''Survival Quest'' is a 1989 survival film written and directed by

Don Coscarelli Don Coscarelli Jr. (born February 17, 1954) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born to Italian settlers in Libya, he is best known for his work in horror films. His directing credits include the first four films in the ' ...

and starring

Lance Henriksen Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his works in various science fiction, action and horror films, such as that of Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise, and Frank Black in Fox television series ''Millenn ...

Catherine Keener Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...

, and Dermot Mulroney.

Plot

There are two sets of campers on California's Sierra Madre Mountain. One group is the Blue Legion, a gun-happy squad of teenaged boys under the command of tyrannical survivalist Jake Cannon (

Mark Rolston Mark Rolston (born December 7, 1956) is an American character actor, known for his supporting roles in popular films such as ''Aliens'', '' Lethal Weapon 2'', '' The Shawshank Redemption'', ''The Departed'' and the '' Saw'' film series, as well a ...

). The other bunch, Survival Quest, is a sort of backpacking self-help group led by humane mountain man Hank Chambers (

). The beneficiaries of Hank's wisdom include smart-aleck Joey (

Paul Provenza Paul Provenza (born July 31, 1957) is a television presenter, actor, radio panelist, stand-up comedian, filmmaker, and skeptic based in Los Angeles. He has appeared on several podcasts and in recent years has interviewed other stand-up comedians. ...

), fragile divorcee Cheryl (

), and alienated convict Gray ( Dermot Mulroney). Through various exercises and object lessons beneath the sheltering pines, firm-but-gentle Hank teaches this crew to work together. Meanwhile, Jake has made harassment of the Survival Questers part of his curriculum. When a viciously ill-mannered Blue Legion member named Raider ( Steve Antin) ends up shooting Hank, this breach of discipline annoys Jake to no end. While Jake was harassing the Survival Questers, Jake actually wanted no one to get shot. Jake starts beating Raider up, and Raider responds by stabbing Jake and blaming it on the Survival Questers. Now led by Raider, the Blue Legion aims to kill the rival campers. Cheryl is now in charge of the Survival Quest gang, because they think Hank is dead. They hang together and race over the river and through the woods to get to the nearest airstrip. There, Gray tricks Raider into getting close to a flammable fuel tank, then Gray uses a shotgun to blast the tank, causing an explosion that kills Raider. As the smoke from this rises on the breeze, an airplane appears. On board is Hank, who managed to overcome his wound and signal for help after he tried to help Jake, who has died.

Cast

External links

* * * 1980s adventure films 1989 films American action thriller films Films directed by Don Coscarelli 1989 action thriller films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American survival films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films 1989 thriller films {{action-thriller-film-stub