The Survivalist

Really corny and bad low budget film that feels more like a piece of confused NRA-propaganda than post-apocalypse. The world is cast into chaos, violence and confusion after the threat of nuclear war between the US of A and the Soviet union. Everybody is freaking out, except... Jack Tillman! (his name is repeated in absurdum)... who's a survivalist who's been preparing for this crap and now gets to play with weapons, build campfires and protect his family and blah-blah-blah... If you are a 40 year old guy in army pants who lives with his mum and have strange ideas about most things, and who's biggest hobby is to hang around in the forest and build knives, this might be right up your alley... Everybody except that guy and the most tragic of post-apocalyptic movie collectors needn't bother. A few unintentionally funny scenes and the fact that this ultra-low budget film takes it self 110% serious saves it from being a complete waste of time.

Not to be confused with the pulp novel series. A small nuclear device is detonated in Siberia and sends the world into a cold war panic. Back in Texas, Jack Tillman (Steve Railsback), a sort of doomsdayer-lite, is fully prepared for the chaos erupting. He gets his family together to go save his son at a summer camp. But when his wife and daughter are killed by random roaming ruffians, he is forced to go on the run with his doctor friend Vincent (Cliff De Young) and his wife Linda (Susan Blakely). Of course, not before offending National Guard nut (and former 'Nam nemesis) Lt. Youngman (Marjoe Gortner), who decides the biggest priority in this worldwide panic is to kill the man who crushed his motorcycle with a backhoe. This is a film that seems like it could have only been made in the '80s. Director Sig Shore (producer of SUPERFLY) gets the most out of the barren locations, but ineptly handles the rioting masses (which seem to be about 12 people). The screenplay is credited to one John V. Kraft (amusingly, a copyright search finds a script from 1986 with that title credited to an equally pseudonym sounding Louis J. Mayo...mmmm, Kraft and Mayo) and it seems really confused as if Tillman is the hero. I assume they wanted this to be a FIRST BLOOD (1982) type flick, but Tillman is so mean to nearly everyone he meets that it is hard to like him. Railsback is his usually self and the supporting turns by De Young and Blakely are better than one would expect.

This movie is great for many reasons and anyone who knows anything about survivalist issues will enjoy it. Most liberals will hate this one for it sure tells it like it is.

Based loosely on the paperback book series: THE SURVIVALIST. Railsback brings to life the hero and Marjoe Gortner plays the perfect over the top villain as usual.

There is violence and a brief nude scene with Blakely which really does lift the film for its own reasons.

If you are a fan of big government or dislike survivalists...stay away from this one.

If you like holocaust survival movies or like to see what survivalists are really like.. check this one out. I do hope they will put this one out on DVD someday.

I watched this movie expecting a good storyline and action. I received lots of action but no story line. The actors in this movie were better quality than this picture. David Wayne who played on Ellery Queen as the father is a better actor and so is Susan Blakely. She has a nude scene in the movie near the end, but I could only give this movie two stars which means it was saved by her endowments and not the storyline. Do not rent this movie expecting any sense, but lots of lousy action and some steam.