REVIEW: Stephen King's Survivor Type
For almost thirty years now Stephen King has been granting up and comers the rights to some of his stories. We’ve all heard of his dollar babies, where he give filmmakers a chance to adapt his work for the princely price of a dollar and one copy of the flick. I was lucky enough to catch Frank Darabont’s first flick “The Woman in the Room” years ago, and it showed obvious talent in the making. The only rule King puts on the filmmakers is that they don’t release it commercially without his permission, that he’s given screen credit, and that his name isn’t put in the title unless he specifically gives his approval. I guess the title credit is his secret handshake to let fans know which of his children he likes the best.
Right now, Chris Ethridge’s “Survivor Type” is just hitting the festival scene, and I’m wondering if Mr. King has seen it yet, because if he hasn’t, they might have to cough up some quick cash for new poster art. “Stephen King’s SURVIVOR TYPE” has a nice ring to it, and considering how well they pulled off the impossible, I think it’d be a well deserved award.
“Survivor Type” is based on the short story form SKELETON CREW about a doctor who finds himself shipwrecked on a desert island with only a bit of heroine and an itty bitty knife. There’s no food, no water, and no way off. There’s also no redeeming qualities to be found in the soul character of Dr. Richard Pine, and that’s what makes this story legendary for being unfilmable. It’s not because the story deals with autocannibalism, but more due to the fact that King wrote the main character as an absolute prick, something I was worried the short film would pull back on. I was sure these guys weren’t going to wuss out on the dietary etiquette on the island, but I wasn’t sure anyone would portray Pine as he was written. Another challenge the production had was how to make the film without it being immediately compared to “Castaway.”
The answer to that is simple, the just fucking ignore Tom Hanks.
Jayson Palmer delivers a script which fills in just enough of Pine’s back story to make it more cinematic, but avoids the trap of finding that silver lining in Pine. Nope, he leaves the character as the prick he was meant to be, and in the rock solid performance by Jens Rasmussen, it’s never cartoony. Playing a man slowly being forced to eat himself while hallucinating his life’s wrongs and rights could easily become a joke, but Rasmussen and director Ethridge kept it straight and never wink at the audience. They play it serious, and in that, keep it as honest as can be.
And yes, when we get to that scene, it does hurt to watch. Whereas a similar bit is done by Danny Boyle in “127 Hours,” that amputation was helped with sharp editing and violent sound design. Here, we have straight forward practical effects and acting to get us all queasy. And it does.
Maybe it’s just me. I have a thing about vulnerable feet. For me, “Die Hard” and the broken glass drives me batshit crazy each time I see it, and I still can’t watch “Home Alone” and its nail up the boot gag.
“Survivor Type” has sat around for years waiting to be adapted, and it’s been one of those flicks I’ve been waiting to see someone try and pull off. I can cross that off my list. I’ve seen it. It’s been done. And it was worth the wait. If “Survivor Type” is playing a festival near you, do yourself a favor and see it before it disappears into the corner of King’s office where he keeps his other dollar babies. Good stuff, and unlike a lot King adaptations, this one knows and respects its source material. Can’t wait for these guys to give us a feature.
by Jason Lees, MoreHorror.com
