31 by 31 Challenge #7: SOUTHBOUND (2015)

Horror anthologies can be tricky demons. When done right, they tend to become legendary among fans (Tales From the Darkside, Creepshow, Trick r' Treat, etc.), but they can also easily become overstuffed, leaving the final product a dud (looking at you, ABC's of Death). Southbound, from the minds behind V/H/S, isn't quite in the legendary category, but it's on the better side of the quality scale, for sure. Comprised of five segments each taking place on a deserted unnamed highway, the film deals with themes of escape, punishment, revenge, and the afterlife. So, you know. Pretty light-hearted.

Southbound
Released: February 5, 2016
Directors: Radio Silence, Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, & Patrick Horvath
Screenplay: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Roxanne Benjamin, Susan Burke, David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath, & Dallas Hallam

Tagline: "No matter which road you choose, it's all going south"

Cast:
Chad Villella as Mitch
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin as Jack
Fabianne Therese as Sadie
Hannah Marks as Ava
Nathalie Love as Kim
Mather Zickel as Lucas
David Yow as Danny
Tipper Newton as Jesse
Hassie Harrison as Jem

Beginning with "The Way Out," Southbound establishes a mood of desperation and plight as two blood-soaked rednecks are trying to escape from something not immediately revealed to the audience. Dementor-like specters haunt their rearview mirror and seem to be keeping them trapped on a loop, forever pulling up to an out-of-the-way diner until they're willing to confront what it is that got them so bloodsoaked in the first place. From there, we segue into "Sirens," the strongest story of the bunch, where a girl band en route to a gig break down in their van and are taken in by a seemingly harmless country couple. I'm sure you can guess how that goes for them.

Their plight transitions into "Accident," where well-intentioned Lucas desperately tries to save a young woman he hits with his car. But something is not quite right about the 911 operator, or the small town in which he hopes to find medical assistance. Then comes "Jailbreak," where a man methodically tries to find his lost sister, only to be confronted with the shocking revelation that she does not want to be found, and the horrifying truth as to why. Finally, "The Way In," brings the stories full circle, ending on a maudlin, jarring note fitting to the framework of the film itself.

While the links between the stories are tenuous at best, Southbound doesn't come across as a hodgepodge of disconnected ramblings like other anthologies, but rather a mosaic of terrifying tales running along a common thematic thread. The filmmakers here aren't interested in neat, tidy tales with easy endings and clear meanings. They want to challenge the viewer with and symbolism and loose conclusions. Because what is more unnerving than ambiguity? It drives even the best of us wild. Or should I say south?

Southbound
5 - Totally Terrifying
4 - Crazy Creepy
3 - Fairly Frightening
2 - Slightly Scary
1 - Hardly Horror