Sole Survivor (1984) User Reviews

Slow but creepy

[Tikkin · 7/10 · 2 June 2006]

I've been after Sole Survivor for a while now and thanks to ebay, finally own a copy. I was a little disappointed, but still found it very creepy despite the slow pace. The film does a great job of expressing the idea of death stopping at nothing to claim its intended victim. If you liked the plot behind Final Destination, but want to see a more subtle and well made film, Sole Survivor is for you. That's exactly what I wanted, and in a way that's what I got. It's just a shame that Sole Survivor is so slow moving in parts and doesn't pack as much of a punch as it could have. There are some genuinely creepy moments such as the clock with the moving eyes, but overall I think they could have been used more effectively. Some have praised the film for using little gore, however I think that if some of the deaths had been more brutal it would have injected some much needed energy into the film. The ending is excellent and it's at this point that Sole Survivor seems to redeem itself for the slow pace.

Overall, this is a horror/thriller for those able to tolerate a slower pace and a little use of your brain. If you're after a mindless slasher or a gory bloodbath, this is not for you.

eerie and atmospheric

[Jonny_Numb · 6/10 · 7 October 2005]

As with other movies that deal with the blurry line between life and death, "Sole Survivor" often lacks cohesion in plot and logic. But the weight of its atmospheric shocks and well-paced suspense is effective–it's a movie that places its concentration on waking-nightmare horror rather than gore. A woman is the lone survivor of an airplane crash, predicted by a washed-up TV actress with psychic tendencies; complications arise when the recently-dead start popping up in the woman's everyday life. Eerie chiller with strong atmosphere and a moody pace draws favorable comparisons to "Carnival of Souls" and "Dead & Buried." Recommended for adventurous viewers with a taste for the offbeat.

Starts with a bang, ends with a whimper

[Groverdox · 5/10 · 3 November 2017]

"Sole Survivor" is a horror movie which opens with a palpable sense of dread and some effective moments but squanders them all in a final act which reveals it has no idea what to do with the points it's earnt.

The plot is about a plain looking woman who is the titular "sole survivor" of an airplane crash. She appears to suffer hallucinations of those who died in the crash following her around.

But are they hallucinations or are they... REAL?! You probably won't care. I know I didn't.

The spectres of the deceased, who look like extras wandered over from whatever zombie movie George Romero was shooting that year, are at first spooky but soon become boring since they mostly just stand there. The movie doesn't really develop the idea it starts with, until a rushed conclusion at the end which is entirely unsatisfying.

Little known horror film is quite good.

[bigpappa1--2 · 20 July 2000]

Lone survivor of a plane crash is haunted by the people who died on the flight. Seems they feel it was unfair that she lived and decide to even up the score by killing her.

This little known horror film is creepy and packs quite a punch but is awfully sluggish in some parts taking away from the film as a whole. Still worth while. The ending is very scary by the way. My rating: 7 out of 10.

Prepare for your 'Final Destination'....

[floweracres · 7/10 · 2 February 2019]

A fun, older horror movie that I truly enjoyed watching! Well done... no complaints. Sadly, it is nearly impossible to find. If you are able to locate it - enjoy! The sole survivor of a airline crash cheats death and finds herself haunted by fellow passengers who were not so fortunate.

Chill movie with decent acting and camerawork, but no horror, or anything actually...

[markovd111 · 6/10 · 26 August 2020]

While at the first half of the movie we get some very atmospheric scenes and creepy main theme, it quickly all falls apart. You won't be scared and there won't be any tension for you too feel. I don't have anything against the movie, but don't really have any reasons to recommend it to you either. It's just a very average movie, not good and not bad. 6/10. Good for a nice afternoon, I guess.

Stewardess, what's the in-flight movie?

[Coventry · 6/10 · 14 May 2007]

Wouldn't this be the ideal movie to show during a 12 hours flight over the Pacific Ocean? It doesn't show an actual plane crashing, but it would make clear to all the passengers that, in case of a crash, none of them is likely to walk out of there alive. And even if you do come out of a plane crash unharmed, your life is still ruined and you're guaranteed to die only a short while later. "Sole Survivor" is a truly obscure and little seen 80's movie that benefices from a forlorn and genuinely creepy atmosphere, but it eventually lacks the necessary shocking-power to be referred to as a legitimate hidden gem of horror. The basic premise holds a lot of horrific potential and it's definitely ahead of its time, but the elaboration of the script is too slow-paced and there's a severe shortage of action and/or gruesome images. With a slight bit of imagination and skepticism, you could state that M. Night Shyamalan 'borrowed' fundamental key elements from "Sole Survivor" before scripting his TWO hugely successful blockbuster hits "Unbreakable" and "The Sixth Sense". How come? Denise Watson, the female lead character here, mysteriously survived a disastrous plane crash without a single scratch AND it doesn't take too long before she sees dead people. Maybe the creators of the popular franchise "Final Destination" ripped of the storyline of "Sole Survivor" as well and, on the other hand, one could state that this film is simply a low-budgeted imitation of the classic black & white milestone "Carnival of Souls" and the unsettling James Herbert novel "The Survivor". Ah what the heck, cinema is just one giant copying-ideas business anyway. The most important thing is that Thom Eberhardt's "Sole Survivor" is a generally solid chiller and admirers of atmosphere-driven terror tales won't regret watching it. Shortly after the crash, the aforementioned character Denise has visions in which recently deceased people uncannily stare at her. Her boyfriend/doctor thinks she suffers from the feared Survivor's Syndrome (meaning she feels guilty for being alive while all her fellow passengers died) but according to a psychic acquaintance, Death itself is warning Denise that they haven't forgotten about her. Eberhardt builds up a creepy and continuously ominous atmosphere and there are several moments of nail-biting suspense, like when Denise encounters the little girl in the hospital's basement. Unfortunately, the script is too often confusing and many of the dialogs are difficult to understand because the characters talk quietly and with awkward accents. If some distribution company ever decides to release "Sole Survivor" on DVD, I hope they'll provide optional English subtitles. The acting performances are adequate, the direction is moody & stylish and the climax leaves open a lot of room for discussion. Overall recommended, just don't expect to see a dazzling and jaw-dropping masterpiece.

The inevitability of death isn't always interesting

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 1 July 2018]

You might watch Sole Survivor and say, "Didn't Final Destination rip this movie off?" Or you might be like me and say, "Didn't I already see Carnival of Souls?"

TV producer Denise is the - Sole Survivor, sorry, I had to say it - of an airplane crash, but she feels like she's constantly being chased by something. Her combination doctor/boyfriend Brian (Kurt Johnson, The Fan) thinks it's survivor's guilt. But Karla, a psychic ex-actress, predicted the crash and has a warning for Denise. Then, you know, everyone around her starts getting killed and turned into zombies, leading even a skeptic like David to start to worry.

Of course, the dead kill everyone. They kill her best friend. They kill her boyfriend. They even kill kids and cab drivers. Anyone and everyone could be the living dead, out to drag Denise to the afterlife. And if the Carrie shock ending is to be believed, death isn't about to stop with her.

Director Thom Eberhardt would go on to direct the vastly better film Night of the Comet. Here, the film drags at a very slow pace. We all know where it's going and it feels like it may take forever to get there. But hey - there's a Brinke Stevens cameo along the way.

Early 80s horror gem.

[Hey_Sweden · 8/10 · 8 August 2013]

Writer / director / editor Thom Eberhardts' feature directing debut is a nicely realized, grim and spooky little shocker worth viewing for horror aficionados hoping to find good lesser known films from decades past. It's got plenty of atmosphere, a never ending feeling of uneasiness, a good spin on "living dead" cinema, and its themes and ideas are interesting. As genre junkies will realize, it's similar in some ways to the more famous "Final Destination", which came along 17 years *later*. Eberhardts' script is often witty and offers good roles to a capable cast.

Star Anita Skinner is impressive enough in the role of plane crash survivor Denise Watson that one may wish we'd seen more of her in films over the years. She displays just the right amount of vulnerability and confusion. Denise was the *only* survivor of this crash, and she tries to resume her normal life, but weird things begin happening. Unspeaking, creepy strangers start to appear to her and she wonders what it all could mean.

Also in the cast are handsome Kurt Johnson as a kindly doctor, Robin Davidson as Denise's spunky neighbour, Caren Larkey as a washed up actress with unwanted psychic abilities, and William Snare as a frustrated coroner. Be on the lookout for foxy B movie actress Brinke Stevens as a player in a strip poker game who takes off her top and Leon (Robinson) as a gang leader.

David F. Anthony composed the eerie music and cinematographer Russell Carpenter, who went on to really big things such as "True Lies" and "Titanic", does a really good job in helping to set the mood.

The movie also educates us some on the subject of "survivor syndrome", wherein people who live through catastrophic accidents expire themselves within 24 months, possibly through a sense of guilt and feeling of unworthiness.

All in all, "Sole Survivor" is one of those films that deserves a wider audience. It's too good to remain obscure.

Eight out of 10.

Before Final Destination, there was Sole Survivor...

[lewissaddington · 7/10 · 27 October 2022]

When Denise Watson miraculously emerges from a plane crash as the, *ahem*, sole survivor of the tragic accident, she attempts to move on and return to life as normal. She avoids reporters, goes back to work, and even strikes up a promising relationship with her doctor. And yet, she cannot shake the suspicion that something still isn't quite right - that she's about to be "caught" somehow, as she says herself - and she gradually discovers that there's much more to her "survivor's guilt" than a mere uneasy feeling...

Though the concept of someone surviving an accident they weren't supposed to, only to find that death still isn't finished with them, brings Final Destination to mind for most people, Sole Survivor came well before it. Unlike Final Desination, however, Sole Survivor doesn't focus on grizzly death scenes and shocking gore. Instead, this film is a slow-burn that follows one woman as she slowly begins to realise her brush with death isn't over, and it does so by effectively building a tense atmosphere throughout its runtime. While the film is a little slow here and there, it progresses nicely to a finale that leaves you feeling cold long after the end credits roll.

For myself, Sole Survivor is a film that kept me thinking about it for some time after I first watched it - thinking about my mortality and the inevitability of death, which will eventually find us all sooner or later - and that's quite an achievement for a horror film. This may not be a movie that will satiate watchers simply looking for a gore fix, but it is a fairly well-made and well-acted horror flick that deserves some recognition.

Soul Slurper

[saint_brett · 3/10 · 14 January 2024]

Step on up. Step on up. The circus is back in town with this Code Red release. Two other companies to be wary of are Scorpion and Substance Releases. Vinegar Syndrome doesn't fare much better either.

Only two minutes into the movie, and already we're on the Metro 212 with a junkie on board, armed and in need of her next fix.

It looks like it's 2am. I doubt the bus would run this early in the morning. Or, did they film this real late to prevent the nosy public from interfering?

Elsewhere, a recovering heroin addict, in a muck lather of perspiration, is going through withdrawal symptoms and nightmares on Elm Street. Is that Melanie Griffith?

Premonitions of aircraft catastrophes and body parts keep occurring as the heroin addict foresees Ginger Lynn coming away unscathed.

Ginger is treated like a celebrity in the aftermath and offered special treatment in the hospital to avoid the waiting press, so she slips out of a side corridor via the necropsy storage room, where all the flesh-eating fentanyl zombies wait in line to be released.

Confronted by a 13-year-old tranq user, the force is on display, which sees a dump truck try to mow down Ginger with no one at the helm.

Can we check the pulse of this movie, please?

The Halloween 3 theory about doctors and patients mixing is a no-no and overruled, as Ginger's medical practitioner falls for her instantly, which takes up a large bulk of the storyline and blocks its arteries. And how romantic involvement enhances the movie - who knows? Hampers it, if you ask me, considering that the DVD cover, with its green skull, is awesome yet misleading at the same time.

The junkies from the flesh-eating ward are somehow released from their holding cells and start showing up in their bath gowns, which makes no sense.

Or are they the dead victims of the plane crash?

The beginning of the movie sort of didn't go into detail concerning the plane crash. It was passed off as a dream sequence.

I'm being patient with you, movie, but you're like a drama with no action or horror. To be truthful, you're borderline boring and on a UV drip with a clear liquid of no nutritional value.

"God, Carla, you're not making any sense," says Ginger Lynn. And neither is this movie.

Saving Melanie Griffith from a ten-story suicide attempt, Ginger then finds herself down in a carpark basement with the Night Slasher parked around the corner. Just take the stairs, lady. Following my orders, she does, but encounters Deke DaSilva, who's strung out of his brain and part of the flesh-eating fentanyl release program.

Looking at the awesome DVD cover, you'd be under the impression that this would be a space movie.

So, Ginger Lynn keeps attracting meth heads who just dead head sticker on the streets with no purpose. This won't cut it. You're not 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers.' Or is it trying to be esoteric like 'It Follows?' Who really understood that message? Overrated.

Brinke Stevens makes a cameo playing strip poker. It's a shame the director only cast her to expose herself, as she was talented as an actress and was never given a proper shot as the lead in a movie. I'm still baffled as to why she ditched the Charlene name.

(The library I'm typing this at is howling outside like the Evil Dead.)

49 minutes in, and nothing remarkable has happened so far to report.

I think they should have dedicated a bit more of the running time at the beginning to explain what it's actually about. I mean, at the 53-minute mark here, Miss Double D is being drowned by an unknown assailant, and I don't know what that's got to do with Ginger Lynn.

Do I have it right that Ginger cheated death and the dead resent her survival and come calling to claim her?

She starts popping pills and chasing them down with alcohol, which explains her delusional judgment.

A few months in a psychiatric unit with my aunt Marlene would do her a world of good.

Dipping to a new low, Melanie Griffith speaks to herself, plays with a teddy bear, then plays with a razor blade.

These people are all losing their composure.

One fentanyl junkie stabs and kills a cab driver, then the good doctor stumbles across his corpse and robs him of his tips and handgun. The doctor is then murdered by the drowning victim from earlier, while Ginger Lynn arms herself with the stolen firearm, steals a car, and books it to LA. With a taste of street life, largely thanks to the revolver in her hand, she confronts some Crip members, but they call her bluff.

Defeated, she consults Melanie Griffith and almost admits that she shared a room with my aunt Marlene, but before she can spew this revelation, Griffith blows her away and then commits suicide, where they all wind up on gurney trays in the necropolis section of the hospital where it all started.

So technically, she shouldn't have taken that backdoor exit at the start of the movie, and none of this would have happened.

What any of this means is better left interpreted by someone more clever than me.

Avoid.

Why Don't More People Talk About This Film?

[molemandavid · 9/10 · 7 July 2017]

If slow paced, intelligent horror films along the lines of Let's Scare Jessica to Death or Carnival of Souls are your speed, you'll find a lot to love in Sole Survivor.

Predating Final Destination by nearly 20 years, Sole Survivor tells the story of Denise, a TV producer, who ends up being the sole survivor of a plane crash. Soon after, she starts seeing people following her and, well,...I don't want to spoil anything else.

Sole Survivor is a perfect example of "less is more." Things are never quite clear or explained, which makes the entire film quite mysterious and creepy. Most of the performances are subdued and natural and a large cloud of doom hangs over the entire film. It's impressively creepy, honestly.

If you're a gore hound or looking for cheap jump scares, Sole Survivor might not be your cup of tea, but those who appreciate a nice slow burn will probably love it.

Another underrated horror film from the 1990's

[phillipestevenson · 6/10 · 20 November 2022]

This film was film was creepy and underrated. It definitely had an "It Follows", "Final Destination" vibe to it. The fact that bodies kept coming after the protagonist often in the form of people that she knew and never saying anything just slowly following after her definitely reminds me of It Follows and I personally believe that's part of where the premise of the film came from. At the same time there's an undeniable intelligence with intent controlling the bodies that kills people who like the protagonist survived death, witnessed a murder it committed or got to close to the truth/is a threat to it, which definitely sends Final Destination vibes. Despite the undead aspect of the film it doesn't have a zombie feel to it nor does the word zombie ever come into mind during this film. The climax which leads directly to the ending is full of so much tension it can be cut with a knife. The sense of dread the protagonist has as literally anyone whose recently died can reanimate and come after her is unnerving to say the least. I won't spoil the ending but I will say the protagonist's demise is one of the greatest and most tragic in film history. There is a sense of impending doom whereas the protagonist was always going to die like in the films Drag Me to Hell or an American Werewolf in London. Its sad and haunting.

Slow paced and boring...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 25 December 2023]

I had never actually heard, much less seen, the 1984 thriller "Sole Survivor" from writer and director Thom Eberhardt, prior to sitting down and watching it here in 2023. I happened to stumble upon the movie by random luck, and of course opted to sit down and watch it.

The narrative in "Sole Survivor" was a bit of a struggle to sit through, because it is somewhat slow paced, monotonous and there wasn't really enough of anything overly interesting happening throughout the narrative to keep me adequately entertained. I am sure that the concept idea for "Sole Survivor", from Thom Eberhardt, was good, but the transition from script to screen just wasn't impressive.

Now, I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in "Sole Survivor", and that is something I do enjoy when I watch movies. And it should be noted that the acting performances in this 1984 thriller was actually adequate enough.

Sure, I've seen worse horror and thrillers from the mid-1980s, but this movie just wasn't memorable or outstanding. I will say that it wasn't a bad movie, but it was just too uneventful to be properly entertaining.

The production value in the movie was good, and that definitely helped to keep an otherwise stale narrative afloat, and making it somewhat bearable to sit through the movie.

My rating of "Sole Survivor" lands on a generous three out of ten stars. This movie just didn't tickle me the right way, and thus I didn't find it particularly entertaining.

An odd movie...

[shrike22 · 18 August 2000]

I remember seeing this flick on video, back in 1984. I was working in a video store at the time and my boss decided to check it out. It has many similarities to 'Carnival of Souls'. It deals with a lady who is a lone survivor of a jet-liner crash. She begins to see dead people from the crash. Basically, she somehow cheated death and 'The Grim Reaper' starts knocking at her door. Interestingly, Thom Eberhardt, also directed the Sci-Fi camp film 'Night of the Comet'-both films are very different in tone. Also I believe that the makers of 'Final Destination' were influenced by this film.

It's been 16 years since I've seen this movie, but I remember liking it for it's low-key and haunting atmosphere. It in no way surpasses 'Carnival of Souls', but it gets your attention. I haven't seen this movie since. But, I hope I run into it again some day.

A creepy slow-burner that's all the more effective for its simplicity

[Condemned-Soul · 7/10 · 8 April 2021]

Premise: Denise survives an airplane crash, escaping completely unharmed. But as she tries to move on with her life, she begins noticing people are watching her, and hears strange voices calling her name. It soon becomes clear that the unseen spectre of death wants to collect Denise by sending its minions to kill her...

'Sole Survivor' is a neat little horror film tucked away in the mid-80s that's slipped under the radar. It's slow and creepy, benefiting from Carpenter-esque direction in the way the protagonist is framed in long shots, centred in wide open spaces to augment the isolation and menace, much like the victims in Halloween. This is further evidenced by the cold stares Denise receives from the "minions", who are just standing there at a distance, watching, waiting... sound eerily familiar?

If I had to be harsh and nitpick, it would be that 'Sole Survivor' peaks with its atmosphere early and doesn't have much ambition to go further. This is fine - there's a moderate intensity sustained throughout as creepy people stand, stare and occasionally pursue the main character. But it also means the film doesn't hit the dread-filled highs that could have made it a classic of the genre. Still, this is well worth a watch, with an ending that's bound to leave a lingering chill.

7/10.

Crash

[sol- · 6/10 · 19 December 2016]

Annoyed by all the attention thrown her way, the sole survivor of a horrific plane crash tries to get on with her life, however, it appears that Death still has a plan to take her in this intriguing horror thriller. The film's best asset is the dialogue with several fascinating notions tossed around as "survivor's syndrome", referring to guilt often experienced by sole survivors, and curious statistics, such as the majority of sole survivors dying within 24 months of their accident, often as a result of carelessness or subconsciously placing themselves in dangerous situations. The protagonist also offers an interesting tale of a dress that she was not charged for, commenting that she experienced similar elation upon surviving the crash, before then remarking "they eventually find" any mistake. 'Sole Survivor' is not, however, the psychological horror film that one might expect from such intelligent dialogue. There is never any doubt that it is not in her mind and that there are really forces out to get her. Also, creepy as the blankly staring zombies are, their lack of urgency in getting her never quite rings true. The plot is further drawn out with an extraneous strip poker game that only seems to exist to meet a nudity quota and most perhaps disappointing of all, both the lead actress and her boyfriend are bland. This is, however, a film to watch for its small delights: an ominous elevator ride, a foreboding bug-eyed clock, a young girl zombie, etc. The premise is also highly original and undeniably thought-provoking depending on how much one believes in chance, fate and coincidence.

pretty good

[movieman_kev · 6/10 · 22 April 2008]

Denise Watson (Anita Skinner) is a TV reporter who's the lone survivor of an airplane crash, thing is she wasn't supposed to. Now with dead people after her and cryptic warnings from her actress friend (whom happens to be a psychic), she's getting more and more unsettled. I enjoyed this little film, it's slow-moving and low key, but at the same time has an effectively unnerving atmosphere and pretty cool ending.

Eye Candy: Scream queen Brinke Stevens gets topless and Anita Skinner shows her left boob briefly

My Grade: B-

Deep red DVD Extras: An intro by producer/actress Caren Larkey; Commentary with Larkey, executive producer Sal Romeo, film historian Jeff McKay, and director Jeff Burr; 8 & a half minute Interview with Larkey and Romeo; theatrical trailer; and trailers for "the Unseen", "the Farmer", "the Dead pit", "the Silent Scream", & "Human experiments"

The trailers were very misleading for this movie.

[Aaron1375 · 3/10 · 2 July 2009]

If there is one thing I can not stand it is when a movie pretends to be something it is not on its movie poster, on the back of the box, or in the case of this movie the trailer itself. I would have possibly given the movie a higher score if not for the blatant lies the trailer showed when this movie first came to the theaters. I still remember the trailers as a kid and one of them showed a demon like hand coming out of a fog, a scene that does not materialize in the movie at all thank you very much. The only demon comes rather early in the movie in the form of a sort of echo on the radar screen. This movie in the end is more of a bad version of the classic low budget horror film "Carnival of Souls", granted this one is a low budget movie as well. The story has the survivor of a plane crash feeling guilty as she was in fact the only survivor. Well it is not to long that she seems to be seeing dead people, and they seem to be wanting her dead. So yes you can see the similarities to "Carnival of Souls" just from that line. However, for the most part you are not going to see much going on the movie just needs more to it, or maybe if they had advertised this movie for what it was instead of trying to make it out to be some cool horror movie I could have enjoyed it better.

Excellent low budget thriller

[go2dean · 8/10 · 26 July 2004]

This film was very nicely done despite it's budget. The director thoroughly developed each scene so that you knew exactly what was going on.

I use to watch this film along side of the classic "Carnival Of Souls" with Candice Hillagoss. The difference between the two was that in carnival the lead character was half dead, but in this film the dead were hell bent making the lead character very dead.

Cudos to Leon in his prelude role to Madonna's "Like A Prayer" video. You really don't know who he is until he opens his mouth. This is where you hear him sounding like his "5 Heartbeats" character JT.

This is a must see for all true horror fans, and those who still enjoy the late Saturday night "fright night" features.

8 out of 10 hands down.

Sole Survivor

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 11 March 2009]

Denise Watson(Anita Skinner), an up and coming producer for a television studio, remarkably survives an airplane crash. It seems Denise has even found a new man in her life, the physician who nursed her back to health, Dr. Brian Richardson(Kurt Johnson). Yet, there's this state of unease that exists and Denise notices strange individuals standing from afar. An older actress, Karla Davis(Caren L Larkey), returning from 6 years of obscurity living pretty much as a recluse, is supposed to be starring in a series of coffee commercials for Denise's company. Karla claims that she has psychic premonitions and attempts to warn Denise of potential danger she envisions in her nightmares. Through Karla we discover that Denise was not suppose to survive(..this is presented in a very subtle way)her plane crash, and, in fact, those unusual folks that seem to follow Denise are in fact undead corpses, perhaps used to reclaim the one who got away from the clutches of death. When an unfortunate series of violent circumstances arise as others encounter those undead corpses "assigned" to "retrieve" Denise, she will have to depend on Brian for help, reluctant and unconvinced, at first, until his own personal investigations turn up some really odd information(..certain corpses moved into a coroner's lab show signs of blood collection in their legs as if they had died standing;and a particular corpse, which kills someone close to Denise, shown as to have died of a coronary, actually was muddy and wet and lying in his car seat in a way not associated with the forensic evidence). Can Denise escape from death that is stalking her? Will Brian be able to save her?

This was a nice surprise. Pretty spooky little movie, with limited violence(..the zombies of the film attack humans who pose a threat to their mission). Director Thom Eberhardt is more concerned with building that state of unrest and that terror towards the heroine intensifies as the zombies of the film gradually become more of a threat. At first, the undead watch from afar, lifeless and emotionless, as if they had moved from the slab to spy on her. Then with each appearance, they are more and more threatening(..the parking garage scene where Denise narrowly escapes in an elevator as a zombie closes in from behind is an effectively suspenseful sequence), until those who aren't particularly targets fall prey to them for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A quite interesting twist develops regarding those who are killed by the zombies, themselves pose a threat to Denise's life. I really liked how Eberhardt establishes the undead predators, often shooting them from far away..kind of reminds me of Michael Myers, who looks on at a target before setting in for the kill. The eerie shots of the silent city at night with the streets practically empty(..with his camera particularly interested in store window mannequins)are quite effective, and I thought Eberhardt produces a great sense of hopelessness as Denise slowly descends from a confident and calm working woman into a nervous wreck popping pills, downing booze, and smoking because of her supernatural stalkers. I also appreciated the ambiguity behind the whole film, using dialogue and performance to convey the truth at what is transpiring to the tragic character of Denise and those in her inner circle attempting to run from her own mortality, death never ceasing to stop until it can secure her soul. Big thanks to Code Red for releasing this on DVD so that a new audience can appreciate it(..like a lot of cases, those behind the making of the film received no rewards for their labor due to the distributors). Eberhardt would go on to direct the cult hit, NIGHT OF THE COMET. As others have mentioned, SOLE SURVIVOR is quite reminiscent of CARNIVAL OF SOULS, although the films have very different types of female leads being pursued by very different types of ghoulish predators.Robinson Davidson also stars as Denise's reliable teenage neighbor, Kristy. Brinke Stevens has an early role as one of Kristy's school chums, who must remove her bra during a game of strip poker. My favorite sequence would have to be the chilling nightmare where Karla sees the aftermath of the plane crash as bodies lay dead amongst the debris with Denise seated alone in a dazed state.

A lot of promise ends up being a decent eighties thriller

[The_Void · 5/10 · 19 July 2006]

Sole Survivor features a plot that begins a lot like James Herbert's classic book 'The Survivor', and turns into something much more like the modern thriller 'Final Destination'. The idea behind the film is always going to be interesting, as death is the ultimate unknown and stories about the other-worldly forces that govern the afterlife are always bound to be intriguing; but due to this film's low budget and generally slow plot, what could have been a great thriller is left only as an interesting attempt at a good thriller. There were a lot of low budget horror films made during the eighties, many of which are now classics - but this film feels more like a seventies movie, and that's not a good thing as the paltry acting and low quality feel don't bode well with the ambitious plot line. The story follows a woman that is the only survivor of a plane crash. She is haunted by a feeling that her doctor describes as 'sole survivor syndrome', but it turns out that she actually should have died in the crash; and the powers that be have sent their minions to get rid of her.

The film gets off to a strong start, and writer-director Thom Eberhardt seems keen to explore all the implications of the central idea. However, it soon goes downhill as the film never really gets going, and most of the ideas don't end up being fully explored, which is a shame. The film does benefit from a continually creepy atmosphere, which bodes well with the central plot in that it makes the finished piece more horrifying. It's always obvious that the film has been made on a shoestring, however, and the director never really makes any attempt to mask this, which is disappointing. The acting isn't exactly brilliant, but it's one of the better things about the piece, and Anita Skinner does well at heading a cast of other unknowns. Eberhardt's script is good in that it manages to give credence to its characters as well, which ends up making the film more credible as we are given a reason to care about the plight of the lead character. Overall, Sole Survivor isn't essentially a 'bad' film; but it is extremely disappointing in that it could have been a lot better.

Genuinely Scary Low Budget Shocker

[marcusgrant-86630 · 9/10 · 14 September 2018]

Some friends of mine had been raving about this one and it had just been released on Blu-Ray, so I figured I'd give it a try and I'm really glad that I did. Sole Survivor packs a wallop.

The story centers around Denise, the sole survivor of a freak plane crash, who starts seeing strange, dead-eyed people stalking her every move. In many ways, one could say this is a zombie movie, but that'd be too simple. Yes, these "zombies" are corpses being used by "death" to settle the score and kill Denise once and for all since someone made a mistake and left her alive.

There are elements of Carnival of Souls, Final Destination, and the recent It Follows, but Sole Survivor is very much its own beast and it's all the better for it. Some might not like the very dreary, downbeat storytelling Sole Survivor dabbles in, but there's so much suspense, atmosphere, and scares that I have a hard time believing that any serious horror fan couldn't find something to like in this movie.

It must also be mentioned that leading actress, Anita Skinner, is a dead ringer for Chloe Sevingy.

Almost incoherent but atmospheric .........

[merklekranz · 5/10 · 10 June 2012]

Almost incoherent but atmospheric, would best describe "Sole Survivor". The film opens effectively creepy with the lone survivor of a horrific but unseen plane crash, having an ever present feeling that she is in danger. She befriends and eventually becomes involved with an interning physician, who slowly uncovers a theory of the walking dead seeking the survivor who cheated death. The middle portion of this movie is extremely slow, muddled, and uninteresting, with flashes in time, unexplained characters, and general confusion. There is also a totally gratuitous nude scene involving strip poker. The film almost redeems itself with an ending that is downbeat yet effective. - MERK

a neglected gem, ripe for rediscovery

[EyeAskance · 15 February 2005]

The lone survivor of a plane disaster is menaced by the zombified bodies of the recent dead who intend to take her with them to "the other side", where she truly belongs.

Although the overall premise will be familiar to most(as presented in the more well known "Carnival of Souls" and "Final Destination"), this film deserves high praise despite its relative obscurity. Poorly distributed at a time when horror film preferences were in the slasher slant, SOLE SURVIVOR is a moody, exquisitely eerie supernatural tale spun with credibility and presented with stylish, crisp direction. Hampered only slightly by the usual limitations of a low-budget horror film, but ultimately transcending the expectations usually held when viewing one. Recommended.

7/10