The Survivalist (2015)

In a time of starvation, a survivalist lives off a small plot of land hidden deep in forest. When two women seeking food and shelter discover his farm, he finds his existence threatened.

Director:

Stephen Fingleton

Writer:

Stephen Fingleton

Stars:

Mia Goth, Martin McCann, Barry Ward

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Mia Goth	...	Milja
Martin McCann	...	Survivalist
Barry Ward	...	Forager
Andrew Simpson	...	Gaunt Man
Ryan McParland	...	Crossbow Raider
Olwen Fouere	...	Kathryn
Kieri Kennedy	...	The woman in the photograph
Douglas Russell	...	The Snatcher
Hussina Raja	...	Watchwoman
Michael Og Lane	...	Raider
Ciaran Flynn	...	Watchman
Sean Doupe	...	Raider
Caitlin Deeds	...	Settler Woman
Aaron Goldring	...	Raider
Dexter Louca Godfrey	...	Settlement Child

Storyline

In a kill-or-be-killed world where starvation is rife and strangers are always dangerous, The Survivalist lives off the grid, and by his wits. When a starving woman and her teenage daughter discover his forest refuge, his loneliness drives him to overcome his suspicion and strike a bargain with them in return for bed and board. But as desire becomes stronger than necessity, the exchange becomes an uneasy, ongoing arrangement which threatens not only his carefully constructed world but also his life.

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Plot Keywords:

forest | woods | survival | survivalism | famine | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 February 2016 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Survivalist

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fyzz Facility Film One, The, thefyzz

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was filmed in Antrim, Northern Ireland

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Connections

Follows Magpie (2014)

User Reviews

The food comes first. The life's later or maybe never.

The title reveals everything, but still you must watch this to know how everything going to take place. Life on earth is meant for survival of the fittest, but the human evolution changed that idea and again, what happen when the rules we are used to have changed back to the original? This is a post apocalyptic theme set in somewhere in the Britain and revolves around three people who are fighting for their survival, everyday.

The feature film debut for the director, who also managed the screenplay quite superbly. You can find many similar films, but everyone of those has its own story with the backdrop of various threats and other issues to deal. Also, when the circumstances differ, the following events take a different lead. Thus giving the viewers a new perspective and entertainment.

This is nothing like those I had seen. It was too rough and tough in revealing stuffs to the facts of its state of condition. I mean the humans have lost the trust between one another. You might say that is common in all the post-apocalyptic films, but this is very good at details. A silent film, like background score was almost zero, so the appeal was stronger in every those thrill scenes like it was real or some kind of a documentary film.

A man is living alone in the middle of the forest, grows his own vegetables and always be an extra careful from any outside threat. Then one day a woman and her daughter comes looking for food to trade with their valuables. The deal does not go well between them, but somehow they all manage to gain trust and start to live together. Obviously there's always an issue of food shortage, so how they are going to handle and followed by many other troubles brings an end to the tale.

"The only thing I have caught in there walked on two legs."

A minimal cast film with less dialogues, but totally a visual storyteller. I liked the film, but not my favourite, just a fine thriller. The actors are not very popular, but still they are familiar faces and I liked the film because of them. Critically acclaimed and well received by movie goers, but the common people who are vital for the commercial success let it down. It was nominated for the BAFTA awards in the newcomer writer/director category, but did not win.

The film's main plot is the food. The human population grown so fast during entering the twenty first century and again fallen rapidly due to the shortage of food which is obviously directly affected by pollution and other issues. So the theme was right, but not everybody gets that message. Because most of who watch it expects entertainment and nothing else. I hope that would not be your excuse to ignore it.

The film was shot in Northern Ireland, in a couple of places and its surroundings. It is slow, but steady in what it wanted to tell us. It's not a question about how familiar the theme is, but how different and obviously how different people tackle such situations is what this film focused to tell us pretty dramatic way.

When I say the poster, I thought it was like a native American or south American's story. Mainly because of the haircut that gave the impression like that I saw from other films. The synopsis gave a different perspective, so I found it more interesting than before. Then I watched, with a low expectation after knowing it was not received well. But I surprised and come to know this is not a bad film as they have said. In fact a very interesting perspective on how these three people struggle with what they have got in front of them. I am not saying it's a must see, but definitely not the worst, so I suggest you to do small research if you are confused to try this title. If you ask me, I would say just go for it.

7/10