[KING'S CORNER] Survivor Type (2020)

Survivor Type (Creepshow) - King's Corner Review

Welcome to King's Corner. A recurring series of reviews based on the film and TV adaptations of Stephen King's novels and collections, reviewed and released in order of the original source material publishing date.

Director: Greg Nicotero

Starring: Kiefer Sutherland

Written by: Greg Nicotero

Produced by: Julia Hobgood, Drew Sawyer

Cinematography by: Robert Draper

Original Score by: Christopher Drake

Synopsis:

A surgeon crash lands on a deserted island - how strong is his will to survive?

Thoughts:

Stephen King is someone who doesn’t shy away from the more gruesome side of horror - in fact he relishes it at times. This is all too prevalent in his earlier work, particularly in his pulpy short stories that were predominantly published in dirty magazines. For example he’s given us tales that have featured rats with a taste for human flesh in 'Graveyard Shift' and a man that transforms into a monster thanks to a tainted can of beer in 'Gray Matter'. Perhaps his most gruesome tale though is 'Survivor Type' where the main character takes the phrase “you are what you eat” a little too seriously in his battle for survival. 

An epistolary tale that charts the misfortune of a drug trafficking surgeon who becomes marooned on a small island with no food or resources, 'Survivor Type' explores the lengths he goes to in order to survive long enough to be rescued. It was first published in the 1982 horror anthology 'Terrors' (and later was added to the short story collection, Skeleton Crew in 1985). When promoting his book 'Billy Summers' on 'Late Night with Stephen Colbert' in 2021, King listed 'Survivor Type' as being one of his five favourite stories. When describing the story he was met with a few gasps of revulsion from the audience. In the afterword of 'Skeleton Crew', King spoke about where the idea for the story came from saying, “I got to thinking about cannibalism one day…I started to wonder if a person could eat himself, and if so, how much he could eat before the inevitable happened.” Such an idea led him to raise that question with his next door neighbour who was a retired doctor who indulged his questions after some initial reluctance. The advice he gave him formed the basis of the first paragraph of the story. 

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Whilst on paper it might seem pretty straightforward, how you would go about adapting the story as it would only need to feature one actor in one location? The issue with the story is that the special makeup effects required for the gruesome side of the story is what may have made many reluctant to adapt it. Around 2018 when Greg Nicotero was developing a 'Creepshow' anthology series for Shudder he reached out to King, given his history with the first two films, for some input. In reply King offered him two stories, 'Gray Matter' (which was the first segment in the first episode of the show) and 'Survivor Type'. For budgetary reasons he set 'Survivor Type' to the side but with production for the second season being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic he decided to adapt it as part of an animated special for Halloween in 2020 in conjunction with the animation studio Octopie. 

The animation style implemented by the studio makes the segment feel like a motion comic in the way things move which some might feel is quite cheap. I think it works incredibly well at evoking the EC comic roots of 'Creepshow' where you find the morbid curiosity of your gaze darting to the next panel to see what horrors await. The monstrous transformation of Richard Pine (voiced by Kiefer Sutherland) is realised to terrifying effect as he becomes more skeletal and haggard in appearance in what is a far cry from Jordy Verrill in the original 'Creepshow'. Although it is horrible to think about, it is something that could possibly happen in the right set of circumstances. It is also coupled with a visceral sound design that causes you to wince on occasion and a score from Christopher Drake that creeps in from time to time to remind us that there is no escape for Richard even if he cannot accept his fate.

Whenever Pine reaches the inevitable decision to engage in autocannibalism it is realised on screen to gruesome effect, but what works well in these moments is that Nicotero doesn’t linger too long on the actual act. His focus is on the aftermath which has a greater effect in trying to balance the physical and psychological impact this has on Pine in the story. One of the most striking examples of this is when he looks down at the sand at two feet he has drawn over his stumps. It is a haunting image which he looks at with glee as his madness grows. 

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As Pine, Kiefer Sutherland does a great job voicing the disgraced surgeon trying to make a quick buck. It could have been an easy cash job that sounded like a bland audiobook but Sutherland puts a wide range of emotion into it. Pine grew up poor in Little Italy yet Sutherland only gives hints of this background in his accent not just so it doesn’t come across as a character but there are more subtle reasons. It highlights the shame the character has in his background. He openly admits how glad he was when his father died and he even changed his surname from Pinzetti to Pine, showing how much he wants to escape his roots. As for the character’s time on the island he still has a brash attitude to his situation which comes from a general will to survive he has carried throughout his life. You get that in the tones of Sutherland’s voice which is great in how despite being unlikable through his cockiness, there is something to admire and even feel empathy for at times. Like his physical transformation, his vocal transformation as he amputates pieces of himself for sustenance is so creepy to the point where his humanity is stripped away leaving a single idea in his head, survival. 

Despite the pressures of the production, this is a solid adaptation of a truly grotesque story. Nicotero manages to find a nice balance between the physical and psychological elements of the story that tie well to the animation style that pays reverence to the show's roots. The masterstroke though is Kiefer Sutherland’s vocal performance that really puts the audience in Pine’s shoes as he literally strips away parts of himself piece by piece. 

Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½

-Joseph McElroy