Chosen Survivors (1974)

Director:

Sutton Roley

Writers:

H.B. Cross (screen story)
H.B. Cross (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 December 1974 (Mexico)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

1,758 Feet Underground, A Perfect World Programmed For Man's Survival, Except For...

Plot:

A group of diverse individuals are suddenly taken from their homes and flown via helicopter to a futuristic bomb shelter in the desert...

Plot Keywords:

Shelter | Nuclear Holocaust | Desert | Underground | Vampire Bat

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

Also Known As:

Los sobrevivientes escogidos (Mexico)

Runtime:

130 min | USA:99 min | Spain:93 min

Country:

Mexico | USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Company:

Metromedia Producers Corporation (MPC)

Desmodus Rotundus: Horde of Torment

The world as we know it, is about to end. Total Thermonuclear Destruction: 4 billion casualties, 168 survivors, 12 hi-tech underground facilities spread across the USA at a depth of 1.758ft, one located in the New Mexico desert inhabited by 11 unsuspecting citizens on government command with their sole purpose… the survival of the human race. But our group of chosen survivors will soon have something else to worry about than the lethal radiation levels above their heads: Desmodus Rotundus, commonly known as the vampire bat.

CHOSEN SURVIVORS is one nifty 70's post-nuke paranoia-thriller. The opening-scene already looks promising: 11 sedated citizens are flown in by helicopter over the ominous desert landscape, accompanied on the tunes of a tense brass score. In slow-motion they are shoved into an elevator and when it starts to go all the way down, the opening-credits come on and slow-motion shots of the elevator rattling and shaking continue. Great stuff! Once inside the facility, the survivors learn about their faith.

The characters are all well drawn-out, each of them having an expertise in a certain field (science, sports, writing,…). They'll all have to get along and work together in order to survive, but needless to say tensions arise and conflicts occur. All that is pretty entertaining already, but the real fun starts when they discover a vampire bat inside the facility. They realize that a whole horde of hungry killer-bats is lurking inside the caves surrounding the facility. And paranoia turns into survival. Psychologically, the characters are also well thought-out. Naturally, there's one guy you love to hate that eventually does something very stupid, but even his character changes throughout the movie. So, all-in-all CHOSEN SURVIVORS is pretty unpredictable when it comes to who'll survive and who won't, if any.

The set-design, of course, looks dated but nevertheless was a well-constructed concept for those days. The bat attacks are staged in a decent fashion. Good thing is that they actually used a lot of real bats in certain scenes, instead of going for the obvious fake ones. The blue-screen effects are obvious in certain scenes, but always effective. Aside from the survival-horror-element with the bats, CHOSEN SURVIVORS is a bit more in the sci-fi/thriller vein of other 70's paranoia/conspiracy movies like, for instance, CAPRICORN ONE. Only this time with nobody being hunted down, but the whole group being trapped deep below ground. As to be expected, the facility isn't all that big (limited budget, limited sets), but the location is put to good use.

With the look and feel being obsolete, CHOSEN SURVIVORS actually could inspire a decent remake, in my opinion. Just replace the global nuclear devastation angle with that of the ever-so-popular killer-virus one, put the whole concept in capable hands with a decent budget for a skilled crew and up-to-date special effects supported by a good cast, et voilà, we should have a remake that's far more decent than the uninspired crap they keep cranking out nowadays. No need to change the script even, because it already contains a decent twist around the middle part, which in today's suspense cinema has become a must. Actually, they might want to make the bats virus-infected this time, because how in this film they manage to kill off adults in a couple of minutes with a dozen bites or so, is beyond me. Other than this shortcoming, the script successfully blends genres. A typical 70's accomplishment on the one hand, and ahead of its time on the other. Check this one out. It's a gem.