The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Don Coscarelli is quite a popular writer/director among horror and cult fanatics, but the vast majority of his fans always only refer to his classic works "Phantasm", "Bubba-Ho-Tep" and – occasionally – "The Beastmaster". Almost nobody ever mentions the obscure piece of backwoods/survival thriller called "Survival Quest" even though it benefited from decent production values and a very appealing cast featuring names like Lance Henriksen, Mark Rolston and (in their earliest roles) Dermot Mulroney and Catherine Keener. From a more substantive point of view, on the other hand, I can definitely understand that "Survival Quest" quickly got somewhat forgotten in the plenitude of 80s action movies, as the script is surprisingly (and disappointingly) tame and polished instead of raw and shocking. In spite of all the great potential and similar role-model classics that set a great example (like "Southern Comfort", "Rituals" and even "Deliverance"), Coscarelli doesn't have the courage to break through any taboos and serves a dull politically correct thriller with a pitiably low body-count. Survival Quest is the name of an adventurous wilderness program intended for city folks who are only used to luxurious accommodation and expensive fancy food. Wildlife expert Hank (Lance Henriksen) welcomes a new and very diverse group, including an arrogant young man, a recently divorced woman, a young girl about to get married against her will, an elderly man and a young convict forced to participate by his parole officer. Nearby, however, military drill instructor Jake (Mark Rolston) is running a boot camp to harden a platoon of soldiers. When he pushes his men over their mental boundaries, Private Raider goes bonkers. He attacks both Hank and Jake accuses the convict of being the culprit and mobilizes the rest of the squad to violently hunt down the rest of the group. For a backwoods action/thriller flick, "Survival Quest" is intolerably clean and civilized. There aren't any perverted characters, attempted rapes or nasty booby-traps, and even the sequences with the grizzly bear seem to belong more in a Walt Disney movie. The filming locations are astonishing and the survival tests during the first half of the movie are entertaining to look at, but as soon as the film is supposed to turn into a harsh and suspenseful thriller, the whole thing becomes one giant disappointment. Forgettable and not recommended.

Cult filmmaker Don Coscarelli has brought us such films as the "Phantasm" Tetralogy, "The Beastmaster" and "Bubba Ho-Tep" but a film he did in the last 80s seemed to go by mostly unnoticed… and maybe it was thought to be the usual routine woodland survival outing. In some regards this survival adventurer is, but what makes this one work is the fighting character dynamics, a thoughtful script and the always dependable Lance Henriksen. "Survival Quest" follows a group of strangers (one just happening to be an ex-convict played by Dermont Mulroney) from the city battling the wilderness in the North Rockies Survival Quest School led by their resourceful instructor Frank (Henriksen). However nearby is another group (paramilitary), lead by an aggressively hard-nose and demanding instructor (played by Mark Rolston with cynically great ticker). These two schools / groups are at total opposites (extremely so -- one relying on trust while the other sees fit to only look after one's own self) to each other in what they teach (one to embrace your surrounding while the other to dominate in its forceful actions) and from that an encounter occurs where it becomes a struggle to stay alive for Frank's group against an armed, unstable squad (Steve Antin is good as the instigator). The plot slowly hangs off its characters --- building up relationships, developing mindsets (cementing self-confidence) so when it gradually builds up to its explosive confrontations and then the trek becomes a bloody survival course it really pulls you in as you put some much time into the characters that you want to see them get through it. What starts of as a battle against mother nature (what looks beautiful can just be as dangerous), becomes something much more. As their training comes into play, as their team morale to not leave anybody behind which drives them home. Its good to have strength and stamina, but it's nothing without spirit… and that's the difference between the two groups. "… it's a matter of heart. Not hardware." To use and respect the power of your surroundings/the wilderness to adapt. Writer / director Coscarelli's resiliently tight direction commendably balances out the character developing staples and the excitingly tension-fuelled cat and mouse exchanges. Some witty scenes are a nice cover too. Another striking attraction would be that of the rugged, but eye-catching locations which is always scenically shot. The performances can feel a little awkward, but it's a likable bunch with Catherine Keener, Traci Lind, Dominic Hoffman, Paul Provenza and a special guest appearance by Reggie Bannister. A fine, under-seen terrain adventure caper.

Don Coscarelli should be a little embarrassed, I think. Not of the film altogether, because it's a fun timewaster, but of the really textbook formula characterizations he heaps onto his protagonists. I would've expected more from the creator of PHANTASM, but just the same, I enjoyed this movie. Six city slickers sign on to Survival Quest, which will teach them how to survive in the Great Outdoors for four weeks. A paramilitary group is sharing the woods with them and soon it's THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME.Lance Henriksen is always cool to watch; he gives any film class. A young Catherine Keener has one of the aforementioned embarrassing roles, going from a pathetic girl to a Ripley-styled woman. Ben Hammer weighs in to let you know geriatrics can do anything you youngsters can do (provided you don't get shot), and Dermot Mulroney makes the most of the bad-boy-from-jail-on-probation shtick. Apparently Mulroney and Keener are married (or so a friend told me-check this fact yourself)so this would explain where they met. Ah, true love. Traci Lin is also in it and let's just say I've always had a thing for Miss CLASS OF 1999. Looks like a gore effect involving a hunting knife was trimmed for the R rating judging by a quick, jarring cut at the right time. As for the direction...truthfully, anybody could've wrote or directed this. It's very pedestrian, but credit Coscarelli for keeping it moving and watchable. I liked it, so sue me.

This movie is about a bunch of trainees go for survival training in the woods where they encounter a squad of paramilitary force and their training turns into a real fight for survival.The action is top notch and so is the acting.I give this movie **** out 5*****.