Movie Review: Southbound

Southbound is a horror anthology film that contains five interconnected stories of a group of people traveling a lonely desert road and hiding some pretty dark secrets. Going into this, I didn't know it was an anthology film and if I had, I probably would have passed on it. Anthologies are extremely hit or miss and when they do hit, usually its only on one or two of the stories and then I'm stuck with 4/5 of a movie I don't like. But a co-worker of mine has been dogging me for months to watch this so I did. Here are my thoughts.

As a premise, the lonely desert road angle is probably about the best you can get for a movie like this. Driving on a road like that, the imagination runs wild and innumerable paths cross, nothing more to each other than a pair of headlights. So a movie that delves deep into what strange and fantastical things might be going on just behind those lights has half of its work done; I'm interested. But beyond that, I have to break Southbound down into its individual stories to accurately review it.

Story 1 - The Way Out

Two men are driving down the road after what must have been a violent night and someone or something is in pursuit. After stopping for some gas, things take a turn for the super weird and they find themselves trapped and tormented by hovering skeleton wraiths. This story was probably the film's weakest when taken on its on; but it's not meant to be taken on its on. As beginnings go, this one is a little jarring and confusing, but if you stick through it, the end of the movie is the payoff for this story.

Story 2 - Siren

Three twenty-something girls have a tire go flat on their van miles from civilization. As luck would have it, a nice albeit odd couple stops and offers them a place to stay and some help getting a new tire. After arriving at their house, it doesn't take long to realize the nice couple may be hiding some dark secrets. I really enjoyed the character development in this story. With very little time, the filmmakers give us just enough information to empathize with the main character of Siren more than anyone else in this movie. Ultimately, the plot to this one is nothing unique (I bet you already know what's going on just by me setting it up). Also, like with all anthology movies, my favorite characters come and go and there's still over half the movie left. Fantastic.

Story 3 - The Accident

A man is driving at night, talking to his wife on the phone and not paying attention to the road. Suddenly, he slams into a young girl standing in the middle of the road. While on the phone with 911, he races to the nearest town to try to save her life. Needless to say, he is in for a surprise. This story was by far my favorite of the bunch. I can't say too much without giving away the goods, but suffice it to say that the suspense is at its peak and the stakes are so high that you can't look away even if you want to sometimes.

Story 4 - Jailbreak

A man desperate to find his missing sister barges into a bar (not just an ordinary bar) with a gun, demanding to know if anyone has seen her. Taking the bartender hostage, he's lead to her but isn't prepared for her reaction. This story was just plain terrible. I mean, I've tried to think about it in a way that justifies its existence and there isn't one. It's bad. It adds nothing to the narrative of the movie as a whole and isn't even an entertaining self-contained story. MAYBE it gives a bit of clarification about what the setting of the movie actual is, but I argue that the audience can make up their minds about that without this story. Skip it.

Story 5 - The Way In

A mother and father are on the road with their teenage daughter as a last fun trip before she goes off to college. As they settle into their rental house, a knock at the door startles them. Suddenly, masked men are trying to get inside. The setup sounds like your typical home invasion story and for most of it, that's what it is. It's not until it comes to an end that you realize the story's connection to the first and start to see the entire movie as one big picture. It's that connection that makes stories 1 and 5 good and also kind of blows your mind.

Conclusion

Overall, Southbound isn't bad. It has some great character moments, compelling scenarios and the performances are all top notch. However it does suffer from the same problems anthology movies always have. If one of the smaller stories is good, it'll be over in a few minutes. 

I give Southbound a 6 out of 10

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