Quibi films are meant to feel like chapters of a book and one of Quibi’s first big releases, Survive, certainly feels that way. Survive follows the story of Jane (played by Sophie Turner) as she has to fight for her life after her plane crashes on a snowy mountain. Jane was returning home after being in a centre due to her struggles with suicidal ideations after both her father and grandmother committed suicide.
Survive is tough to watch due to its subject matter and it’s a brave show/film…series to put at the forefront of a new streaming service. The series begins with the warning notice for those suffering similar issues or circumstances. The first three episodes are pretty heavy viewing and are in a lot more detail then shows that have the same subject matter. Survive being in chapters means that three episodes in and Survive hasn’t got past it’s initial dealing with Jane wanting to commit suicide and it is rough to watch, the warning feels almost like too little to be putting on the front and end of each episode.
Much like chapters of a book however this is how a book would start. It is strange to break down the film as it is in chapters and obviously the first thirty minutes is set up but it does it well. It’ll be interesting to see how the film progresses with Jane trying to survive when she doesn’t want to but it could easily be your average survivor film and that’s it.
I wouldn’t want to watch the chapters in portrait mode, I tried but it didn’t feel as artistic or feel like an important story when not viewing in the regular landscape mode which was interesting to figure out. You’ll most likely continue to watch Survive after the first three chapters but it may be a bit too much for some to handle.