THE SURVIVALIST

The combination of a population explosion and the exhaustion of energy reserves has led to the collapse of industrialized societies. Those that remain are forced to live again of the land. The Survivalist lives as a recluse in a hut, scraping together just enough food to survive from his garden. He’s been alone for seven years since his brother died of poisoning. He uses a shotgun and traps to kill all trespassers, robbing and burying their bodies. But surviving is not living and when two drifters, a middle-aged woman called Catherine and her young sidekick Milja, propose to trade sex for food, he cannot resist temptation and allows the women to live with him and help him in his garden. It doesn’t take long before this fragile ménage-à-trois unravels in blood and violence.

The Survivalist, a hard-hitting post-apocalyptic survival drama from Northern Irish director Stephen Fingleton, grabs you by the throat thanks to the stellar performances of the three protagonists and the raw and uncompromising violence. His feature debut is a welcome antidote to the Hunger Games and the Divergent franchises of this world. This a-typical love story at the end of the world stars Martin McCann (Clash Of The Titans) as the Survivalist, Mia Goth (Nymphomaniac) as Milja and Olwen Fouere (Traders) as Kathryn.