Chosen Survivors

source: Chosen Survivors

Trailer—Chosen Survivors

Chosen Survivors

Is this movie really as gory as I remember it? My younger sister and I still talk about the time one of our older sisters dumped us off at the theater in order to get us out of the house while the parents were away. The movie playing that day was "Chosen Survivors". Yikes. If memory serves this one had plenty of blood on the walls and lots of bat attacks. Maybe there is more to this movie than blood and bats but that's all I can remember from it. I'd love to find this one on video to see how it has held up over the years.

This is one film that, even though I have not seen it in years, deserves a DVD release. It was, when I saw it as a teenager, one of the scariest movies I had ever scene, and the ending sequence with the bat attack still brings back some shivers. I taught a Science Fiction class in a NJ high school and I had a budget for films - - I found this movie as a projection movie at a local distributor. After carefully discussing the plot with the class, and the graphic scenes, my class viewed the film and enjoyed it thoroughly as a message movie and a horror film. With more and more archive titles coming out on DVD, perhaps soon this "little gem" will be released. For those who have not seen this film, have patience - - - even though I have never seen it on Sci-Fi Channel or TBS or such - - this is a tidy little thriller that really delivers the goods!

i'd been going nuts for quite a few years trying to find this one and finally found it on ebay. i remember it came out about the same time as "earthquake" did, and i remember thinking what a creepy, claustrophobic feel it had to it. it starred just about all of the b-list TV stars from that time, including my favorite, Diana muldaur. a group of regular citizens are pulled from their beds in the middle of the night to find themselves shoved into a bomb-proof shelter miles beneath the surface. once they start to adapt to both the world ending and to their situation, the original residents of the cave decide to come by for a visit. filmed with effects similar to Hitchcock's "the birds", there are several vicious attacks by blood-sucking vampire bats until the survivors decide to try and escape. highly recommended, if you can find it.

Like the other person that reviewed the film, I was young (12) when I saw the film but I have thought about it many times since. In fact, I was able to finally track down the title. I cannot say the movie was great but the premise was interesting and, for a 12 year old, plenty of frights. I must have checked over 100 sites to try and find the name of this film. Several scenes were memorable such as when the were being attacked in the control room and then when they were trying to escape by climbing out, since the elevator no longer was operable. If anyone has a copy of the film, I would appreciate being contacted so I can share it with my children.

"Chosen Survivors" poses quite a few ethical questions, while taking extreme liberties with the reputation of vampire bats. The film has an almost fatal failing in that it introduces a dozen characters all at once. This of course means that character development is totally inadequate. We really know nothing about those unfortunate individuals who succumb to the blood sucking winged annoyances. On the positive side, many of the futuristic sets are intriguing, there are some unexpected twists, and the use of actual as well as animated bats lends realism. The movie occasionally grinds to a halt with meaningless small talk, but overall has definite entertainment value. - MERK

A diverse group of people are flown to an underground bunker, where they are informed that they are the sole survivors of a nuclear war that has broken out. They are naturally shocked and upset by this, but try to learn more about the war and new surroundings, when another horror happens...the survivors discover that their underground cavern is filled with vampire bats, who are not content to leave them in peace. Obscure film deserves to be better known, since it is well acted by its stars(Jackie Cooper, Diana Muldaur, Alex Cord, Bradford Dillman, among others) and has an intelligent script that contains quite a few surprises for the viewer. Ultimately downbeat drama, but compelling,and would have been at home on either "The Twilight Zone" or "The Outer Limits". Is on DVD at least, and worth seeing.