Welcome to Knockout Horror and day 7 of our 31 Days of Halloween 2023 feature. Today we are taking a look at Horror Anthology Southbound from 2015. This may seem like a bit of a strange selection as I am a fan of this movie but I definitely wouldn’t put it anywhere near the top of my personal horror favourites list. But, as far as Anthology Horror goe,s it is one of the better ones and every October needs at least one horror anthology in my opinion.
Five Loosely Connected Segments
Anthology horrors can be a lot of fun. It offers directors a really great opportunity to stretch their creative legs in a more contained and condensed format. We can’t, however, ignore the fact that this format often leads to seriously inconsistent content. It’s rare that anthologies stand out for having universally great segments throughout. Southbound is no exception but, to its credit, it is one of the most even around. It consists of five stories. The first of which, directed by the horror collective Radio Silence who directed 10/31/98 in V/H/S, follows a pair of friends who are on the run from a group of mysterious floating creatures. Before finding themselves at a run-down gas station where the shit really hits the fan.
The second story, Siren, is directed by the producer of V/H/S Roxanne Benjamin who also directed the snore fest There’s Something Wrong With The Children. It follows a group of band-mates hitting the road on the way to their next gig, only to end up with a flat tire. Accepting help from a seemingly friendly couple, the group realise that all might not be what it seems with the pair.
The third story, Accident, is directed by The Ritual director David Bruckner who also produced the average Dybbuk box horror movie No One Gets Out Alive. It follows a man being coached through operating on a young woman in an abandoned hospital after accidentally hitting her with his car. The fourth story, Jailbreak, is directed by Patrick Horvath and sees an old man attempt to free his sister from a group of people with otherworldly powers. And the final story, The Way In, follows a family’s struggle for survival after a brutal home invasion.
A Different Anthology Horror
You may notice that I didn’t mention a connecting story there and that’s because there isn’t one. That doesn’t mean that these segments all start and end in the same way as something like ABCs of Death. The stories are, actually, all linked. I don’t want to give too much away but it would be fair to say that Southbound can be taken as one continuous movie that follows a number of loosely connected character’s own personal stories.
It’s an interesting way to do things when it comes to anthology horror but does have a few drawbacks. Whereas the stories in Southbound generally tend to gel a lot better than they do in most anthology horror. And we are spared from the utter suffering that is half baked connecting stories. The segments lose a lot of their individuality for their need to connect. It’s almost as if each segment was filmed by the same crew with the same cameras and the same equipment. What the movie gains in flow, it loses in charm.
More Good Than Bad
That’s not to say there aren’t decent segments here. In fact, I would say Southbound’s segments weighs more towards good than bad which is seriously rare in Anthology Horror. Even when there are a number of well know directors at the helm. The initial story, Way Out, is fairly interesting and ever so slightly creepy. It has a decent laugh or two and hints at much deeper mystery that we will learn more about later. It’s well acted and pretty effective, though the CGI looked pretty naff at the time and looks even crappier now.
David Bruckner’s The Accident is genuinely great. It’s a short segment and very self contained but some of the practical effects are excellent and the concept is terrifying in itself. Acting is decent and some of the issues that are a problem with the other stories are not such a big problem with this one. We’ll get to this in a bit.
The Way In is another strong segment that gives serious The Strangers vibes but with a much deeper story at its heart. I am not saying The Strangers was good because I thought it sucked monkey scrotum but the home invasion angle is extremely effective when done well and it is done well here. I think a lot of people will appreciate how this segment ties in to the main story and it has some genuinely shocking moments.
A Few Slower Segments
Siren, on the other hand, is rather lacklustre and a bit too long. The acting is a little hokey and the uncanny valley, almost Twin Peaks like, weirdness that Benjamin seems to be going for doesn’t quite pay off. It reminded me a little of movies like Dogtooth. What with the over sanitised appearance of everything and the strangeness of the characters. Despite that, something about it was just missing.
I did enjoy this a lot more than anything else directed by Roxanne Benjamin, though. Body at Brighton Rock felt like a chore and I seriously disliked There’s Something Wrong With The Children. Fingers crossed for whatever she does next as we absolutely need more female voices in horror. Siren is still miles better than a lot of anthology segments.
Jailbreak is the weakest segment of all. It’s cliched, generic, derivative and borrows heavily from every other similar movie of the past 20+ years. Some of the effects are pretty decent but it just feels like yet another vampire/demon movie. Anyways, as you can see, most of the segments are decent. I have to point out, however, that a lot of people are going to have a hard time with how little this movie explains.
Horror that Never Ends
I’ve seen people point out that there is a lot of horror in the loose ends left at the end of stories. And if you agree with this statement then more power to you but not everyone will. Practically every story here goes completely unexplained and full of questions. Hinting that it is something of a theme of the anthology. To me, it just feels a bit lazy.
It’s such a massive trait of modern horror and I complain about it all the time. There’s only one segment where it’s not a huge problem and that is The Accident. Where the consequences of the story don’t really demand too much of an explanation. Every other story is left open ended. Naturally, this movie is called Southbound, in reference to a road. So I guess the stories are supposed to be left as endless as those very same roads.
All told, it’s not a massive hindrance to the average person’s enjoyment of the film (ie me). Southbound is a solid Anthology with more good segments than bad. Hell, one of the bad segments is still a lot better than many similar short stories. Acting is decent throughout, camera work is great, all segments share a stylistic similarity and the way they connect up is pretty well done. There is a lot to praise here and little to criticise.
Should You Watch Southbound?
Southbound is one of the best horror anthology movies around and definitely worth watching. Even the weak segments are still pretty decent. Jailbreak is the worst but still has some pretty good practical effects. The stories connect up nicely with each other and the consistent stylistic similarities make for an anthology that feels far closer to a movie than a bunch of loosely themed disparate segments. There is a talented group of filmmakers at the helm here and it shows. A decent option for something a little different during the run up to Halloween.