Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are here to talk about the 2005 direct to DVD Horror Film called Survive This! and the promo comic that was given away with it. This is one of those films that very few people know about as it went under the radar when it was released and is long out of print now. And with that if you readers are ready for this “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” quick update, we will head to Pirate Island and see what erotic horrors await us. I do have to take a moment and say that I miss the days when home media would place mini comics inside as an extra and I think companies like SOV Horror and Scream Team Releasing should do this from time to time with their releases.

The Captain and his Ghost Zombie Pirates are the dealers of death in this movie and they have ways of killing off those who cross them on their island. The Ghost Zombie Pirates first use their swords and sharp tools and weapons in order to slash and stab flesh and are skilled with these weapons. Being ghosts, they can appear and use their grisly appearance to strike fear into the hearts of their victims and make them panic and easier to stalk and kill. They also have super strength and can rip people apart with their bare hands. They also can swarm and attack, but are also just as deadly on their own. They are also very quiet and can use this silence to sneak up and attack their attended target. They also can use the water to travel around as well as land making them deadly on both. The only weakness shown by them is The Captain’s love for his bride and if her stolen and removed heart is returned to her body, the Ghost Zombie Pirates will return to the sea and unharmed anyone left and by all accounts defeated and will not return. The Ghost Zombie Pirates and their Captain are a deadly lot and know how to murder and kill any foolish living human who makes the mistake of being on their island.

As you can see, these Ghost Zombie Pirates mean business and sure do have zero issues on taking a life! And now that we talked about them I think we should now take a look at the film that spawned them, and as always, our friends at IMDB will be the movie’s plots and I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts. So with that, let’s set sail and see what this film is about.

Survive This! (2005)

“Cory Lodge is the supreme scam artist, who put his world on the line when he baits the multi millionaire television producer Mr. Jillbralta into putting up 500K for a new reality TV show… “Survive This…” Cory and his beautiful assistant decide to film their show from the legendary haunted, Pirates Island. Soon Cory and the contestants learn the hard way why this island has be deserted… As the show’s super sexy contestants begin to die… one by one. Tune in and see just who may “Survive This…”

Survive This! Is your typical low budget direct to DVD release that flooded the mark in the early and mid 2000’s that mixed both Horror and “Erotic” elements together and would add a dash of bad comedy always with a loud soundtrack from bands most have never heard of. The film was released by Regain Records on home media and was co-written and directed by Ed Wahl who was coming off a kids show called “Zebby’s Zoo” and would bring together a strange collection of actors and performers together as cast in the film are such names as The Naked Cowboy, Gina Lynn, Sharissa, Dale Resteghini and Jennifer Pedersen among many others. The film’s production was the normal low budget fare and when released on home media it pretty much went unnoticed by Horror Fans. The film was pretty much meet with negative reviews. I should also note that Udi Harpaz was the man behind the score for this film.

This film is not great, but you can tell that the creators and actors behind this film did have a blast making it so that goes a long way, and I like that at least they ended up giving their film the comic book treatment so credit for that. I watched this film the same night I watched Nightwing, Rattlers and Willy’s Wonderland and this by far was the film that got lost in the shuffle as it was pure cheesy stuff that’s main highlights was the topless women and some of the bad dialogue, some of the gore effects are good and I have to say the score was not terrible and had its charm. But while the film is really bad on almost all most accounts it tried hard to bring at least the Erotic elements but failed on the Horror as the Ghost Pirates pretty much are just guys with cheap grease paint make-up smeared on and fake scars on their faces and just kind of lumber around. This is the type of film that would have played late night on Cinemax and would have been hosted on USA Up All Night and I think you know what I mean. Not much to say about this film besides dental floss this plot, boring characters, no Horror and is an indie film that I didn’t enjoy but I am sure it has its fans.

Well now that we talked about the Ghost Zombie Pirates and their killing ways as well as the film they are from I think we should now take a look at the promo comic based on this film. I want to thank an Ebay seller who had this DVD and Comic in stock and made this update possible and would like to also remind you readers that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, I can see some undead Pirates down the beach here on Pirate Island and we should start walking the other way and chat about this comic.

Survive This! # 1  **
Released in 2005     Cover Price FREE   Wallrocker   # 1 of 1

A couple are running for their lives on Pirate Island late at night and both meet a fate at the hands of the Ghost Zombie Pirates. We then join Cory Lodge and his assistant Jillian as they are pitching a competition reality TV Show set on the haunted pirate Island to producer Mr. J who agrees to help but will only fund half the million dollars that would be used for production and Cory has to come up with the other half that would be the prize money. Cory don’t have that money but cons his way into the show going into production and even picks up a guide named Ralph who will work for free, the set up crew on Pirate Island find themselves being killed by a Ghost Pirate. Its cleat that Jillian and Mr. J are fooling around, and Cory starts crushing and a contestant named Amanda all the while Ralph seems to be getting nerves and talking redemption to himself. As the all make it to the island Jillian is picking on Amanda who does not fit in with most of her fellow cast mates and when looking around the castle they are staying in Amanda sees a painting of a young woman and Ralph gives her a book to read about the history of the island and how a Pirate Captain fell in love with the woman from the painting (Elizabeth) and he wanted to marry her, but she has to stop as the show has started and Amanda has to play volleyball as well as tug of war and she keeps looses and is picked in the bottom three and has to spend the night buried in the sand neck down with a bucket on her head, but when the crew prank her again she quits the show. Meanwhile all of the celebrities who are suppose to guest on the show and who are lost on the island are killed by the Ghost Pirates are as well two local ladies who wanted to find the shooting location of the Survive This show and Ralph tried to shave but could not. The shows production is falling apart and Jillian is mad that Cory is paying attention to Amanda and calls in Mr. J who pulls the plug on the show, meanwhile Amanda finds out the rest of the Pirate Island history from the book and finds out what happened to Elizabeth and The Pirate Captain who were set up and killed on their wedding night by her father and the people of the island, they even removed Elizabeth’s heart. And Amanda finds out that Ralph is the spirit of Elizabeth’s father who wants to make right his wrong, but as night time falls the Ghost Pirates arrive in full force and attack and kill most of the contestants, Jillian and even Mr. J! But Amanda has an idea to save her and Cory as she finds Elizabeth’s missing heart behind the picture and they rush to the beach and throw it in, the heart finds the rotten corpse of Elizabeth and she can be happy again with her Captain husband and this as well stops the attack and the Ghost Pirates return to the see and the night of terror is over. Ralph fades away a sad spirit as Amanda and Cory embrace on the now peaceful beach.

First thing I have to say is that I liked this comic adaptation better then the movie as if cuts out lots of the long dragged out parts of the film…but it is flawed as well as all of the nudity and most of the bloody kills have also been removed for the comic. And I wished that they at least had kept the bloody kills in and even maybe amped them up a bit! The story as you can see is very basic the restless spirits of pirates are tormenting an island over being wronged and if the heart of the Captain’s bride is returned they terror would stop, and a young woman who is kind of an outsider is the one to find the heart and stop the madness. Cory Lodge is a con man who wants to make quick money and uses a terrible crew and a lack of ideas to bring what could be the worst reality game show the world would have ever seen, and even though he is kind of scummy he gets the lady in the end. Amanda is a woman who enters the contest, is picked on, quits, learns the history of the haunted island and is the one who unlocks the secret to stop the Ghost Pirates from showing up and attacking. Amanda is the only interesting character in the comic and film as at least she shows some emotions. Ralph is the spirit of a father who back in the day had his daughter and her pirate husband and friends killed, and he is kind of a ego driven kook who things that his daughter in death should come back to him even though he murdered her! The rest of the characters are just filler and around and are not flushed out at all with Jillian and Mr. J being shown to be scummy people as well. The Ghost Pirates who is the comics main bad guys show up very little and when they do its just glimpses in panels for the most part. The comic is not scary, but does have a classic spooky campfire tale feel to it and that makes it a fun read. The cover is cool but is also just the cover for the DVD so not much thought put into the DVD cover as I feel that it was the comic cover idea first, but I could be wrong. The interior art is done by “The Zombie” and is pretty good stuff and has a very cartoony look and I do like the way he draws the Ghost Pirates. Over all a cool promo comic that was slightly better than the film it was based on and if you like tales of Ghost Pirates and Haunted Islands then check it out. See the artwork below to see the style of “The Zombie” used in this comic.

Survive This! is a low budget film that tried to cash in on the world of Horror and Erotic and really did fail on both accounts, even though I have to say the ladies in the film are all very lovely. And while the Pirates in the film come off more like Ghost Zombies and in the comic they are pure Ghosts they have their charm in both. And with that I think if you like no budget films that has a sub plot of a reality TV Show then give this a read and a watch, or if you like adult film actress Gina Lynn checkout the film for her cameo. But with that, let’s leave Pirate Island and head to the world of Pro Wrestling as we get to see the Master Of The Heart Puncher himself Ox Baker be in the main event! So until next time, read a Horror Comic of three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update as our year of Wrestling continues.