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Sole Survivor - Blu-ray Review

4 beersSurvivor’s guilt is a real thing. 

Just ask Thom Eberhardt (Night of the Comet), the writer and director of Sole Survivor, a psychological twisted horror film that concerns itself with the lone survivor of a doomed commercial airliner and the haunted visions that follow her as she continues on with her life in the weeks that pass. 

Sole Survivor, being issued on blu-ray thanks to Code Red, is a damn interesting film.  It is the diamond in the rough in a batch of bad B-movies; a horror film that operates on many levels while still keeping us on edge.  The open field the plane crashes upon is littered with bodies.  Some are missing limbs.  Some are very recognizable.  Babies.  Adults.  Young kids.  And the elderly.  All dead.  And then there is TV commercial producer Denise (Anita Skinner), who still sitting in her of seats, has landed safely in the same field.  Guts are spilling out around her and there she is, just sitting.  Waiting for her rescue.

But just how did she survive?  Or did she?  The questions spilling out from her are endless.

This is the territory of Sole Survivor, a superb B-movie that works its effect upon the audience with a slow burn that never once betrays its ability to create quite a chilly atmosphere of suspense.  Co-starring Caren Larkey (Get Out) as an ex-actress who is also a psychic and receives all sorts of premonitions concerning the fate of Denise and Ken Johnson (Ghost Story) as Denise’s doctor and eventual boyfriend, Sole Survivor takes its modest budget and makes the most of it when one person’s luck runs out.

Death may make a mistake from time to time but it eventually finds you.  That’s the takeaway from this horror film, which predates the Final Destination series, and it’s quite disturbing in how the search to claim Denise plays out.  Ghosts become bodies and bodies become messengers and still Denise fails to hear the call of the carrion crow.  She sees these people looking at her in crowds; standing in the middle of roads; in parks, too.  They are everywhere. 

And so, too, is Brinke Stevens (Nightmare Sisters) who has an awesome topless scene at a party with Denise’s neighbor.

Denise is caught in the middle of two different worlds and she won’t be relaxing anytime soon.  With bodies disappearing from morgues and the fact that someone is actively trying to hunt her down, Denise suspects that the world as she knows it is about to expand with more and more ghosts and then shrink into itself as the dead come to collect her very soul.

Her end is near.  But will anyone believe her?  It is a crisis of fate that haunts her after surviving the plane crash and Code Red, by presenting this horrifying flick with a brand new 2k HD master from the original camera negatives, have done B-movie enthusiasts yet another solid.

Sole Survivor, even if it is similar to Carnival of Souls, is an unforgettable journey to the other side.

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Sole Survivor - Blu-ray Review

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
85 mins
Director
: Thom Eberhardt
Writer:
Thom Eberhardt
Cast:
Anita Skinner, Kurt Johnson, Robin Davidson
Genre
: Horror
Tagline:
Before "Final Destination" There Was ... "Sole Survivor"
Memorable Movie Quote: "You cannot stop it, and anyone who stands in its way, or finds out, or even remotely suspects it, they will be delt with."
Theatrical Distributor:
International Film Marketing
Official Site:
Release Date:
March 16, 1984
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
August 19, 2017
Synopsis: Terror stalks the sole survivor of a plane crash in this gripping, innovative horror story by Thom (Night of the Comet) Eberhardt. Television producer Denise Watson (Anita Skinner, winner of a Golden Globe for Girlfriends) is ready to resume her life after surviving a plane crash, until she starts to see strangers, threatening and malevolent, watching her every move. Plagued by night fears, and a series of terrifying near-miss accidents, she seeks help from her neighbor Kristy (Robin Davidson), and her psychiatrist, Dr. Richardson (Kurt Johnson). But is she really losing her mind? Or is she under attack by emissaries of death, intent on repossessing her extra lease of life?

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Sole Survivor - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Code Red
Available on Blu-ray
- August 19, 2017
Screen Formats: 1.78:1
Subtitles
: None
Audio:
English: Dolby Digital Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Region-free playback

Sole Survivor is presented with a 2k HD transfer from the original camera negatives.  The aspect ratio is 1.78:1 and the sound features a crisp DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track.  Colors – especially blues and greens – are solid and the night shoots are epic.  Black levels are strong throughout.  And the details in the clothing and the interiors are impeccable.  Because this is a Christmas-themed shoot, we have lots of Christmas colors used explicitly throughout and they shine with a boldness not previously seen in any other home video release of this cult title.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • Narrated by Cult Film Director Jeff Burr and Film Historian Jeff McKay, the feature length audio commentary with Caren Larkey and producer Sal Romeo is an informative and satisfactory accompaniment to the film. 

Special Features:

Actress Caren Larkey and producer Sal Romeo sit down in front of some poorly lit cameras to provide some information about the filming of the movie and its legacy.  The film’s original theatrical trailer is also included.

  • On Camera Interview with Larkey and Romeo
  • Original Theatrical Trailer

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Sole Survivor - Blu-ray Review

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