Survival Quest (1989)

Don Coscarelli is quite a popular writer/director among horror and cult fanatics, but the vast majority of his fans always only refer to his classic works "Phantasm", "Bubba-Ho-Tep" and – occasionally – "The Beastmaster". Almost nobody ever mentions the obscure piece of backwoods/survival thriller called "Survival Quest" even though it benefited from decent production values and a very appealing cast featuring names like Lance Henriksen, Mark Rolston and (in their earliest roles) Dermot Mulroney and Catherine Keener. From a more substantive point of view, on the other hand, I can definitely understand that "Survival Quest" quickly got somewhat forgotten in the plenitude of 80s action movies, as the script is surprisingly (and disappointingly) tame and polished instead of raw and shocking. In spite of all the great potential and similar role-model classics that set a great example (like "Southern Comfort", "Rituals" and even "Deliverance"), Coscarelli doesn't have the courage to break through any taboos and serves a dull politically correct thriller with a pitiably low body-count. Survival Quest is the name of an adventurous wilderness program intended for city folks who are only used to luxurious accommodation and expensive fancy food. Wildlife expert Hank (Lance Henriksen) welcomes a new and very diverse group, including an arrogant young man, a recently divorced woman, a young girl about to get married against her will, an elderly man and a young convict forced to participate by his parole officer. Nearby, however, military drill instructor Jake (Mark Rolston) is running a boot camp to harden a platoon of soldiers. When he pushes his men over their mental boundaries, Private Raider goes bonkers. He attacks both Hank and Jake accuses the convict of being the culprit and mobilizes the rest of the squad to violently hunt down the rest of the group. For a backwoods action/thriller flick, "Survival Quest" is intolerably clean and civilized. There aren't any perverted characters, attempted rapes or nasty booby-traps, and even the sequences with the grizzly bear seem to belong more in a Walt Disney movie. The filming locations are astonishing and the survival tests during the first half of the movie are entertaining to look at, but as soon as the film is supposed to turn into a harsh and suspenseful thriller, the whole thing becomes one giant disappointment. Forgettable and not recommended.

Survival Quest is one of the few Lance Henriksen starrers that happened during the eighties. This time he gives a great unexpected performance as a good guy, who runs a survival school and leads a group of assorted city people through the wilderness. Eventually they cross paths with a military man played by Mark Rolston who leads a survival class of his own. Don Coscarelli pulls out fine performances from everybody and the script is so well done that every character that's supposed to matter does. Aside from the acting, the film relies on such inexpensive things as breathtaking vistas and avoiding clichés (for the most part). The only thing that downplays the whole experience is the music one'd expect from a Hallmark family movie. Definitely the strongest Coscarelli effort outside of Phantasm and Bubba Ho-Tep.

Well, it's not "Phantasm", but it's still a good 1980's movie from Don Coscarelli, who is a very interesting author. Although the basic idea is looks like a remake of "First Blood" in which one John Rambo is replaced by a group of regular people and sheriff with his officers is replaced by a bunch of military, the story itself is quite good. We see how these two groups are moving from indifference to confrontation and then whole conflict becomes a run for survival for ones and hide-and-seek game for others. Lance Henricksen is good here - nothing special, but just a good actor in adequate role. Also, there's a lot of action, some shooting and fighting, but keep in mind it's a thriller first, not an action or horror, and I hope you'll not be disappointed.

Don Coscarelli should be a little embarrassed, I think. Not of the film altogether, because it's a fun timewaster, but of the really textbook formula characterizations he heaps onto his protagonists. I would've expected more from the creator of PHANTASM, but just the same, I enjoyed this movie. Six city slickers sign on to Survival Quest, which will teach them how to survive in the Great Outdoors for four weeks. A paramilitary group is sharing the woods with them and soon it's THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME.Lance Henriksen is always cool to watch; he gives any film class. A young Catherine Keener has one of the aforementioned embarrassing roles, going from a pathetic girl to a Ripley-styled woman. Ben Hammer weighs in to let you know geriatrics can do anything you youngsters can do (provided you don't get shot), and Dermot Mulroney makes the most of the bad-boy-from-jail-on-probation shtick. Apparently Mulroney and Keener are married (or so a friend told me-check this fact yourself)so this would explain where they met. Ah, true love. Traci Lin is also in it and let's just say I've always had a thing for Miss CLASS OF 1999. Looks like a gore effect involving a hunting knife was trimmed for the R rating judging by a quick, jarring cut at the right time. As for the direction...truthfully, anybody could've wrote or directed this. It's very pedestrian, but credit Coscarelli for keeping it moving and watchable. I liked it, so sue me.