The Survivalist (2015) on Netflix
NR20151h 44mDramaSci-FiThriller
In a starving world, the Survivalist farms a hidden woodland plot. Kathryn and her daughter Milja arrive seeking food. When he turns down her jewelry and seeds, she offers Milja instead.
- Watch on NetflixThis title is not on Netflix right now. Please check back later for updates.
- Watch on Prime
- Watch on NordVPN
- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb6.4/1020,573 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes96%
Trailer
Plot summary
After a global population collapse leaves food scarce, a lone man known only as the Survivalist keeps a cabin and a vegetable plot hidden in woodland, ringed by traps and alarms, and lives by hunting, foraging and farming. Two strangers, Kathryn and her daughter Milja, reach his clearing. Kathryn holds him at gunpoint and asks to trade jewelry and seeds for provisions. He says no, so she proposes that Milja sleep with him in return for something to eat. He agrees, and the two women are allowed to stay as long as that bargain holds. The three fall into a wary routine, and trust thins as the stores run down.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Survivalist (2015)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- To reflect their characters' starvation, the cast of The Survivalist followed restrictive diets under a nutritionist's guidance, and Mia Goth said the actors were limited to roughly 900-1,000 calories a day, with Goth herself sleeping outdoors for five weeks of the shoot.
- Writer-director Stephen Fingleton was encouraged to attach a more recognisable star to make the project "bigger", but stayed committed to casting Martin McCann in the lead role, saying the screenplay's place on the Hollywood Black List boosted its credibility with potential cast members.
- Director Stephen Fingleton chose not to use a conventional musical score, reasoning that music would be scarce in a world without electricity, and instead prioritised sound design; most onscreen sounds were re-recorded in post-production and the film was mixed in mono.
- Martin McCann prepared for his role as the Survivalist with a survival course run by Survival NI, where he learned skills such as skinning a rabbit.
- Cinematographer Damien Elliott shot on an Arri Alexa Plus and worked at very low light levels, lighting cabin interiors largely with practical sources such as a stove fire and oil lamps; tight spaces were filmed with a Blackmagic Cinema Camera.
