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The Survivalist Blu-ray delivers stunning video and audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
The story of a man in a time of starvation, living off the grid since before the grid went down. Growing food on a small farm hidden deep in a forest, he protects his land from thieves and foragers with man traps and a shotgun. But the long years alone have taken their toll on him, and he is beginning to lose his grip on reality. His isolation is broken by two visitors; Kathryn and her teenage daughter, Milja. They are starving and desperate for food. Initially reluctant to share any, he relents when they offer a night with Milja. The exchange becomes an uneasy ongoing arrangement; as Kathryn schemes to take control of the farm, and the Survivalist finds his feelings growing for her daughter. When the farm comes under attack from outsiders, they find they must work together to survive, developing loyalties which will be tested when food runs short.
For more about The Survivalist and the The Survivalist Blu-ray release, see the The Survivalist Blu-ray Review published by Dr. Stephen Larson on February 2, 2018 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.0 out of 5.
Note: this unrated version of THE SURVIVALIST contains scenes of frontal female nudity and male genitalia.
Irish director Stephen Fingleton's The Survivalist tells a grim but often scenically beautiful tale about an unnamed
title character (Martin McCann) living in the backwoods of the northern Ireland county of Monaghan. The post-apocalyptic
fable is set sometime in the near future as it follows the survivalist's daily rituals around a ram-shackled cabin. He's hardly
had any contact with homo sapiens for at least seven years and been haunted by the mysterious death of his brother. In a
prologue depicting an animated graph showing oil depletion and its inverse correlation with overpopulation, Fingleton
establishes the plight of the survivalist and other humans subsisting to stay alive. As Fingleton explains in an interview with
Film Ireland magazine, "I came up with the idea for The Survivalist based on a documentary about peak oil I
saw, called Collapse [2009] about how resource limitations would lead to a collapse of industrialised society – a
fantastic thesis. I started imagining what I would do to survive and I realised you could tell the story of what civilisation
would be like from the perspective of someone who sees it coming, someone who is ready, someone who is prepared." The
film's titular protagonist fits those qualities but he longs for a woman. (He masturbates while gazing down at a crumpled
photo of a blonde, who was possibly either his wife at one time or his brother's spouse.) One day he has two unannounced
guests: an older woman named Kathryn (Olwyn Fouéré) and her teenage daughter Milja (Mia Goth). Kathryn states that
they're in need of food and offers jewels and seeds for the survivalist to plant. He's not interested in either but the mother
counteroffers Milja as a bedroom companion to him and he accepts. The survivalist is more than a little paranoid and trusts
no one. He holds Kathryn and Milja at gunpoint as they eat at his table and get settled in his makeshift abode. Although the
two visitors help tend to the owner's vegetable garden, they have an agenda of their own. All three characters become
entangled in a game of survival of the fittest.
I was expecting The Survivalist to look as bleak and dark as John Hillcoat's The Road (another dystopian film I
like and admire) but Fingleton and his cinematographer Damien Elliott have deftly balanced the nighttime settings with day
scenes showcasing the forest's rich foliage and verdant vegetation. The natural world is still left and it's a nice counterpoint to
the savages, marauders, and raiders that the survivalist and his two guests have to withstand. Additionally, Fingleton wisely
avoids probing back stories of any of the characters so it keeps the audience guessing how they'll act or continue making it. For
example, I couldn't tell if Kathryn was a witch or a sorceress upon her first appearance. (Her long white hair makes her look like
the younger sister of Willow's Fin Raziel.) She tries to act kind and is willing to barter with the survivalist. Both he and
Milja say very few words but develop an odd romantic relationship. Milja seems to grow to like him much to the misgivings of
her mum. The survivalist doesn't speak for the first nineteen minutes and his motives are couched strictly in instinct and
experience. While The Survivalist contains various unpleasant moments, I found the film easier to watch and stomach
than other post-apocalyptic works of its ilk. Fingleton has a nuanced understanding of visual storytelling and he's surely a
director to watch.
The Survivalist has already been available in high-def in Germany and the UK. It makes its North American premiere as
a Blu-ray/DVD combo courtesy of Shout Factory. The movie appears in its original theatrical exhibition ratio of about 2.40:1 on
this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50. While the disc houses a handful of extras, Shout could have done more with the encode as the
video bitrate averages just 29993 kbps. While the transfer is clean, I did notice a few very minor compression artifacts and
debris. The greens look absolutely stunning especially damp leaves in the dim light. Skin tones appear natural with no traces of
manipulation. Black levels are deep and don't show any blockiness.
Scream includes the same number of chapter selections (a dozen) as the UK BD.
The Survivalist's sound track options consist of a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround (1964 kbps, 24-bit) and a
DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo down-conversion (1720 kbps, 24-bit). I concentrated mainly on the former for this review.
Dialogue is crisp, although words come out a bit muffled due to the sounds of nature. The latter's design is deep with excellent
bass. Raindrops, tree branches, thickets, and footsteps are amplified in both the front and rear speakers. There is really no music
(exempting Milja's harmonica playing) until the closing credits.
Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles are available for the main feature.
The Survivalist is one of the better post-apocalyptic films out there and features flawless performances by the three
leads. Martin McCann reminds of me of a young Viggo Mortensen and I look forward to seeing a lot more of him. Besides
Fingleton's precise and assured direction, the other star on the crew is director of photography Damien Elliott. His sense of
composition, framing, and movement elevate the film to another level. Shout Factory delivers a rock-solid transfer and excellent
lossless audio that acutely captures the film's natural environment The making-of doc covers a lot of ground in twenty minutes
and the inclusion of three short films that Fingleton worked on are a wonderful complement to the main feature. HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED.
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Shout Factory and IFC Films have detailed their upcoming Blu-ray release of the futuristic thriller The Survivalist (2015), starring Mia Goth, Martin McCann, Andrew Simpson, Douglas Russell, Olwen Fouere, Michael Og Lane, and Kieri Kennedy.The release will be available ...
Shout Factory and IFC Films will bring to Blu-ray futuristic thriller The Survivalist (2015), starring Mia Goth, Martin McCann, Andrew Simpson, Douglas Russell, Olwen Fouere, Michael Og Lane, and Kieri Kennedy.The release will be available for purchase on October ...
Bulldog Film Distribution will release on Blu-ray Stephen Fingleton's futuristic thriller The Survivalist (2015), starring Mia Goth, Martin McCann, Andrew Simpson, Douglas Russell, Olwen Fouere, Michael Og Lane, and Kieri Kennedy. The release will be available ...
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