Chosen Survivors (1974)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This was a movie that had one too many bad-things.We start with a group of strangers (reminding one of TZ's "five characters in search of an exit," in all the right ways) tossed into a it's-the-end-of-the-world survival pod. Add in one maintenance man (the always reliable Richard Jaekel), and one... well, traitor (Bradford Dillman in strangely fitting glasses, for some reason). And pretty much everybody falls to pieces with the knowledge of what's happened to everyone they know.That's a great story. Add in the possibility that this is some sort of macabre psychological experiment, but that no matter what, nobody can leave. That's a greater story. Add in... vampire bats?!? Suddenly a human story is converted into a piranhas-are-out-to-get-me scream-fest. And suddenly ridiculous. Now we're just waiting for someone to be killed, screaming, by swarms of vampire bats, while some try to find a way out, and are killed, screaming.This could have been a fantastic movie (along the lines of another 'survivor' tv-movie, the superb "Sole Survivor" (1970), or the equally superb "Groundstar Conspiracy" (1972)), but somebody decided "there needs to be an immediate danger", and that it should be vampire bats. Too bad.

I recently seen this movie after many years of not being available.but thanks to midnight movies i was able to finally watch it.and it was'nt bad.a good cast headed by Jackie Cooper and Richard Jeackle.and a cast of bats,thousands of them.well these people are kind of forced into a bomb shelter about 2 miles under the earth.and have to fight to survive a horde of vampire bats that attack them one by one.its probably the best bat attack movie ever made better than nightwing and 1998's bats.the rest of the cast includes;Alex Cord,Bradford Dillman,Lincoln Kilpatrick,Barbara Babcock,and Diana Muldier.i remember when this was originally released as i believe the second feature at the theaters.its a rare film and worth a look.and if your squeamish about bats then you may want to skip it.

One of the most successful (and equally irritating) TV-formats of recent years is Big Brother, in which a bunch of people, complete strangers to each other, are put together in an isolated location and become forced to get along and accomplish ordeals together. Apparently this concept isn't so new or innovating at all, as the obscure (although less obscure now, with its recent release on DVD) and still criminally underrated 70's gem "Chosen Survivors" thrives on a similar premise. Only this movie is at least a gazillion times better than any Big Brother edition you ever saw, because it has genuine suspense, a formidable cast of characters, plot twists you actually don't see coming and – not to forget – thousands of bloodthirsty bats! Now, THAT is what they should do in the TV-series of Big Brother: unleash an army of aggressive and rabid bats on the attention-horny participants, ha! Ayway, "Chosen Survivors" opens with atmospheric images of the New Mexican desert and army helicopters approaching a secret underground lair. Eleven eminent persons, who achieved great things is different fields (sports, science, literature, business…) awake to hear they are the chosen survivors. On the earth's surface, a nuclear war has wiped out all humanity and they are to remain underground until it is safe again to re-populate the planet. But of course, the survivors don't get along as they should, some them behave overly hostile and suspicious and the hi-tech government designed lair isn't exactly bat-proof. The film offers a splendid combination of terrific character drawing, for psychological tension, and actual nail-bitingly tense situation with the bat attacks and the quest for freedom. H.B. Cross' script is excellent and Sutton Roley, usually a director of TV series episodes, does an amazing job providing the film with a genuine apocalyptic feeling. The acting performances are top-notch, with notably exceptional roles for Jackie Cooper as the arrogant Mr. Couzins and Bradford Dillman as the calm behavior analyst. Highly recommended Sci-Fi gem.

~Spoiler~They simply do not make films like this one anymore. The Chosen Survivors blends thought provoking science-fiction with exploitation horror. Random people (including Richard Jaeckel, Lincoln Kilpatrick, and Jackie Cooper) are chosen by computer because of their skills, intellect, and genes to survive the nuclear holocaust. They are re-located to a military instillation deep within the earth where they get to watch the end of the world. Minds begin to frazzle, egos flair, arguments erupt; it's a classic exercise in fear and paranoia. And just when things couldn't get any worse...they do. Our chosen survivors are not alone. The military didn't just hollow out the earth. They built the bunker within an already existing system of caves and tunnels. Caves and tunnels where a horde of vampire bats lay in wait searching for their next meal. The movie quickly becomes a terrific scare-fest with twists and turns you won't see coming. It's a brilliant film with absolutely nothing cliché about it. Give Chosen Survivors a chance, because it will surprise you.