Produced by the South Australian Film Corporation and filmed on location in Adelaide, The Survivor in many ways foretells the Lockerbie disaster many years before that tragic event. The film was a huge commitment at the time - a full scale 747 was made at a local car manufacturing plant and transported to the 'crash site'. I remember visiting the set after the shoot - it was still littered with suitcases, seats, clothes and the engines were windmilling in the breeze. The haunting music makes the film, similar to Picnic At Hanging Rock, the actors believable, the cinematography honest and the storyline compelling if a little slow. Take it for what was cutting edge at the time for a small film studio and you have an enjoyable slightly disturbing thriller. Take time and watch other productions by the SAFC - they're a refreshing change from the big studios mass produced entertainment.
30 Reviews
Doesn't survive the flight from novel to screen
Ali_John_Catterall12 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
The late Great British icon David Hemmings didn't just star in Blow Up and model a magnificent pair of eyebrows in later years. It's true, his forehead-thickets really were something to behold, but the bloke the film critic Pauline Kael once described as resembling "a pre-Raphaelite Paul McCartney" was also a noted watercolourist, a member of the Magic Circle, directed a number of episodes of 'The A-Team', 'Airwolf' and 'Magnum PI', and a clutch of feature films into the bargain. These include the David Bowie vehicle Just a Gigolo, the George Peppard adventure yarn The Race For The Yankee Zephyr - and this adaptation of James Herbert's horror novel.
It's a pity then, that this real renaissance man couldn't conjure some magic over his own movies. As he later said, "I've done some real stinkers, and I don't regret any of them because I went into them in the full knowledge that they weren't going to win an Academy Award." Which is just as well, as The Survivor remains defiantly unmolested by Oscar's advances. (Although it did pick up the Jury prize at an obscure Catalonian film festival.)
This finds commercial airline pilot David Keller (former Messiah Robert Powell) the sole survivor of a massive plane crash in Adelaide, South Australia. As he guiltily observes, "I've just killed 300 people in a field and walked away without a scratch; that makes me pretty special, doesn't it?"
While he tries to come to terms with his mixed fortunes and a terrible bout of amnesia concerning the incidents leading up to the disaster, the ghosts of the passengers roam the surrounding territory, grumpily avenging themselves on those ghoulish photographers and grave robbers who've treated their corpses with contempt in the charred, bloody aftermath - while roping in tortured psychic Hobbs (Jenny Agutter) as a go-between. With the screams of the damned reverberating in her eardrums she informs a disbelieving Captain Keller, "They're asking for your help - the men, women and children who died in your aircraft."
The Survivor has latterly been compared with the works of M Night Shyamalan, which ought to sound loud and insistent claxons with anybody bored to absolute blazes with promising plots that turn out to be little more than triple-length episodes of 'The Twilight Zone'. In all fairness, Herbert's (comparably restrained) source novel, is simply another variation on Ambrose Bierce's classic short story from 1891 'An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge' - see also: Carnival Of Souls, Terry Gilliam's Brazil, Jacob's Ladder and The Escapist, all good films, in fact. Yet Hemmings' movie needlessly fudges a fairly straightforward issue by saddling itself with an even more complicated and ambiguous resolution.
The irony, given his later critical and commercial reputation is that the young Manoj Nelliyattu might just have managed to invest this adaptation with the stuff Hemmings conspicuously failed to provide here: suspense. Scares. Dread. Because up until the final, tight 10 minutes, this is a right dreary old bunch of cobblers; Herbert himself admitted in an interview that he'd nodded off during a screening of this weirdly tension-lite affair.
Sadly, cinema has rarely done the original Garth Marenghi proud. You long for some fearless Brit-horror director to make a genuinely faithful adaptation of an early period Herbert, such as 'The Spear' or 'The Fog.' Because the results would truly give the BBFC something to think about.
Meanwhile, Powell turns in another characteristically aloof performance; Agutter flails about ludicrously as the possessed medium; and in the minor role of a Catholic priest, the legendary Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane, Duel In The Sun), mopes around to no great distinction, fervently praying this won't be his final film in a long and distinguished career. His prayers reached voicemail.
It's a pity then, that this real renaissance man couldn't conjure some magic over his own movies. As he later said, "I've done some real stinkers, and I don't regret any of them because I went into them in the full knowledge that they weren't going to win an Academy Award." Which is just as well, as The Survivor remains defiantly unmolested by Oscar's advances. (Although it did pick up the Jury prize at an obscure Catalonian film festival.)
This finds commercial airline pilot David Keller (former Messiah Robert Powell) the sole survivor of a massive plane crash in Adelaide, South Australia. As he guiltily observes, "I've just killed 300 people in a field and walked away without a scratch; that makes me pretty special, doesn't it?"
While he tries to come to terms with his mixed fortunes and a terrible bout of amnesia concerning the incidents leading up to the disaster, the ghosts of the passengers roam the surrounding territory, grumpily avenging themselves on those ghoulish photographers and grave robbers who've treated their corpses with contempt in the charred, bloody aftermath - while roping in tortured psychic Hobbs (Jenny Agutter) as a go-between. With the screams of the damned reverberating in her eardrums she informs a disbelieving Captain Keller, "They're asking for your help - the men, women and children who died in your aircraft."
The Survivor has latterly been compared with the works of M Night Shyamalan, which ought to sound loud and insistent claxons with anybody bored to absolute blazes with promising plots that turn out to be little more than triple-length episodes of 'The Twilight Zone'. In all fairness, Herbert's (comparably restrained) source novel, is simply another variation on Ambrose Bierce's classic short story from 1891 'An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge' - see also: Carnival Of Souls, Terry Gilliam's Brazil, Jacob's Ladder and The Escapist, all good films, in fact. Yet Hemmings' movie needlessly fudges a fairly straightforward issue by saddling itself with an even more complicated and ambiguous resolution.
The irony, given his later critical and commercial reputation is that the young Manoj Nelliyattu might just have managed to invest this adaptation with the stuff Hemmings conspicuously failed to provide here: suspense. Scares. Dread. Because up until the final, tight 10 minutes, this is a right dreary old bunch of cobblers; Herbert himself admitted in an interview that he'd nodded off during a screening of this weirdly tension-lite affair.
Sadly, cinema has rarely done the original Garth Marenghi proud. You long for some fearless Brit-horror director to make a genuinely faithful adaptation of an early period Herbert, such as 'The Spear' or 'The Fog.' Because the results would truly give the BBFC something to think about.
Meanwhile, Powell turns in another characteristically aloof performance; Agutter flails about ludicrously as the possessed medium; and in the minor role of a Catholic priest, the legendary Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane, Duel In The Sun), mopes around to no great distinction, fervently praying this won't be his final film in a long and distinguished career. His prayers reached voicemail.
Slow, creepy novel adaptation
Leofwine_draca3 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This spooky little film is full of the supernatural imagery familiar to us from other good ghostly films (such as DON'T LOOK NOW). Filmed in Australia, the story of the man surviving the plane crash and being plagued by ghosts is both intriguing and dramatic. Director David Hemmings is adept at serving up disturbing images, from the burned young girl to the photographs of the dead. I have read the James Herbert novel on which this film is based before and from what I can remember it sticks pretty well to the source material.
Robert Powell is on top form as the haunted (and in the end, haunting) pilot and he is given solid support from Jenny Agutter as the psychic he teams up with. Expect lots of shivers and chills instead of in your face horror and you'll find yourself enjoying this little mystery, which copes well with a low budget and is well worth your time. Not one for watching alone late at night!
Robert Powell is on top form as the haunted (and in the end, haunting) pilot and he is given solid support from Jenny Agutter as the psychic he teams up with. Expect lots of shivers and chills instead of in your face horror and you'll find yourself enjoying this little mystery, which copes well with a low budget and is well worth your time. Not one for watching alone late at night!
The paranormal comes to town!
uds33 June 2002
For some reason this film never won the affection of either its peers or the viewing audience at the time. It played to half empty theaters, barely covered its production cost and was unceremoniously tossed out of everyone's subconscious. Yet its not even a bad film, I would venture to suggest a most interesting study of the paranormal and well directed by former BLOW UP star David Hemmings.
Robert Powell is Captain Keller who's 747 suffers a bomb explosion just before take-off and 300 odd passengers are incinerated as the plane explodes in flames. A short time later Keller is found wandering from the burning wreckage unharmed and quite unable to fathom how he has survived. The mystery deepens when a rapidly convened investigation concludes that there is no possible way ANYONE could have survived the explosion and heat blast, wherever they were in the plane.
As Keller embarks on his fateful odyssey, he and the audience are taken down lanes that both THE SIXTH SENSE and UNBREAKABLE may have trodden..and this was almost a generation earlier!
The viewer needs to suspend belief and take things for what he sees (or thinks he sees) A really intelligent Aussie flick that you will get as much out of as you are prepared to put in. Always good to see Joseph Cotton and Jenny Agutter!
Robert Powell is Captain Keller who's 747 suffers a bomb explosion just before take-off and 300 odd passengers are incinerated as the plane explodes in flames. A short time later Keller is found wandering from the burning wreckage unharmed and quite unable to fathom how he has survived. The mystery deepens when a rapidly convened investigation concludes that there is no possible way ANYONE could have survived the explosion and heat blast, wherever they were in the plane.
As Keller embarks on his fateful odyssey, he and the audience are taken down lanes that both THE SIXTH SENSE and UNBREAKABLE may have trodden..and this was almost a generation earlier!
The viewer needs to suspend belief and take things for what he sees (or thinks he sees) A really intelligent Aussie flick that you will get as much out of as you are prepared to put in. Always good to see Joseph Cotton and Jenny Agutter!
First the worst, second the best, third the one with the gory deaths.
BA_Harrison8 April 2021
In 2000, Final Destination saw Death catching up with a group of passengers who narrowly avoid being killed in an air disaster. In 1984, Sole Survivor saw the only survivor of a plane crash being haunted by the ghosts of the dead. And four years before that, The Survivor centred on a pilot who miraculously walks from the wreckage of his downed passenger plane, only to be menaced by the spirits of those who weren't so lucky. Each successive film was inspired by the previous one, with The Survivor being based on a James Herbert novel. Rather surprisingly, the first film is the weakest of the three versions, having neither the creepy atmosphere of Sole Survivor, nor the imaginatively gory death scenes of Final Destination.
The film stars Robert Powell, whose face and curly hair upsets me; it also features Jenny Agutter, who makes me feel all funny in a good way. Unfortunately, the lovely Jenny really doesn't make up for Powell's presence (I'm still angry at having wasted time watching him in Harlequin, made the previous year), or for the fact that the film becomes incredibly slow and very boring once the airplane crash is over. The Survivor meanders aimlessly for an hour and a half, culminating with a twist ending that is more than a tad confusing: has Powell's character been dead the whole time? Have the dead returned to claim the only survivor? Is Jenny Agutter's character a ghost as well? I don't really have the answers, and I doubt you will either.
NB. The name of Powell's character, David Keller, is remarkably similar to David Kessler, the name of the protagonist in Agutter's next film, An American Werewolf in London. It doesn't end well for either man.
The film stars Robert Powell, whose face and curly hair upsets me; it also features Jenny Agutter, who makes me feel all funny in a good way. Unfortunately, the lovely Jenny really doesn't make up for Powell's presence (I'm still angry at having wasted time watching him in Harlequin, made the previous year), or for the fact that the film becomes incredibly slow and very boring once the airplane crash is over. The Survivor meanders aimlessly for an hour and a half, culminating with a twist ending that is more than a tad confusing: has Powell's character been dead the whole time? Have the dead returned to claim the only survivor? Is Jenny Agutter's character a ghost as well? I don't really have the answers, and I doubt you will either.
NB. The name of Powell's character, David Keller, is remarkably similar to David Kessler, the name of the protagonist in Agutter's next film, An American Werewolf in London. It doesn't end well for either man.
A Couple of Steps Beyond
bkoganbing20 May 2007
Robert Powell and Jenny Agutter star in this Australian production of a pilot and a medium who have need of each other after an air crash.
Powell was the pilot of an airliner which crashed on coming in for a landing at an airport. Mysteriously he was the only survivor and he survived with barely a scratch, but with retrograde amnesia, he cannot remember any of the details of the crash.
Agutter is a psychic who is having a bad time seeing visions of what happened and apparently communicating with those who died. What they discover about the crash the story for the rest of the film.
This film marks the farewell appearance of Joseph Cotten who has a small role as a priest. Soon afterwards this most classy of leading men from the golden days of Hollywood suffered a stroke and was forcibly retired from the cinema.
It's not a bad film, Survivor, but it plays like a blown up version of an episode of the TV series One Step Beyond. It might be worth a look if that's how your tastes run.
Powell was the pilot of an airliner which crashed on coming in for a landing at an airport. Mysteriously he was the only survivor and he survived with barely a scratch, but with retrograde amnesia, he cannot remember any of the details of the crash.
Agutter is a psychic who is having a bad time seeing visions of what happened and apparently communicating with those who died. What they discover about the crash the story for the rest of the film.
This film marks the farewell appearance of Joseph Cotten who has a small role as a priest. Soon afterwards this most classy of leading men from the golden days of Hollywood suffered a stroke and was forcibly retired from the cinema.
It's not a bad film, Survivor, but it plays like a blown up version of an episode of the TV series One Step Beyond. It might be worth a look if that's how your tastes run.
Simple story made incomprehensible through inept handling
Groverdox6 April 2016
"The Survivor" is a bizarre, incomprehensible attempt at a horror story that barely registers as that or as anything at all.
The bits that one assumes are meant to be scary are merely confusing and come out of nowhere. The soundtrack signals to you that you're supposed to be scared, pummelling you with frantic music, but this is merely irritating since you can't understand what, if anything, you are supposed to be scared by.
The plot is actually fairly simple. So why is it so confusing? It's about a pilot who survives a plane crash that kills everyone else on board. He is visited by some kind of clairvoyant or something, played by Jenny Agutter, who is about as mystical in this role as the CEO of Wendy's was when he appeared in that training video (Youtube it). Her role in the plot is obvious on paper (how else is the movie going to get the supernatural bent going?), but when handled this badly, it becomes confusing and you wonder what she is there for.
The ending, I admit, was clever. It's just that everything that led up to it was so bad that it was completely wasted, like the rest of the movie was.
The bits that one assumes are meant to be scary are merely confusing and come out of nowhere. The soundtrack signals to you that you're supposed to be scared, pummelling you with frantic music, but this is merely irritating since you can't understand what, if anything, you are supposed to be scared by.
The plot is actually fairly simple. So why is it so confusing? It's about a pilot who survives a plane crash that kills everyone else on board. He is visited by some kind of clairvoyant or something, played by Jenny Agutter, who is about as mystical in this role as the CEO of Wendy's was when he appeared in that training video (Youtube it). Her role in the plot is obvious on paper (how else is the movie going to get the supernatural bent going?), but when handled this badly, it becomes confusing and you wonder what she is there for.
The ending, I admit, was clever. It's just that everything that led up to it was so bad that it was completely wasted, like the rest of the movie was.
True sleeper that's highly enthralling!
lost-in-limbo18 January 2006
Just after taking off, a Jetliner goes into a emergency landing, but the pilots can't control the situation and the plane crashes and presumably everybody is dead because of the state of the disaster. That's until out of the wreckage and flames, out comes walking the only survivor the pilot. When asked what happened, the pilot has temporary memory loss and because of that he's tortured by the guilt of being the only survivor. A woman who believes to be part of this accident joins the pilot on trying to figure out this baffling mystery, which somehow involves the restless spirits of the plane crash pushing the two to seek out the truth.
I remember when I came across the trailer for this flick on some rental video, and boy did it freak me out when I was kid, but that's going back and I just saw it for the first time now. And from what I saw, I got nothing but high praise for this Australian paranormal thriller. It isn't flawless, but there's something enthralling about the mystery of it all and it's a technically impressive production. 'The Survivor' which was adapted from James Herbert's novel was shot in Adelaide, Australia with some of the same crew of the previous film 'Harlequin' involved, but they managed to pull some international actors other then Robert Powell, but Jenny Agutter and Joseph Cotton too. And also some local faces Angela Punch-McGregor and Peter Summer who have small roles pop up.
David Hemming takes the pivotal role of director here and paints a very moody picture that has a vastly quiet stillness and baffling nature to all of it. The supernatural factor of the plot exploits the fear of this startling subject by having short pockets of intense shocks and taut suspense along way to its breathtaking climax. The supernatural element is one that haunts the mind and evokes such terror in the face. To get this feel it's depressingly downbeat. The advantage of that is that it doesn't cross away from that central idea and it's hard to know what's coming around each corner. Hemming also stages some unsettling moments with such vision. First off would be when the jetliner is going down and we see it from a street bystander's viewpoint and that of the crash site and wreckage is so damn eerie. The climax also packs a massive punch, but if you've seen some recent films in the last couple of years it might not come as a bigger surprise, but I for one didn't see it coming. The plot works rather well with it ambiguous and slowly paced structure, where we are still left with some more questions at the end, but saying that 'mostly' everything starts to fit into the puzzle with precision, where you learn there's a whole lot more to it then what we began with. Just after watching a couple of the X-files seasons over the last week or two, this is something that wouldn't feel out of placed in an x-files episode. The mystery thrives here in the plot and only for those who enjoy a good and highly creepy mystery with supernatural overtones.
Make sure you watch the film in wide screen to get John Seale's wide scope cinematography that was shot with such elegance and subtleness with a lot distinctive elements. It had a nice polished touch to it by working in every little detail with flashes of creativity and unsteadiness to proceedings. The choice of setting added even more to the unsettling nature with such beautiful backdrops that go hand-to-hand to mood of the characters and story. The score by Brian May succeeded too by really touching a nerve with its echoing emphasis on a air of creepiness, but to a soothing and innocent spell of suggestiveness. Also the highly effective sound effects creaked alertness. Exemplary performances are given from a top cast of talented internationals. Robert Powell is impressive as the stone-cold pilot Keller, Jenny Agutter is beautifully engaging as Hobbs who can get in touch with other-side and then there's Joseph Cotton putting in solid performance as The Priest. These believable characters you actually care for, especially because you join the two in their journey of discovery and torment to what really happened. Where you learn its fate between the connection of Keller and Hobbs. What keeps you gripped other than that of the great imagery, focused tension and fantastic performances is that of the heavy laced dialog, which drives the film into weird but compelling territory.
After two decades the film still holds up rather well and left me with a cold shudder after being thrown right into it. Startlingly good entertainment!
I remember when I came across the trailer for this flick on some rental video, and boy did it freak me out when I was kid, but that's going back and I just saw it for the first time now. And from what I saw, I got nothing but high praise for this Australian paranormal thriller. It isn't flawless, but there's something enthralling about the mystery of it all and it's a technically impressive production. 'The Survivor' which was adapted from James Herbert's novel was shot in Adelaide, Australia with some of the same crew of the previous film 'Harlequin' involved, but they managed to pull some international actors other then Robert Powell, but Jenny Agutter and Joseph Cotton too. And also some local faces Angela Punch-McGregor and Peter Summer who have small roles pop up.
David Hemming takes the pivotal role of director here and paints a very moody picture that has a vastly quiet stillness and baffling nature to all of it. The supernatural factor of the plot exploits the fear of this startling subject by having short pockets of intense shocks and taut suspense along way to its breathtaking climax. The supernatural element is one that haunts the mind and evokes such terror in the face. To get this feel it's depressingly downbeat. The advantage of that is that it doesn't cross away from that central idea and it's hard to know what's coming around each corner. Hemming also stages some unsettling moments with such vision. First off would be when the jetliner is going down and we see it from a street bystander's viewpoint and that of the crash site and wreckage is so damn eerie. The climax also packs a massive punch, but if you've seen some recent films in the last couple of years it might not come as a bigger surprise, but I for one didn't see it coming. The plot works rather well with it ambiguous and slowly paced structure, where we are still left with some more questions at the end, but saying that 'mostly' everything starts to fit into the puzzle with precision, where you learn there's a whole lot more to it then what we began with. Just after watching a couple of the X-files seasons over the last week or two, this is something that wouldn't feel out of placed in an x-files episode. The mystery thrives here in the plot and only for those who enjoy a good and highly creepy mystery with supernatural overtones.
Make sure you watch the film in wide screen to get John Seale's wide scope cinematography that was shot with such elegance and subtleness with a lot distinctive elements. It had a nice polished touch to it by working in every little detail with flashes of creativity and unsteadiness to proceedings. The choice of setting added even more to the unsettling nature with such beautiful backdrops that go hand-to-hand to mood of the characters and story. The score by Brian May succeeded too by really touching a nerve with its echoing emphasis on a air of creepiness, but to a soothing and innocent spell of suggestiveness. Also the highly effective sound effects creaked alertness. Exemplary performances are given from a top cast of talented internationals. Robert Powell is impressive as the stone-cold pilot Keller, Jenny Agutter is beautifully engaging as Hobbs who can get in touch with other-side and then there's Joseph Cotton putting in solid performance as The Priest. These believable characters you actually care for, especially because you join the two in their journey of discovery and torment to what really happened. Where you learn its fate between the connection of Keller and Hobbs. What keeps you gripped other than that of the great imagery, focused tension and fantastic performances is that of the heavy laced dialog, which drives the film into weird but compelling territory.
After two decades the film still holds up rather well and left me with a cold shudder after being thrown right into it. Startlingly good entertainment!
Poppycock
flairio-1273830 August 2020
Dreadful adaptation of James Herbert's book. To be honest, the only part that vaguely resembled the book was the name of the pilot and the plot twist. Dreadful.
How Jenny Agutter won an award for her role beggers belief.
Fascinating and creepy
bgcandg29 November 2000
This little known movie should be seen by anyone who thinks Aussie films are all mindless travelogues with idiotic characters.
After a catastrophic plane crash, rescuers are surprised to see the pilot walking unhurt from the twisted, burning wreckage. The pilot (Robert Powell) can offer no explanation as to how he survived the explosion that killed every other person on the plane. The tension mounts when the investigation proves that the crash was so severe that the pilot could not have POSSIBLY survived no matter where he was on the plane, and yet there he is.
This is a well-crafted paranormal drama, with each new revelation concerning the crash leading you deeper into intrigue.
Also, it was made 19 years before Unbreakable, which has some very similar plot elements.
After a catastrophic plane crash, rescuers are surprised to see the pilot walking unhurt from the twisted, burning wreckage. The pilot (Robert Powell) can offer no explanation as to how he survived the explosion that killed every other person on the plane. The tension mounts when the investigation proves that the crash was so severe that the pilot could not have POSSIBLY survived no matter where he was on the plane, and yet there he is.
This is a well-crafted paranormal drama, with each new revelation concerning the crash leading you deeper into intrigue.
Also, it was made 19 years before Unbreakable, which has some very similar plot elements.
Dead on Arrival
mikerowerush-4906318 March 2022
An unforgettable, haunting nightmare
apmogh6 September 2005
Saw this movie while in the USA in the eighties. Much better and more believable than any of the later run-of-the-mill films I've seen, Stephen King and the like. It might be said that The Survivor is a forerunner to Carrie, also an excellent and scary movie. I remember vividly a scene where a paparazzi photographer is developing a shot of a totally burnt face, and where gradually a pair of large, staring eyes appear, driving the scoundrel out of his mind. I believe that I remember this scene as well as anything from that period of my life, although it's twenty years ago. There's no happy ending to the story, so the spectator ends up with an uncomfortable knowledge of evil and a feeling of tragedy. This film ought to be given another chance with the public.
This film really was an eyeopener, and subsequently I've tried never to miss a new Aussie movie.
This film really was an eyeopener, and subsequently I've tried never to miss a new Aussie movie.
An engrossing mystery.
Hey_Sweden29 July 2013
One of only a few James Herbert adaptations to reach the screen (the others being "Deadly Eyes" a.k.a. "The Rats", "Fluke", and "The Haunted"), this is a pretty effective movie overall. Directed by actor David Hemmings ("Blowup", "Deep Red"), it's handled with a large degree of sensitivity and subtlety, and is quite slowly paced as well, focusing on building its atmosphere rather than centering around shocks - all reasons why some horror fans might not care for it too much. But if you're patient with this one, you will be rewarded with a film that succeeds at creating a vague sense of unease and maintaining a level of unpredictability.
It certainly begins with a bang: a 747 plane crash lands in the Australian countryside, and its pilot Keller (Robert Powell) walks away without a scratch. Burdened with the guilt of being the only survivor, he's also suffering from amnesia and is determined to discover the cause of the crash. He's eventually assisted by a young woman with psychic abilities, played by an especially beautiful Jenny Agutter.
Also in the cast are Australian actress Angela Punch McGregor, whom you may remember as Michael Caine's leading lady in the film version of Peter Benchley's "The Island", and Hollywood legend Joseph Cotten, although Cotten truthfully never gets a whole lot to do as a local priest. Thankfully, Powell and Agutter are so good that they carry the movie quite well.
The paranormal is introduced into this moody story a bit at a time, with Hemmings never going for the cheap thrill; whatever violence is in the movie is mostly done off screen. Audiences may well appreciate the incredible work that the production does in creating a crash site, and enjoy the way that things wrap up with a creepy reveal / confrontation and a nifty (if not all that original) final twist.
As was said, this may not be to every taste, but genre fans looking for more obscure efforts from decades past are advised to look into it.
Seven out of 10.
It certainly begins with a bang: a 747 plane crash lands in the Australian countryside, and its pilot Keller (Robert Powell) walks away without a scratch. Burdened with the guilt of being the only survivor, he's also suffering from amnesia and is determined to discover the cause of the crash. He's eventually assisted by a young woman with psychic abilities, played by an especially beautiful Jenny Agutter.
Also in the cast are Australian actress Angela Punch McGregor, whom you may remember as Michael Caine's leading lady in the film version of Peter Benchley's "The Island", and Hollywood legend Joseph Cotten, although Cotten truthfully never gets a whole lot to do as a local priest. Thankfully, Powell and Agutter are so good that they carry the movie quite well.
The paranormal is introduced into this moody story a bit at a time, with Hemmings never going for the cheap thrill; whatever violence is in the movie is mostly done off screen. Audiences may well appreciate the incredible work that the production does in creating a crash site, and enjoy the way that things wrap up with a creepy reveal / confrontation and a nifty (if not all that original) final twist.
As was said, this may not be to every taste, but genre fans looking for more obscure efforts from decades past are advised to look into it.
Seven out of 10.
THE SURVIVOR (David Hemmings, 1981) {Edited Version} **
Bunuel197618 May 2007
Warning: Spoilers
David Hemmings is perhaps best-known for starring in Michelangelo Antonioni's BLOW-UP (1966) and Dario Argento's DEEP RED (1975), so it's rather unsurprising that elements from these two movies find themselves in his fifth directorial stint shot entirely in Australia.
Robert Powell plays the title role - the pilot of a plane which crashlands but who managed to evade an even greater tragedy by bringing it down in a field (which occasionally serves as a children's playground); Jenny Agutter is an enigmatic medium and eyewitness to the crash who uneasily teams with an amnesiac Powell to find the real cause of the accident; and, in a mere couple of scenes, Joseph Cotten adds a modicum of dignity to the proceedings as the local priest.
Being adapted from a James Herbert novel, it can't help but involve the supernatural as everything is definitely not as it seems on the surface: the investigating officials are being killed off by the vengeful spirits of the dead passengers, a high-ranking airline official is somehow involved in the crash and Robert Powell is shown at the very end to have not survived the disaster after all! Intriguing? Definitely. Confusing? You bet. Exciting? Not really. Unfortunately, the right ingredients are there but the soufflé obstinately fails to rise, as it were. For what it's worth, Brian May's electronic score (not the Queen guitarist, mind you) is quite effective and the version I watched was edited down to 87 minutes from an original length of 99 or 110, depending on which sources you believe!
Robert Powell plays the title role - the pilot of a plane which crashlands but who managed to evade an even greater tragedy by bringing it down in a field (which occasionally serves as a children's playground); Jenny Agutter is an enigmatic medium and eyewitness to the crash who uneasily teams with an amnesiac Powell to find the real cause of the accident; and, in a mere couple of scenes, Joseph Cotten adds a modicum of dignity to the proceedings as the local priest.
Being adapted from a James Herbert novel, it can't help but involve the supernatural as everything is definitely not as it seems on the surface: the investigating officials are being killed off by the vengeful spirits of the dead passengers, a high-ranking airline official is somehow involved in the crash and Robert Powell is shown at the very end to have not survived the disaster after all! Intriguing? Definitely. Confusing? You bet. Exciting? Not really. Unfortunately, the right ingredients are there but the soufflé obstinately fails to rise, as it were. For what it's worth, Brian May's electronic score (not the Queen guitarist, mind you) is quite effective and the version I watched was edited down to 87 minutes from an original length of 99 or 110, depending on which sources you believe!
A curio
dbdumonteil30 January 2004
The screenplay was certainly absorbing,but David Hemmings did not do a good job with it.It arguably has the seeds which spawn such later works as "fearless" (1994) and "unbreakable" ,but directing cannot pull it off properly,despite of its cast including Robert Powell whose strange looks were tailor-made for the part,Jenny Agutter who seems to be waiting for something to happen concerning her character,and Joseph Cotten whose end of career cannot compare favorably with Hitchcock and Welles works :here he is totally wasted .Interesting because of its connection with the later developments of the fantastic.
It's just very dated
alanpuzey1 October 2020
If I were rating this in the year of its release, I'm sure I would have rated it much higher - but as it's so dated, regarding film-making, fashion and acting, it hasn't stood the test of time.
The original book is another very good read by James Herbert.
The original book is another very good read by James Herbert.
Supernatural plane-wreck lacks tension
Chase_Witherspoon31 December 2023
Atmospheric supernatural thriller suffers from laborious pacing and a distinct lack of shock value, as a commercial airline captain mysteriously walks from the burning wreckage of his plane without so much as a scratch baffling investigators who begin to suspect a conspiracy. Powell is suitably weighed with survivor guilt, leading him into the world of a local clairvoyant (Agutter) in his quest for answers.
Heading the local cast is the ever reliable Sumner as Powell's friend at the air safety authority, with Wright playing a local photographer who initially cashes-in on the disaster until haunting apparitions begin to appear. Hollywood heavyweight Cotten co-stars in his final film role as a priest who believes there's more than meets the eye and tries to help Powell with his quest to reconcile the bizarre events.
Detailed, technically polished production directed by Hemmings boasts a quality cast and an intriguing premise but despite the supernatural elements, it doesn't quite reach its gothic potential. I read that the lack of gore was a conscious decision and this is a fatal misstep in my opinion, rendering the film overly ponderous, talky and ultimately tedious. Overall it's a watchable and engaging plot, though disappointingly dull in its execution.
Heading the local cast is the ever reliable Sumner as Powell's friend at the air safety authority, with Wright playing a local photographer who initially cashes-in on the disaster until haunting apparitions begin to appear. Hollywood heavyweight Cotten co-stars in his final film role as a priest who believes there's more than meets the eye and tries to help Powell with his quest to reconcile the bizarre events.
Detailed, technically polished production directed by Hemmings boasts a quality cast and an intriguing premise but despite the supernatural elements, it doesn't quite reach its gothic potential. I read that the lack of gore was a conscious decision and this is a fatal misstep in my opinion, rendering the film overly ponderous, talky and ultimately tedious. Overall it's a watchable and engaging plot, though disappointingly dull in its execution.
Decent 80s Aussie horror/mystery
ThrownMuse23 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
This interesting supernatural horror from The Lucky Country begins with an airplane explosion that kills all passengers aboard. The pilot of the plane (Robert Powell, dull and deadpan) is the lone survivor, and he suspiciously escapes without injury. As he wrestles with his guilty conscience and the mysterious tragedy, he finds himself haunted by a creepy little girl and the screams and cries of those who died in his plane. He meets the kooky psychic Hobbs (Jenny Agutter of "An American Werewolf in London" fame), and together they try to figure out what the hell happened. Directed by horror icon David Hemmings, "The Survivor" feels like an episode of "The Twilight Zone." Today's audiences would find it easy to guess where the story is headed (and if not, ginormous spoilers on the back of the DVD case will certainly point the way), but I can see how this movie may have been a doozy in the early 80s. It's based on a James Herbert novel, but it sort of feels like a loose remake of a low-budget 60s horror gem that shall go unnamed here. The good news is that the film is very atmospheric and eerie, and the sound editing adds an especially chilling touch. I think it's an effective horror film overall, but it is not without its flaws. The problem with the movie is that it touches upon several genre elements (ghost story, slasher) without actually exploring any to a satisfactory degree. There are also a couple death sequences that don't make sense within the context of the film. Most unfortunate is that the opening sequence is more amusing than horrifying, and I assume this is due to budget constraints. The pilot avoids crashing the plane into town after it explodes, but the focus of this terrible incident is a woman on the street nearby, clinging desperately to a blowing tree, screaming and flailing about. It doesn't help that whenever the pilot has a flashback to the plane crash, we're taken back to this funny scene. All in all, "The Survivor" is a decent movie, though a bit of a mess. Still, it's one of the better 80s Aussie horrors that I've seen.
Genuinely unsettling Aussie-thriller!
Coventry8 November 2005
Warning: Spoilers
747-airliner crashes just outside a little town but of the 400 people aboard, one man (the pilot) miraculously walks out of the disaster alive
Even more so, he walks out completely unharmed! Does this basic premise sound familiar to anyone? No, it's not M. Night Shyamalan's overrated blockbuster "Unbreakable"! This is a shamefully underrated Australian thriller, directed by David Hemmings and based on a novel by shlock-expert James Herbert. The story continues being supernatural when the confused survivor (a very convincing Robert Powell) is approached by a female eyewitness (the cherubic Jenny Agutter) who serves as some sort of medium for the unfortunate passengers that want to get in contact with their pilot. David Hemmings is mostly known for some terrific acting roles ("Blow-Up", "Profondo Rosso") but he handles directing very well, too, and builds up a chilling tension using only a limited amount of set pieces. The actual plane crash, for example, is filmed at night and in flashes, but still it comes across as quite realistic since Hemmings splendidly focuses on the panicky reactions of the people on the ground. The film also contains a couple efficient shock-moments, notably the sequence in which a noisy journalist is lured into death by the appearance of a young girl that died in the air disaster. "The Survivor" suffers from more and bigger plot holes near the end, but the eventual climax will surely satisfy fans of paranormal and freaky horror films. The atmospheric music by Brian May makes the wholesome even spookier and the remote Australian location guarantees some really beautiful images. Horror veteran Joseph Cotton ("Baron Blood", "The Abominable Dr. Phibes", "Lady Frankenstein") has a small but intriguing role as the town's priest. "The Survivor" is much scarier and involving than "Harlequin", which was another supernatural horror film, made by pretty much the same cast & crew one year earlier. Recommended!
Spooks of an aircraft disaster
clanciai13 April 2024
There is an explosion, the airplane has to make an emergency landing, it seems to succeed, everything comes to a standstill, almost all the passengers are unconscious from the shock, and then everything explodes - 300 casualties, everyone dies, but one man emerges from the plane alive, the pilot, Robert Powell, who always made highly interesting roles, and this is another of them. A girl on the ground who witnessed the whole aircrash gets in touch with him, and they try to work out what caused the accident together. She is very much troubled by the spirits of the casualties, mostly screaming women and children, and she thinks he can help them out. They reconstruct the whole incident and finally arrive at some answers, far too late but anyway. The casualties have been added to in the meanwhile, there is an insolent paparazzo and his girl friend, and finally we arrive at the motive and the source. I have never experienced David Hemmings as a director earlier, but he managed to untie this clot of mysteries rather well in the end, and the old Joseph Cotten appears as a reasonable priest - he was 75 at the time. On the whole it's a good metaphysical-parapsychological film, although slow and meditative, but it does get the airplane flying.
obscure for a reason (not to say there isn't a lot to like)
Aylmer19 June 2010
THE SURVIVOR is one of those cases where the trailer is a lot creepier and more entertaining than the film itself. The setup is quite intriguing: Robert Powell plays the pilot and sole survivor of a 747 crash in Adelaide, Australia. Jenny Agutter is a psychic medium who contacts him to inform him that the victims of the crash are angry lost souls and need him to set everything straight.
This film promises a lot but quickly degenerates into a very slowly paced thriller which gives us neither shocks nor gore in a misguided effort to try to play to both the audiences of high-brow scares and exploitation. It's no wonder it never hit American theaters as the film feels very, very foreign and doesn't have much in the way of action or entertainment value beyond its opening cataclysmic plane crash (which is handled surprisingly well). There's a little bit of creepiness to go around but much, much too little too late. Also the film obviously spent the lion's share of its budget on production design for its wrecked plane in field location, so unfortunately it feels pretty repetitive after the umpteenth time the characters come back to it.
I do have to give a special mention to the film's musical score however. Brian May is almost criminally marginalized as the composer for the Mad Max films as well as all-too-often confused with the guitarist from Queen. In my opinion he provided all of the best film music to come out of Australia during the 70's and 80's and this film has to be near the pinnacle of his work, up there with ROAD GAMES and TURKEY SHOOT.
Oddly for a film set in Australia the film doesn't have much home base representation among the principal cast. American acting legend Joseph Cotten is on-hand as a Catholic priest. This was his last major film role though sadly a waste as his character is completely superfluous.
This film promises a lot but quickly degenerates into a very slowly paced thriller which gives us neither shocks nor gore in a misguided effort to try to play to both the audiences of high-brow scares and exploitation. It's no wonder it never hit American theaters as the film feels very, very foreign and doesn't have much in the way of action or entertainment value beyond its opening cataclysmic plane crash (which is handled surprisingly well). There's a little bit of creepiness to go around but much, much too little too late. Also the film obviously spent the lion's share of its budget on production design for its wrecked plane in field location, so unfortunately it feels pretty repetitive after the umpteenth time the characters come back to it.
I do have to give a special mention to the film's musical score however. Brian May is almost criminally marginalized as the composer for the Mad Max films as well as all-too-often confused with the guitarist from Queen. In my opinion he provided all of the best film music to come out of Australia during the 70's and 80's and this film has to be near the pinnacle of his work, up there with ROAD GAMES and TURKEY SHOOT.
Oddly for a film set in Australia the film doesn't have much home base representation among the principal cast. American acting legend Joseph Cotten is on-hand as a Catholic priest. This was his last major film role though sadly a waste as his character is completely superfluous.
Another Failed James Herbert Adaptation - Though, Still Worth A Watch
P3n-E-W1s316 May 2022
Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of The Survivor; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.25 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.00
TOTAL: 5.75 out of 10
James Herbert's novels always suffered at the movies. The Survivor is no exception. And for me, there were two letdowns - the crash and the reveal.
The tale itself isn't too terrible. After a plane crash, the sole survivor, pilot Keller, takes it upon himself to deduce what went wrong on the flight - not only to help the authorities piece together the truth, as they are piecing together the jigsaw of the plane, but to rid himself of the amnesia of the tragedy. Enter psychic Hobbs, who has the spirits of the crash screaming at her. There are some decent moments in the story, such as the mysterious deaths of a few locals. Lamentably, it's the way the narrative reveals the truth in the climax. It all feels hurried. We are slowly unravelling the facts of the night's events when suddenly we're at the end scene where everything is exposed. It's awkward and a little confusing. The suddenness spoiled the ending.
But worse comes in the movie's opening sequence - The Crash. The Survivor enjoys the poorest plane wreck in film history. We see Keller in the cockpit telling his navigator to drain the tanks as they're going down. Next comes stock footage of a plane descending, for our purposes, let's say, for an emergency landing. The next thing we witness is the aircraft's tail section as it supposedly zooms past trees in the park. It's only one tree, and it ain't in any park. These scenes look so fake they're laughable. While guffawing at this special effects travesty, I forgot about the horrid incorporated scenes of shoppers in a fake (studio built) shopping centre pretending to be scared of the nonexistent plane overhead (you can hear the engines). I came close to hitting the off button. I'm glad I didn't because the crash site is something to behold. The way the crew lit the wreckage was eerie and unnerving and left a chill in my bones. From this moment forward, the directing became more engaging. David Hemmings isn't the best director, but he certainly isn't the worst. What pained me was you could distinguish when he was trying to do something: Like with the ending in the dark warehouse. Keller walks towards the perpetrator and turns on the overhead lights one at a time with each couple of steps. It works brilliantly to build the tension, but I couldn't help but also feel it was too contrived. The feeling grew when the lights started going out. No scene should feel engineered. Everything should appear and feel realistic; it only adds strength to the picture.
Thank God they had Robert Powell, Jenny Agutter, and Joseph Cotton on board. Otherwise, the film could have been as doomed as the flight. I don't think that's entirely true, but it didn't hurt having a few A-listers. In truth, the whole cast is first-rate, and they put in good performances all around.
The Survivor is worthy of one watch - should there be nothing of interest in your back catalogue of movies worth your attention. If you're flicking through your streaming service and spot it listed, give it a try, it's an enjoyable way to waste an hour and a half.
Please feel free to visit my Absolute Horror and Killer Thriller Chillers lists to see where I ranked The Survivor.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.25 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.00
TOTAL: 5.75 out of 10
James Herbert's novels always suffered at the movies. The Survivor is no exception. And for me, there were two letdowns - the crash and the reveal.
The tale itself isn't too terrible. After a plane crash, the sole survivor, pilot Keller, takes it upon himself to deduce what went wrong on the flight - not only to help the authorities piece together the truth, as they are piecing together the jigsaw of the plane, but to rid himself of the amnesia of the tragedy. Enter psychic Hobbs, who has the spirits of the crash screaming at her. There are some decent moments in the story, such as the mysterious deaths of a few locals. Lamentably, it's the way the narrative reveals the truth in the climax. It all feels hurried. We are slowly unravelling the facts of the night's events when suddenly we're at the end scene where everything is exposed. It's awkward and a little confusing. The suddenness spoiled the ending.
But worse comes in the movie's opening sequence - The Crash. The Survivor enjoys the poorest plane wreck in film history. We see Keller in the cockpit telling his navigator to drain the tanks as they're going down. Next comes stock footage of a plane descending, for our purposes, let's say, for an emergency landing. The next thing we witness is the aircraft's tail section as it supposedly zooms past trees in the park. It's only one tree, and it ain't in any park. These scenes look so fake they're laughable. While guffawing at this special effects travesty, I forgot about the horrid incorporated scenes of shoppers in a fake (studio built) shopping centre pretending to be scared of the nonexistent plane overhead (you can hear the engines). I came close to hitting the off button. I'm glad I didn't because the crash site is something to behold. The way the crew lit the wreckage was eerie and unnerving and left a chill in my bones. From this moment forward, the directing became more engaging. David Hemmings isn't the best director, but he certainly isn't the worst. What pained me was you could distinguish when he was trying to do something: Like with the ending in the dark warehouse. Keller walks towards the perpetrator and turns on the overhead lights one at a time with each couple of steps. It works brilliantly to build the tension, but I couldn't help but also feel it was too contrived. The feeling grew when the lights started going out. No scene should feel engineered. Everything should appear and feel realistic; it only adds strength to the picture.
Thank God they had Robert Powell, Jenny Agutter, and Joseph Cotton on board. Otherwise, the film could have been as doomed as the flight. I don't think that's entirely true, but it didn't hurt having a few A-listers. In truth, the whole cast is first-rate, and they put in good performances all around.
The Survivor is worthy of one watch - should there be nothing of interest in your back catalogue of movies worth your attention. If you're flicking through your streaming service and spot it listed, give it a try, it's an enjoyable way to waste an hour and a half.
Please feel free to visit my Absolute Horror and Killer Thriller Chillers lists to see where I ranked The Survivor.
Take Care & Stay Well.
The Sixth Sense Stole It's Twist From This Film.
meddlecore29 October 2014
Warning: Spoilers
A woman experiences a premonition about a devastating plane crash in the suburbs. This turns out to be accurate, when a plane crashes next to the home of a photographer- who is one of the first responders on the scene. A pilot is the sole remaining survivor of the wreck. He manages to walk away from the disaster virtually unscathed- suffering only from retrograde amnesia and survivor's guilt. He becomes obsessed with piecing together exactly what happened.
A few days after the crash, the photographer becomes haunted by premonitions of a young girl with burns all over her face. Meanwhile, the pilot does his best to follow the investigation...but it's getting him nowhere. His most solid lead is a mysterious woman who claims to have advanced knowledge about the incident.
When he tries to get information from her, however, she suffers from a hysterical fit and attacks him. Despite the fact that it was her that approached him to help...while looking for some help herself.
Eventually she comes around, and claims that she was present at the crash...but not in a typical way. She seems to be a psychic medium through which victims of the crash (or something) are (is) trying to contact the pilot.
Subsequently, when the photographer leaves his photographs to develop, his wife looks at them...only to discover they are filled with ghastly images of some sort of demonic entity. Obviously she dies.
The psychic woman then approaches the pilot for a second time, now suggesting he trigger regression by returning to the site, with hopes that it will evoke his lost memories. He agrees to participate.
Together, they seek help from a local priest and return to the cockpit, where his memories begin to return...to her.
By now, the photographer has stumbled upon the crime scene that used to be his darkroom...and gotten himself killed- slasher style- in the process, just like his wife.
It's at this point that the pilot gets a chance to meet the demon responsible for all of this death and destruction face-to-face...and he's coming for his soul! This film is short and sweet. Packed into 1 hour and 15 minutes, it's an Aussie flick that seems like it was made-for-TV. At first I thought it was going to suck hard, because it has what is probably one of the most hilariously bad plane crash sequences in cinematic history (it literally looks like a camera tracking in unison with a plane wing that is moving through a movie studio). But that aside, the ending really redeems this awesome little film.
It's quite evident that ---SPOILER--- The Sixth Sense stole it's twist from this screenplay. With this one being a bit more supernatural, overall. I particularly love the way the filmmaker denotes our entrance into and exit from the "Other World". Great little flick that is definitely worth a watch.
6 out of 10
A few days after the crash, the photographer becomes haunted by premonitions of a young girl with burns all over her face. Meanwhile, the pilot does his best to follow the investigation...but it's getting him nowhere. His most solid lead is a mysterious woman who claims to have advanced knowledge about the incident.
When he tries to get information from her, however, she suffers from a hysterical fit and attacks him. Despite the fact that it was her that approached him to help...while looking for some help herself.
Eventually she comes around, and claims that she was present at the crash...but not in a typical way. She seems to be a psychic medium through which victims of the crash (or something) are (is) trying to contact the pilot.
Subsequently, when the photographer leaves his photographs to develop, his wife looks at them...only to discover they are filled with ghastly images of some sort of demonic entity. Obviously she dies.
The psychic woman then approaches the pilot for a second time, now suggesting he trigger regression by returning to the site, with hopes that it will evoke his lost memories. He agrees to participate.
Together, they seek help from a local priest and return to the cockpit, where his memories begin to return...to her.
By now, the photographer has stumbled upon the crime scene that used to be his darkroom...and gotten himself killed- slasher style- in the process, just like his wife.
It's at this point that the pilot gets a chance to meet the demon responsible for all of this death and destruction face-to-face...and he's coming for his soul! This film is short and sweet. Packed into 1 hour and 15 minutes, it's an Aussie flick that seems like it was made-for-TV. At first I thought it was going to suck hard, because it has what is probably one of the most hilariously bad plane crash sequences in cinematic history (it literally looks like a camera tracking in unison with a plane wing that is moving through a movie studio). But that aside, the ending really redeems this awesome little film.
It's quite evident that ---SPOILER--- The Sixth Sense stole it's twist from this screenplay. With this one being a bit more supernatural, overall. I particularly love the way the filmmaker denotes our entrance into and exit from the "Other World". Great little flick that is definitely worth a watch.
6 out of 10
Trees and screams
edgeofreality13 January 2021
I used to read James Herbert for the gore and sex combined with a very British sense of humour. I still vaguely recall the Hobbs character and my teenage lust wanting something sexual to develop between her and the tormented protagonist. Did it? I can't recall...Herbert rarely disappointed though. This adaptation was made in Australia but never states where it is set. Not that that is the problem. It's the attempt to make it a bit arty and subtle that finally confuses the story and renders it dull. One sees trees shaking in the wind and little girls playing in the park while hearing lots of screaming ghouls on the soundtrack to remind us it is a horror film.. It needed more gore, sex and better make-up for the corpses. That said, the artiness results in some splendid wide screen photography, and the plane crash at the start is effective.
An Aussie Horror Gem
ladymidath31 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Having read the book by James Herbert, I found myself enjoying the movie as well. The good performances by Robert Powell. Jenny Agutter and Joseph Cotten and great direction from David Hemmings all work together to create a solid supernatural horror movie.
The film tells the story of a horrifying plane crash that takes place in Adelaide that kills 300 passengers and crew. Only the pilot David Keller, (Powell) walks away unharmed. The story then unfolds as a creepy little girl appears to a few people that results in their deaths. A clairvoyant called Hobbs (Agutter) approaches Keller to tell him that the spirits of the crash victims are seeking justice against whoever it was that caused the crash.
The scene of the airplane crashing is spectacular and the effects still hold up today. The creepy sounds of the unquiet ghosts, their agonised screams slowly building just adds to the feeling of unease.
This is a movie that should be watched for fans of Aussie cinema and horror. It is from the early eighties when the horror genre was really strong. This is a real gem.
The film tells the story of a horrifying plane crash that takes place in Adelaide that kills 300 passengers and crew. Only the pilot David Keller, (Powell) walks away unharmed. The story then unfolds as a creepy little girl appears to a few people that results in their deaths. A clairvoyant called Hobbs (Agutter) approaches Keller to tell him that the spirits of the crash victims are seeking justice against whoever it was that caused the crash.
The scene of the airplane crashing is spectacular and the effects still hold up today. The creepy sounds of the unquiet ghosts, their agonised screams slowly building just adds to the feeling of unease.
This is a movie that should be watched for fans of Aussie cinema and horror. It is from the early eighties when the horror genre was really strong. This is a real gem.
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