Survival (film)

Survival is a 1996 American thriller film directed by Rob Schmidt, written by Alan B. McElroy, and starring William Dafoe, Seann William Scott, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Jeremy Sisto and Daniil Smolnikov. The film tells the story of a group of tourists who get lost and are forced to survive in the forest for a month without any means of subsistence.
Development of the film began in 1993, when it was announced that New Line Cinema and Newmarket Group had teamed up to produce a 1980s-style adventure film, to be directed by Schmidt and written by McElroy. For this film, Stan Winston designed the creature effects and served as producer.
Survival was released in the United States on August 14, 1996 by 20th Century Fox. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its plot and acting, but criticized the script and its emphasis on clichés. It grossed over $92 million worldwide against a budget of $18 million.
== Plot ==
A group of young people go on an excursion to the mountains, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they get lost in a dense forest. They have no choice but to try their best to survive.
They are forced to build shelters, search for food and water, and fight dangerous animals and bad weather. They have conflicts as they survive, but their adventures only strengthen their bond with each other.
A month later, when all hope of rescue has almost dried up, they meet on their way another group of surviving tourists who help them return to civilization.
== Cast ==
* William Dafoe as Eddie Nord
* Eliza Dushku as Linda
* Emmanuelle Chriqui as Jessie
* Seann William Scott as Scott
* Daniil Smolnikov as Ross
* Lindy Booth as Francine
* Julian Richings as Simon
* Harry Robbins as Andy
* Ted Clark as Tudor
* Yvonne Gaudry as Hallie Smith
* Joel Harris as Richard
* David Huband as Victim
* Wayne Robson as Maynard Odets
* James Downing as Trucker
== Release ==
=== Box office ===
Released in the United States on August 17, 1996, Survival earned $8,638,920 from 1,406 theaters in its opening weekend. In total, it grossed $48 million in the US and $44 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $92 million.
=== Critical response ===
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 51% of 102 critics surveyed gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 4.9/10. Overall review: "An average thriller that doesn't differ from other films of its kind." On Metacritic, Survival has a score of 45 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "mixed reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale.
The film received two out of four stars from Mark Savlov of The Austin Chronicle, who wrote: "This type of movie is already unbearable to watch, having already seen it several times." Nev Pearce of the BBC gave the film a rating of three out of five.
== Sequels ==
Survival was followed by several films, including three sequels: Survival II (2001), Survival III: Salvation (2005) and Survival IV: Most Wanted (2009), a trilogy of soft reboots: Survival: Vendetta (2019), Survival: Awakening (2022) and Survival: Afterlife in 4D (2022), as well as the prequel series Survival: Backstory (2025).