The Survivor 4K 1981 Extended Cut

A giant airliner carrying 300 passengers on board crashes. The only survivor is the pilot, David Keller, who suffers temporary memory lapses as a result of the crash. Trying to figure out what happened, David turns to a young medium for help, gradually sinking into a real-life nightmare.

The film “The Survivor” was made in 1981 by Australian director and actor David Hemmings, based on the novel of the same name by James Herbert. This mystical horror film, which, to my deep regret, far from the most famous, though it did receive an American remake in 1983, is a precursor to both "Destination" and "The Sixth Sense", surprising the viewer with a powerful mystical atmosphere full of lingering horror and mystery, as well as a highly unexpected and philosophical ending. In this film, the expression “You can’t escape death” takes on a special meaning, and the film masterfully balances on the line between a drama recounting the experiences of the sole survivor and a mystical tale about the impossibility of escaping the clutches of the Lady in Black, because ‘ “The Survivor” should not be viewed as a standard horror film from the outset, for the complete absence of genre clichés and its original concept have transformed this film into nothing short of a masterpiece—it is not so much an entertaining movie as a powerful drama with subtle touches of mystical horror.

Undoubtedly, the lead role in the film went to actor Robert Powell, who portrayed David Keller with astonishing skill and vivid drama. Jenny Agutter also delivered an excellent performance in the film.

Cinematographer John Seale shot the film in a gloomy and intensely oppressive style, creating a high level of suspense through simple—yet no less ingenious—Hitchcockian techniques.

Composer Brian May wrote a stunning, highly melodic, and tense soundtrack for the film, one that is literally inseparable from the film’s overall structure.

I highly recommend this superb film to all fans of mystical dramas, thrillers, and horror films.