Tuesday 8 March 2016

The road to Hell is paved with the souls of the damned...

Recently I seemed to have gotten into a habit of watching horror movies late at night. 
Some of them good, some bad...thankfully Southbound, which I watched the other night, is one of the good ones.

Review below may contain some spoilers....


An anthology film in the same vein as the V/H/S trilogy or The ABC's Of Death, Southbound features 5 nasty stories, all interlinked and connected in one way or another.
I went into this blind, not knowing quite what to expect. I stumbled across it after seeing a gif on Facebook taken from the film and wondering what the hell it was from. At first when I realised this was an anthology film I was initially disappointed, but in fact it all comes together and works much better than the V/H/S films despite sharing a couple of the same directors. 
Maybe they learnt their lesson from the mediocre reviews those films got upon release, but I prefer to think that those responsible for this film were more likely those who directed the better segments of V/H/S - a series of films that I enjoyed but whose central stories that framed each anthology left much to be desired.

Southbound centres around a small stretch of deserted highway and those who live in its vicinity.
The film opens with two men, fleeing creatures that can only be described as resembling more horrific versions of the Deatheaters from Harry Potter. When they eventually realise there is no escape, one of them seeks refuge in a motel room, only to find himself trapped in a seemingly endless labyrinth of corridors and rooms that closely resemble his family home and which are haunted by a girl who we assume must be his daughter. 
Jumping back outside, we are introduced to three girls who make up a band and who are travelling on their way to their next gig. Their camper van springs a flat and reluctantly they accept the offer of a middle - aged couple who invite to their home until their van can be repaired. Once there, they are served up a Sunday roast consisting of some kind of mysterious, charred meat and too late realise that all here is not what it seems.
The third segment opens with a car accident. 
A man, texting and using his phone while he drives, knocks down a lone girl wandering the highway. When 9/11 cannot track him with G.P.S, they advis him to out her in the back seat and drive her to a nearby hospital. Finding it abandoned, they talk him through what he needs to do to keep her alive...or so it seems st first. 
For me, this was one of the nastiest segments and (spoilers sweetie!) even made me cover my eyes at one point in a 'not looking, not looking, shit, I'm looking' moment - the kind of moment I live for in a good horror movie!!!
Next up, comes a short segment about a man who comes to this spot on the highway seeking his missing sister who he has been searching for for a long, long time. Again, things do not end well...
Finally, we are made to witness the story of a home invasion gone wrong. 
This final segment links up to the beginning, essentially making the whole film go full circle in a similar manner to films such as Momento and the last Final Destination and goes some way to explaining what might've been happening this whole time. 
This was a good movie, not great, but good. 
I enjoyed it a lot and thought each part was very well done.
There was enough horrible moments to keep me interested and it was an interesting concept - essentially that all the characters are passing through some kind of pocket universe that acts as a kind of purgatory and which is populated by demons.
If you liked the V/H/S films but wanted something...well, more polished...then this is for you. 
It only gets 4 stars out of 5, but it is a strong 4/5 and certainly I recommend you checking it out if this  sounds like the kind of film you think you might enjoy.
It's a little known gem with some real quality moments and definitely worth a watch!!






No comments: