Review of Southbound (2015) by Chris O — 03 Jul 2016

Although "Southbound" is a stronger anthology film than most others in recent memory, its lack of consistency and scares still punishes the films attempt at combining a wealth of stories.

On a desolate stretch of highways, five different groups of people all experience strange and unusual events as they travel through the nights. In reality, each and every traveler(s) has a dirty secret or sinful event in recent memory and will see their dues come to fruition as the highways are enclosed by the devil and his armies.

I've never been a huge fan of anthology films as most have lacked depth or substance, often leading to boring and cringe worthy short films with no real characters. However, "Southbound" approached the format a bit differently, leading to some interesting and hair raising moments, although it still came into contact with inconsistency and lack of substance.

I won't talk completely about the short films like I did with the "V/H/S" series, but I will give my overall opinion on them. In this film, there are five separate story arks that all have mild connections to each other in some way or another. None of them are found footage (which is nice) and although none are really directly connected, they all take place in the same general areas. Again, this anthology film was very inconsistent, it had a couple of great films, and a couple of boring or awkward films.

The first film starts out with two bloody men driving in a pickup truck along the morning highways. As they drive along, quick shots of floating, black figures can be seen, which I actually thought was really cool. When they stop by a local gas station, they begin to realize that they're getting surrounded. As they try to escape, they find themselves caught in a never ending loop. (Spoilers) While one man meets death, the other is forced into an endless loop where he's forced to hear his daughter (presumably) in peril forever. Now, this is the film with some of the worst acting of the five, a high potential in its plot, and the worst execution. It was great when they used their subtle imagery and the ending was pretty disturbing, but the acting and the ugly CGI made this film easily forgettable.

The second film involves a band of three girls on their way to a gig, but when their trailer breaks down, they hitch a ride with a married couple down to their desolate house. When they get there, things don't seem to be right, but when two of the three girls fall under the influence of evil, things start to go array as the lead girl fights for her life. This was my second favorite film as it combined the right amount of creepiness and story, while the actresses's performances held up nicely. I was actually really interested in the story and it had this eery vibe to it, making this one of the better short films.

The third film involves a man who accidentally hit the survivor of the band (same band written above). He drives to the closest hospital, only to find an abandoned and sketchy building. He's forced to operate himself, leading to some bloody disgusting messes. This was by far my favorite one, as not only did this short make me grip the edge of my seat, but it established a disturbing world, gruesome (yet watchable) procedures, great acting, and a hell of an ending. This short had me on the edge of my seat and the scene with the surgery was actually very intense.

The fourth scene involves a man who robs a bar looking for his sister. When it turns out that she's being held captive in this very town, he sets out to find her, only to discover that what he's dealing with ain't human. Now, this one was also one of the weakest. It lacked a logical story, relatable characters, or sensible moments. Nothing here was explained and although it connected nicely with the previous film and held its share of creepy moments, it was still the weaker of the bunch.

The last film follows this family on vacation who find their home being invaded by a group of vengeance seeking animals. This was basically a slasher film that again, wasn't smart, understandable, or original. There's not much to say about it other then it kind of completed the entire loop of all the stories, even if it did make it more confusing.

A lot of people are complaining about how this movie didn't explain that much, but for me, I don't think that's a fair argument. Although there were a couple shorts that weren't so great, I actually really liked the subliminal message behind the films. Everyone here had some sort of deep secret or sin that they were hiding and they were all paying the price for what they did. It was a big story about how these roads will consume those who have sinned and it will punish without hesitation, and if that's right, it really added a lot of depth to each story.

I didn't like the big ending though and how it connected everything back together. It was illogical and it didn't fit in the time frame of all of the stories. The only way it could happen (spoiler) is if they were all stuck in some never ending loop that none of them recognized.

In the end, I had a decent time with the film and I do like the overall meaning behind it. It does struggle with consistency as do most anthology films, but it is a step up from films such as the V/H/S/ series.