****this review contains spoilers****
Southbound is a film version of The Twilight Zone; five stories in one film, two of which are linked. All take place in the same geographical place (southern US).
So, southbound is this film made up of five .. four horror stories. The first being perhaps the most indicative; two guys are driving a truck, "running away" from something. They stop at a gas station, and some creatures, lifted right out of Harry Potter (the Dementors) show up, and kill one of the two guys. The other, they shepherd to a room in the gas station motel. He enters the room, and the episode is over. He hears the sound of a kid crying, which we conjecture is his daughter. Nothing else happens.
The second story is the same. There is a preface, a group of girls are taken in by a family after a roadside breakdown. The family drugs two of the girls, the third one is scared. Nothing else happens.
All of the film is like this. It has this great preamble, just like The Twilight Zone did, but for some reason the writers just completely ignored the development and ending. Nothing; nada. Zero, zip, zilch.
If you do go see this film, you really need to go for the visual effects, because there isn't much else to watch.
The acting is decent, but extremely limited. The visual effects, photography included, are good. The writing is .. unique in how minimal it is. Don't expect a plot because there isn't any.
If you are one of those in the "they are in hell (or purgatory)"camp, that's not a plot, that's a framing device.
The trailer made this film seem so good, and yet the film itself contains no more plot than the trailer.
I would absolutely not recommend this film, it's horribly unfinished and should never have been distributed.
My vote: 5/10 - redeeming qualities do not redeem the film.
Southbound is a film version of The Twilight Zone; five stories in one film, two of which are linked. All take place in the same geographical place (southern US).
So, southbound is this film made up of five .. four horror stories. The first being perhaps the most indicative; two guys are driving a truck, "running away" from something. They stop at a gas station, and some creatures, lifted right out of Harry Potter (the Dementors) show up, and kill one of the two guys. The other, they shepherd to a room in the gas station motel. He enters the room, and the episode is over. He hears the sound of a kid crying, which we conjecture is his daughter. Nothing else happens.
The second story is the same. There is a preface, a group of girls are taken in by a family after a roadside breakdown. The family drugs two of the girls, the third one is scared. Nothing else happens.
All of the film is like this. It has this great preamble, just like The Twilight Zone did, but for some reason the writers just completely ignored the development and ending. Nothing; nada. Zero, zip, zilch.
If you do go see this film, you really need to go for the visual effects, because there isn't much else to watch.
The acting is decent, but extremely limited. The visual effects, photography included, are good. The writing is .. unique in how minimal it is. Don't expect a plot because there isn't any.
If you are one of those in the "they are in hell (or purgatory)"camp, that's not a plot, that's a framing device.
The trailer made this film seem so good, and yet the film itself contains no more plot than the trailer.
I would absolutely not recommend this film, it's horribly unfinished and should never have been distributed.
My vote: 5/10 - redeeming qualities do not redeem the film.