The message in "Chosen Survivors" is don't trust the government. Ten people find themselves stuffed into a "Dr. Strangelove" sanctuary over 17-hundred feet beneath the surface of the Earth. They have been chosen based on a number of characteristics that make them ideal specimens for survival. Above, the Earth smolders in the wake of a global, thermonuclear war. Unfortunately, when the government constructed the tactility, they overlooked a new species of vampire bat in a nearby cavern in New Mexico, and this species invades the place and starts killing people. Our heroes don't have anything with which to protect themselves. Moreover, they don't band together, and one of them, Raymond Couzins (Jackie Cooper of "Superman"), goes berserk after he gets drunk and sabotages the works. A great ensemble cast struggles to make lemonade out of this lemon. Alex Cord, Richard Jaeckel, Diana Muldaur, and Bradford Dillman give it their best, but the screenplay by "House of the Damned" scribe Harry Spalding and freshman scenarist Joe Reb Moffly lacks charisma. Lenser Gabriel Torres' cinematography and composer Fred Karlin's score contribute to the suspense that director Sutton Roley generates. The action turns a momentous turn about an hour into the narrative that is fairly mind-blowing. Everything is spun about 45 degrees. Meantime, a problem occurs, and the chief scientist, Peter Macomber (Bradford Dillman) tries to send a message. Sadly, the message doesn't make it back to surface. When it isn't suspenseful, this exercise in Nihilism isn't very uplifting. The satire is a bit heavy-handed. The production values were strong, and the underground facility looked convincing in a slick, shiny, sci-fi way.
Review of Chosen Survivors
