When I was a wee one, we used to live right behind a valley that skirted our town. In the summer my friends and I would be out after dark running around the neighborhood, on one condition: we had to take tennis rackets with us. Why you ask? Well, because of the bats, you see; swooping around the street lights with the occasional dive towards an unsuspecting victim, we were forever on the lookout for the winged mammals. Now, we never had to try out our serves; but I’ve always been leery of the buggers (even at the movies) and the interesting sci-fi/horror hybrid Chosen Survivors (1974) does not change my opinion one little bit.
Released by Columbia Pictures in late May and made for under a million, Chosen Survivors did not set the box office on fire nor endear itself to critics at the time, referring to it...
Released by Columbia Pictures in late May and made for under a million, Chosen Survivors did not set the box office on fire nor endear itself to critics at the time, referring to it...
- 7/7/2018
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
A few years ago, in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the death of influential film critic Pauline Kael, I wrote the following:
“I think (Kael) did a lot to expose the truth… that directors, writers and actors who often work awfully close to the surface may still have subterranean levels of achievement or purpose or commentary that they themselves may be least qualified to articulate. It’s what’s behind her disdain for Antonioni’s pontificating at the Cannes film festival; it’s what behind the high percentage of uselessness of proliferating DVD commentaries in which we get to hear every dull anecdote, redundant explication of plot development and any other inanity that strikes the director of the latest Jennifer Aniston rom-com to blurt out breathlessly; and it is what’s behind a director like Eli Roth, who tailors the subtext of something like Hostel Part II almost as...
“I think (Kael) did a lot to expose the truth… that directors, writers and actors who often work awfully close to the surface may still have subterranean levels of achievement or purpose or commentary that they themselves may be least qualified to articulate. It’s what’s behind her disdain for Antonioni’s pontificating at the Cannes film festival; it’s what behind the high percentage of uselessness of proliferating DVD commentaries in which we get to hear every dull anecdote, redundant explication of plot development and any other inanity that strikes the director of the latest Jennifer Aniston rom-com to blurt out breathlessly; and it is what’s behind a director like Eli Roth, who tailors the subtext of something like Hostel Part II almost as...
- 4/2/2017
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Happy October, everyone! As expected, our favorite month is kicking off with a ton of horror and sci-fi home releases – 25 to be precise – and there’s a great selection of new and old titles coming our way on October 4th. As far as recent movies, The Purge: Election Year, The Mind’s Eye, Swiss Army Man and Fender Bender all arrive on both Blu and DVD this week, as well as the stunning South Korean horror film The Wailing. Several great cult classics are getting the HD treatment on Tuesday, including Terence Fisher’s The Earth Dies Screaming and Richard Wenk’s Vamp (both hugely underrated films, in my opinion).
Other notable Blu-ray and DVD releases for October 4th include X-Men: Apocalypse, House of Manson, Daughter of Dracula, Sharknado: The 4th Awakens, They’re Watching and Chosen Survivors.
The Earth Dies Screaming (1964) (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray)
Their target: Humanity.
Other notable Blu-ray and DVD releases for October 4th include X-Men: Apocalypse, House of Manson, Daughter of Dracula, Sharknado: The 4th Awakens, They’re Watching and Chosen Survivors.
The Earth Dies Screaming (1964) (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray)
Their target: Humanity.
- 10/4/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
When nuclear war threatens to obliterate life on Earth, an eclectic group of people are taken below the surface to preserve the human race. Things get complicated when they realize their shelter is under siege by bats… very hungry bats. An underground showdown ensues in 1974’s Chosen Survivors, which Kino Lorber will release on Blu-ray this October.
From Kino Lorber: “Coming October 4th on Blu-ray!
Chosen Survivors (1974) Starring Jackie Cooper, Alex Cord, Richard Jaeckel, Bradford Dillman, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Diana Muldaur, Lincoln Kilpatrick and Barbara Babcock – Directed by Sutton Roley.”
Synopsis (via Blu-ray.com): “A group of diverse individuals are suddenly taken from their homes and flown via helicopter to a futuristic bomb shelter in the desert, nearly two miles below the surface of the Earth. There they learn that a nuclear holocaust is taking place and that they’ve been “chosen” by computer to survive in the...
From Kino Lorber: “Coming October 4th on Blu-ray!
Chosen Survivors (1974) Starring Jackie Cooper, Alex Cord, Richard Jaeckel, Bradford Dillman, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Diana Muldaur, Lincoln Kilpatrick and Barbara Babcock – Directed by Sutton Roley.”
Synopsis (via Blu-ray.com): “A group of diverse individuals are suddenly taken from their homes and flown via helicopter to a futuristic bomb shelter in the desert, nearly two miles below the surface of the Earth. There they learn that a nuclear holocaust is taking place and that they’ve been “chosen” by computer to survive in the...
- 5/3/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Killer bat opus Chosen Survivors coming to Blu-ray. Fans of obscure horror cinema got excited yesterday when Kino Lorber announced their intent to bring director Sutton Roley’s apocalyptic, 1974 blood-sucking mutant bat thriller Chosen Survivors to Blu-ray. The last time this underrated and little seen shocker appeared on any home video format was on the…
The post Kino Lorber to Bring Mutant Bat Classic Chosen Survivors to Blu-ray appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post Kino Lorber to Bring Mutant Bat Classic Chosen Survivors to Blu-ray appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 4/27/2016
- by Chris Alexander
- shocktillyoudrop.com
In this episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for Tuesday, April 26th, 2016. They also discuss the new streaming service: FilmStruck.
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Follow-Up Ryan buys a Blu-ray from Australia! News FilmStruck Alien Day Labyrinth 4k Criterion Collection: July Line-up Kino Lorber: Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother, Road House, The Enemy Below, Caboblanco, Star Crystal, Man on Fire, The Earth Dies Screaming, and Chosen Survivors Scorpion Releasing: Force Five, Haunting of Morella Image Entertainment: The Commitments Twilight Time May 2016 Pre-orders: Garden of Evil, Cat Balou, Eureka, I Could Go On Singing, and Appasionata Links to Amazon 4/19 Barcelona Betrayed Cary Grant: The Vault Collection Dangerous Men Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street Doris Day and Rock Hudson Romantic Comedy Collection Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon Fatal Beauty The File of the Golden Goose...
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Follow-Up Ryan buys a Blu-ray from Australia! News FilmStruck Alien Day Labyrinth 4k Criterion Collection: July Line-up Kino Lorber: Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother, Road House, The Enemy Below, Caboblanco, Star Crystal, Man on Fire, The Earth Dies Screaming, and Chosen Survivors Scorpion Releasing: Force Five, Haunting of Morella Image Entertainment: The Commitments Twilight Time May 2016 Pre-orders: Garden of Evil, Cat Balou, Eureka, I Could Go On Singing, and Appasionata Links to Amazon 4/19 Barcelona Betrayed Cary Grant: The Vault Collection Dangerous Men Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street Doris Day and Rock Hudson Romantic Comedy Collection Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon Fatal Beauty The File of the Golden Goose...
- 4/27/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
How many actors from the 1930′s are even left now? Mickey Rooney and Luise Ranier come to mind but there will soon be a time when they, like Wwi vets, are all gone. Veteran actor Jackie Cooper was the first child to be nominated for a best actor Oscar for Skippy He was all of 9 when the nominations for the 1930/1931 ceremony were announced and still remains the youngest nominee for an actor in a leading role.
The child star made good as an adult actor. He went from “Our Gang” comedies to The Champ (1931) to many later TV and movie roles including the 1974 sci-fi cult film Chosen Survivors. Cooper would go on to win two Emmy Awards as a director for such shows as “Mash” (1973-74).
Cooper’s known to contemporary audiences for playing Perry White in four “Superman” movies (1978-1987) and announced his retirement in 1989. Cooper was 88.
The child star made good as an adult actor. He went from “Our Gang” comedies to The Champ (1931) to many later TV and movie roles including the 1974 sci-fi cult film Chosen Survivors. Cooper would go on to win two Emmy Awards as a director for such shows as “Mash” (1973-74).
Cooper’s known to contemporary audiences for playing Perry White in four “Superman” movies (1978-1987) and announced his retirement in 1989. Cooper was 88.
- 5/4/2011
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
For me, horror movies will always be fondly, profoundly linked to the sweet, wonderful and wide eyed rapture of my late-night trash TV-drenched childhood. Those bygone, misspent hours when I’d subject myself to every manner of sublime cinema, splitting open fantastic and macabre realities that potentially could and in some cases did, exist. One of the too-many-to-count strange shockers that left a major, destiny altering impact on me was veteran small screen director Sutton Roley’s obscure Sci-Fi tinged skin crawler Chosen Survivors, a movie whose chilly, nihilistic, future-shock premise hooked my Twilight Zone weaned sensibilities while also managing to exploit my acute fear of bedroom invading bats.
Before we proceed, let me explain a bit about that fear…
See, there was this one time when I was no more than 8, I was reading a particularly upsetting issue of Marvel comics’ groundbreaking Tomb Of Dracula series, alone, in my...
Before we proceed, let me explain a bit about that fear…
See, there was this one time when I was no more than 8, I was reading a particularly upsetting issue of Marvel comics’ groundbreaking Tomb Of Dracula series, alone, in my...
- 6/24/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (Chris Alexander)
- Fangoria
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.