On the surface, “Survive This” might seem like nothing more than a shoddy straight to video oeuvre about poorly conceived game shows, killer ghost pirates and rabid zombies let loose on a deserted tropical island, but to ascend deeper one will discover a rather heartbreaking story of one father’s eternal quest for forgiveness and the consequences of one person’s misguided actions so many centuries earlier. First time director Ed Wahl spins a tale that, while taking some wild rib shots at the absurd reality show trend, also manages to render a thoughtful pronouncement on the human condition – namely the desire to rush into things, without thinking first. My gut tells me that on a strangely subversive level, this was Ed’s “fuck you” to an administration that plays fast and loose with the lives of its people. On the other hand, my observation could be a misguided projection and this film may be no deeper than an average child’s wading pool.

Looking to get funding for his latest ‘reality show’ scheme, aspiring producer Cory Lodge (Dale Ragistingini) meets with a local mobster named simply Mr. Jabraltar (Paul La Rocca) – the first of many unwise decisions. While he likes Lodge’s pitch, the notion of handing over one million dollars to a guy with no previous experience directing doesn’t sit well with Jabraltar, who offers an alternative proposal. The mobster agrees to front the production cost but Lodge is on the hook for the prize money. He has no funds to speak of and no idea where to get the five hundred thousand needed to cover the prize money, but with few other options available, Lodge reluctantly agrees. With the encouragement of sidekick, Jillian (Jennifer Pedersen), Lodge breezes through the auditions, seemingly taking anyone who took the time to appear in front of his camera. In an attempt to give the show some credibility, he arranges for a motley crew of celebrities to appear, including a porn star, a news anchor, a pair of musicians, an MTV DJ and even The Naked Cowboy. The film crew are a hodgepodge of ribald personalities with one thing in common -- they work cheap. It doesn’t matter that some of them have never even been around the equipment they are being paid to handle.

Beset with problems almost minutes after setting foot on the deserted island -- aptly titled Pirate Island, Lodge immediately begins to second-guess his decisions. To start; his crew is perpetually drunk and unable to carry out the most simplest of tasks. Next, his celebrities have yet to arrive, partially because they never received a map and partially because they are too hot headed to find their way to the sprawling mansion where the show is being shot. Then there are his contestants, who seem to be more passionate about getting wasted and fighting than competing. He also has Jabraltar breathing down his neck and eyeing up his girl. To top it off, his cell phone has no bars. Finding support in the strangest of places, Lodge is drawn to one of the more pleasant contestants, Amanda (Shauna Bari), who is dealing with her own problems. Since arriving on the island, she’s been experiencing some rather vivid nightmares, something of which at least one other arrival on the island seems to have answers to. Ralph (Dan Correa), the island guide, seems to know something that he’s not telling, and he too, is haunted by something – something that points to a great danger. Considering that the audience was front and center for an earlier sequence where a pot-smoking trio of Lodge’s crew were brutally murdered by some primeval looking baddies hanging around the castle, there’s no question of the menace that lurks in the forest around them.

Utilizing various dream sequences, including vague images of buccaneers and butchery, this film melds the past into the present, making for an interesting back-story that comes full circle into the present, one that hints at family curses, and of tragedy. At the nucleus of it all, is the notion of redemption – about being forgiven for your past sins, about looking into the face of the person you love more than anyone in the world and saying “I’m sorry”. Chiefly the message is that one should never rush into anything -- that sometimes the best course of action is to stop and think. With that aside, I should also point out that “Survive This” a hell of a lot of fun – as a horror film and as a comedy. Statutory thrills are provided on two fronts. There’s a veritable smorgasbord of raunchy sexplay, nudity and puerile humour exhibited here, appealing to that sect of the audience, while the horror elements are managed very well, namely in a handful of gore sequences and the arrival of skeletal pirates and zombies alike in the film’s latter half. Sadly, the reality show device is the first thing to fall victim to the whims of the story, so much so that after awhile, there’s a feeling that the whole reality show ‘thing’ was simply a gimmick to get the folks out on the island. Aside from the somewhat interesting audition process, featuring a wide array of eccentric and haughty characters – the type we generally see auditioning for such shows, there’s very few swipes taken at a culture consumed by the questionable authenticity bazaar known as the ‘reality’ show.

The “celebrities’ here, including KK Holiday, Naked Cowboy, Ivy Super Sonic, Sharissa Dawes, Gina Lynn, U-god, Kamal Ahmed and Jill Nicolini, are of the ‘has been’ or ‘never were’ celeb variety popularized on such shows as “Dancing With The Stars” and “Celebracadabra". It’s hard to tell if Ed Wahl was making a satirical point here or if these folks were the best he could do with his obviously meagre budget. Either way, the joke is out there and regardless if Wahl engineered it or not, it totally works. For me, there’s a question if whether or not the celebs involved, acting like spoiled brats and nitwits, were actually in on the joke. I’m guessing they were, and they were laughing all the way to the bank – or maybe the local McDonalds, considering how much they were probably paid.

Dale Resteghini (1999’s “Colorz of Rage”) as Cory Lodge (an obvious nod to reality show entrepreneur Roger Lodge) is quite restrained, offering a character that is more desperate than sleazy. Resteghini’s decision to play Lodge as a good guy who has aligned himself with some bad people and rushed into something he should have thought out, is a smart one. Although we have a sense that his edges are frayed, we also can’t help but root for him. His fondness for Shauna Bari’s (2003’s “Maid of Honor”) character really helps to get him over with the audience, allowing us to see a rather gentle side to a man who has found himself burying chocolate in place of prize money. There’s a certain sadness in watching him lose control. Dan Correa credited as a question mark, yes a question mark (“?”) is given the task of conveying a deeply wounded emotionally scarred character, one whose implied inner turmoil of having murdered his own child, manifests itself in some profound sequences of emotional bleeding.

In closing, I’m not sure what to make of this film - I'm afraid to call it a horror film and I'm afraid to label it a comedy. This will easily appeal to fans of gore and T and A. As well, fans of movies that are clinging to an interesting back-story mindful of its obvious cheese face, will also find much to pillage in “Survive This”. I know I'll probably take a ribbing from my peers, god knows it's happened in the past, but I generally enjoyed this film. Take a bow Ed Wahl, Paul Larocca and Dale Resteghini for this interesting entry into a well worn and sometimes tired genre. Now I just have to decide which genre I'm talking about. To find out more about this film, check out the "Survive This" website. Also, you should take a quick few minutes to read the comic available on the site. I'll just just say that it appears in the film, making a less than thrilling appearence in a bathroom stall accompanying a trucker who makes a delivery.

Click this link to see more images from "Survive This"