Review of Southbound (2015) by Mandi R — 18 Feb 2016

SOUTHBOUND, full-stop, is a fantastically entertaining horror anthology. Going in, my expectations were neutral, but they were far exceeded by the movie's clever construction and inventive segments which - while perhaps riffing on existing horror ideas - feel incredibly fresh.

The central conceit of the movie's format (all of the segments are set along a sinister, dusty southwestern highway) makes for great connective tissue, while still allowing each of the segments to feel distinct; it's a diverse assortment of stories, some more playful and "fun," while others are more chilling and frightening.

Each bears the tonal imprint of its directors, which again helps the movie feel constantly engaging. Something I really appreciated about the nature of the individual segments is that some of them are rather enigmatic, even ambiguous; they don't fully, explicitly lay themselves out with exposition, demystifying the supernatural elements, instead letting the viewer flesh out the individual mythologies and backstories.

Additionally, though the storylines are not as interconnected as you find in something along the lines of TRICK 'R TREAT, they do sort of flow into each other and overlap a bit, which kind of reinforces the idea that we're on a dark drive down this scary stretch of road, meeting various macabre characters along the way.

The seams in the budget are occasionally visible - particularly in some dodgy CGI effects work - but setting that aside, the movie is very well-made in virtually every other regard. The beauty of anthologies is in the opportunity to tell different kinds of stories within a larger whole, and SOUTHBOUND definitely achieves that.

The fact that it ends strong, with a tale involving one of my personal biggest fears, certainly doesn't hurt, either!