim the humans one by one.

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Plot Keywords:

shelter | bat | nuclear holocaust | bomb shelter | underground | 

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Taglines:

They Were Chosen To Live. But They Were Destined To Die!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Mexico USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

5 December 1974 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Fladdermössen

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metromedia Producers Corporation (MPC), Alpine Productions Inc., Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Chosen Survivors (1974) **

This is a movie I've wanted to see for over 30 years now; I first read about it in horror magazines when it first came out, but it soon turned into a lost film that went completely out of circulation. It has now been made available by Fox as part of their Midnite Movies Collection, and I'm a little disappointed to say I wasn't missing all that much.

It's not a "bad" genre film and it's got a good premise, but it's still rather ordinary in the way it's executed. A group of people are selected by computer, sedated, and then sent down 1,758 feet into an underground bomb shelter to see if they might sustain life in the event of a nuclear war. It was another of those perfect experiments hatched by the government, except they overlooked the fact that this project was built down within caves, so now swarms of hungry vampire bats manage to find their way into the bunker and chomp on these frantic chosen survivors. There's more talk going on than anything else, but when the bat attacks do occur, they're pretty satisfying, even if sometimes the special optical effects amount to little more than a flurry of dark splotches.

I got a kick out of seeing former Our Gang child actor Jackie Cooper as the main loudmouth of the bunch who at one point goes on a bender and becomes your basic arrogant pain in the ass character. Other '70s regulars among this cast are Richard Jaeckel (GRIZZLY) Bradford Dillman (BUG), and Lincoln Kilpatrick (THE OMEGA MAN). I thought I recognized director Sutton Roley's name from somewhere, and later I found out that's because he directed some LOST IN SPACE episodes and was primarily a TV show director. I'm not sorry I saw this, but it sure was weak tea.

** out of ****