[HorrorScience] Southbound (2015)

Reading time: 10 minutes

Qualification

Southbound

Year

2015

Duration

89 minutes

Director

Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath, Radio Silence

Distribution

Chad Villella, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Kristina Pesic, Fabianne Therese, Nathalie Love, Hannah Marks, Dana Gould, Anessa Ramsey, Susan Burke, Davey Johnson, Mather Zickel, Karla Droege, Zoe Cooper, Justin Welborn, David Yow, Tipper Newton, Matt Peters, Maria Olsen, Tyler Tuione, Kate Beahan, Gerald Downie, Hassie Harrison, Tallulah Mounce, Courtney Bandeko, Max Folkman, Nick Folkman, Karina Fontes, Roxanne Benjamin, Damion Stephens, Larry Fessenden

Script

Roxanne Benjamin, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, Susan Burke, Dallas Hallam, Patrick Horvath

Today I write again for this section, after a long break in which Martin, editor also in this section, has been in charge of keeping the dark flame of horror cinema alive.

And to continue with the dynamic that the section usually had, contrasting with Martín's articles that are mostly classic and old cinema of the genre, I will dedicate this article to talk about a current film, from the end of 2015. The film in question belongs to the horror genre mixed with a certain style that reminds us of others of the genre. road movie. You don't know what the road movies? They are those movies that take place mostly on a road, whether starring the vehicles that circulate it or people traveling through them, or even those films where the action takes place with different characters, but all of those characters are travelers who have the good or bad fortune of encountering something or someone on their path that will determine the plot.

And the title refers to a union of paths. And its different characters are travelers, traveling on the same road, one that has no number and that seems to be nowhere or anywhere. The title also refers to other paths that intersect, and these are the life paths of each of the protagonists, which will give us 5 different stories in a single film, each one more fantastic than the last and that in a certain way seem to be part of the same thing while having their own identity.

And another thing that has its special meaning is that this road seems to lead south. South from where? We don't know, but we do know that south is always down, and when the road becomes unsettling and sanity seems to have been lost somewhere far behind, down may not be the best direction. After all, we have been taught that there are demons below, and regardless of your beliefs, I don't think you want to go down if you want to survive. Or yes? Could it be that any direction, regardless of the destination, is better than staying one more second on that path? Could it be that being on the road is like not being there? Could it be that you have gotten lost, vanished, disappeared?

In this story we will witness a moment in the lives of different people, all traveling the same path, with a past that seems murky whether immediate or distant, and with an uncertain destination but that is surely an escape route to that past. Perhaps one of them does not fit within this description, but traveling the route in a moment of misfortune causes that misfortune to fall on you without you expecting it.

It all starts with two men in a van. These men are a little upset by something that seems to have happened a short time ago, and that something does not seem to be very pleasant, since not only are they upset but they feel persecuted. and their clothes and even their faces have blood stains. What has happened?

These two are escaping from something, and one of them sees something that we don't know if they are visions or if they are creatures that are really there, but they have a strange shape similar to skeletons with shreds of rotting and/or dried flesh on their bones, with a threadbare tunic and something like a scythe. Or is it a scythe? It doesn't matter. The thing is that it is a creature that looks like the classic image of death, but as if this image were also dead and rotten.. Later we will notice that it is not just one, but there is more than one, and that they are there for a reason.

[HorrorScience] Southbound (2015) — What are those horrible floating things?

Uncomfortable and strange situations begin to happen when they stop at a gas station where they decide to go to the bathroom to wash. People seem not to pay attention to them and the waitress of the place gives them an enigmatic and constant look. It won't be long until everything gets even more twisted and we reach the point where we are introduced to other characters and their own story.

Three women drive down the same road we've seen before. We know nothing about them and we will know little when we reach the end of their story, but what we know will be enough to complement what is important about the film, which is to enjoy the little stories that we will see develop.

These young women suffer an accident on the road that leaves them stranded there, and we all know that 3 young women lost on a road in the middle of the desert cannot end well in this kind of movies. Although in any case, this film skips traditionalisms a bit and anything can happen.

They are lucky (or unlucky depending on how you see it) that An adult and very polite couple drives by in their classic American family car and offers to help them., to which one of them opposes perhaps because they have seen too many films of this genre or simply because of fear of the unknown. But of course, who can blame them for accepting the help? What could be worse, letting yourself be helped by two strangers or staying in the middle of the desert, on a bad road, until who knows when a trailer can arrive?

The story that follows can be defined as the worst night in this man's life, which apparently has passed through the wrong place at the worst possible time. It's like those times when one thing goes wrong, and it seems that fate is plotting against you and everything that follows is in tune with one thing after another going wrong, until you believe that you can't fall any lower, which ends with you disappointed since you're not even right in that belief.

This poor guy is basically going to have a shitty night, and I won't reveal anything else. It is very difficult to comment on a film like this without falling into spoilers, because there is no padding, and this great advantage for the viewer It is a huge disadvantage for anyone who wants to review it and not ruin the experience of anyone who reads this before seeing it.

A fourth story will introduce us to some inhabitants of a town near this cursed route, who seem to have nothing else to do in life other than spend time bored in a bar, getting drunk and treating each other with a certain bad humor. Suddenly, a crazy old man appears armed with a sawed-off shotgun and he begins to question these people about the whereabouts of a woman, his sister, who he believes is in the town against her will.

Who is the old man, where is his sister and who are these people? What's more, what is this town?

Finally we will meet one of those movie family yankee, with the typical father who is the head of the family, the happy mother who seems to have no goal in life other than to remain the way she is, and their teenage daughter who receives all the attention of her parents and is happy too. This girl will begin her university studies soon, so she is spending the last vacation she will have with her parents before the beginning of this new stage in her life. Are you waiting for the idyllic family image to be broken? Don't worry, you're not the only one waiting for it. At this point we all know that something is going to happen. The heart of the matter is why is this family there, on that route?

Acompañados por momentos por un locutor de radio que, hablándonos sobre distintas situaciones y pasando por diversas reflexiones nos introduce hacia la siguiente historia o nos despide, la película une de forma coherente y más que acertada distintas historias de personas que se encuentran en el camino de la desgracia, el castigo, la venganza y la redención. Todo el conjunto, desde el tipo de filmación hasta el cartel publicitario de la película, incluyendo la música que acompañará las escenas, tiene ese tinte de road movie de los años 80 que tanto me gusta y que tan bien le queda a esta clase de cintas.

El producto en sí, como un todo, es un éxito del cine independiente del género, que para ser sinceros no tiene tanto de independiente si vemos que están involucradas en el proyecto algunas de las personas encargadas de lo que fue otro éxito del género de horror que también recopila distintas historias en una sola película: V/H/S.

Some curiosities about the film:

Cuando los dos protagonistas de la historia entran en el bar, la camarera que los observa fijamente mueve una revista constantemente. En ella se puede leer la palabra «Fear» (Miedo)
La camioneta que se avería en el segundo segmento, se averió realmente durante la producción del filme.
El score musical para la cinta, compuesto por The Gifted, fue realizado utilizando sintetizadores analógicos, en concordancia con la estética retro de la película.
Las criaturas flotantes pueden verse durante todos los segmentos de la película.
Si revisionas la cinta, notarás montones de referencias de un segmento a otro, algunas de las cuales es imposible reconocer con un solo visionado.