When you're running around, be prepared to find something unusual. There is always a moment of slipping into the irrational, it is more accessible to the lost and fallen, marginal, that instead of sleeping in warm cots choose the night, and plow the expanses of roads without knowing why, only the moon and inner hunger point the way. . .
The road bank has its own philosophy, as a separate art form of time is distorted by giving us ideas and plot. Anything can happen when you’re alone in the dark, and it happens. Before us is an almanac of stories from a godforsaken diner, cheap and entertaining stories for connoisseurs. The map of the area starts with two accomplices who have significantly adjusted and now cover their tracks, then the wind refers to the parable of the interpretation of the seventies with their satanic cults in the spring of life, then, ironically, follows the problem of a good act, and again among the night roads, where good is a strange price, and a sudden ticket from here, well, then. .
And then, my respect for the creators and the boundless joy of watching, an atmospheric narrative of evil power and mysticism for the desperate. Segments of the film are surprisingly intertwined forming a perfect puzzle of situations where people are not of the first freshness, burdened with their own vices and escape from themselves in vain looking for a way out of the situation, and at this time the radio DJ with the efforts of the preacher talks about the nature of evil and self-forgetting. Maybe this is exactly what happened to the travelers on their forced haigway? And you will have to clean up, and for the first time in a vicious life to answer for what you did, such things. You can envy them, because it will be entertaining and spectacular, in the spirit of a car theater, from where you do not want to return in the darkness of the night. By the way, this can be considered as a tribute to the grand house, but closer to the author’s style, if the whisper of the road from the radio receiver speaks in the voice of Larry Fersden, it is very cheap, but very high-quality, so do not be tempted and follow the highway, the darkness will lead where you need. Not at all.
There seems to be a 60 freeway on the way south. But it is better not to drive on this road - it is painfully wild shit is happening along this route.
Semyon Semyonich! It's amazing and incomprehensible. Why did it take a gathering of authors to put in this almanac a semblance of connectedness of the stories being told, when in fact there is no such thing there, at least revise it three times. Except that a looping sequence of events is drawn, as in the first episode, where the shook characters, one of whom has a lexicon mainly consisting of “What the fuck?”, can not drive through the road diner.
The story is told in the movie about a couple of bandits who are overtaken by a paranormal retribution for previously tricked up; then about a trio of jazz women who have a flat tire and they sat down in the car not at all to the Good Samaritans; then about an amateur to climb in a smartphone behind the wheel, who grabbed a night of the wildest nightmare; then about a fight breaking through the obstacles of a long-lost sister.
And although these stories pass one into another through certain persons, as in the transfer of the baton, specifically, all these stories are connected only by one thing - the great long-term love of the northerners for the southerners, whom they did not expose by any scumbags, demons, butchers and perverts. In general, it doesn’t matter to this cold “citizen”, but most of the so-called “novels” (all have a director and title) make no impression and cause mostly indifference due to the simplicity of the bundles and the usual incarnations. The only thing I want to praise here is the episode of David Bruckner "Accident", where an indecisive driver has to save a girl he hit on the operating table with his own hands, listening to the advice of murky doctors on the phone. The eerie shoot was somewhat reminiscent of one good Whispering Sons video. The road to the south is a road to nowhere.
4 out of 10
The modern horror genre, with all the technological progress, for the most part almost ceased to scare. A successful project in this field can now be considered a film that inflates at least a decent horror atmosphere. This movie doesn’t even do that.
“Monsters of the South” is a film almanac of several stories with a single setting, which no one bothered to explain. The authors do not understand the elementary plot components. Intrigue is an artistic technique that needs to be fed from time to time, giving bits of information, until the onset of an interesting denouement. The first episode, the second... and then the right suspicion begins to creep in that everything that happens on the screen does not make sense. Just a bunch of screaming, suffering and dying people on screen with a background of surreal events. Trying to answer what is the relationship of the episodes is obviously impossible. Some of the characters constantly try to blurt out that they did not deserve this nightmare, but this theme does not get further. It would be interesting to connect all this obscenity on the screen with the dark past of the characters and explain the situation as punishment for past sins, but even here the authors can not squeeze out reasonable explanations. Surprisingly, none of the directors involved, having read the script, did not question the feasibility of starting filming.
It is noteworthy that the actors, despite everything, coped with dignity and did not drag the film to the bottom of the history of cinema. The bloody scenes were ugly, but spectacular. Undoubted advantages include a good soundtrack, clearly inspired by the old school of horror.
Finally:
There was no suspense, no ultraviolence, no deep meaning. It is a tasteless and passable horror to forget.
You sit down like this to watch an ordinary movie about paranormal monsters, judging by the cover. Good such atmospheric episode, with good monsters, atmosphere and...
Wait, is that it? Well, okay. The second story is about some kind of sect, or mysticism, a good mystery, its atmosphere again, and here, the main characters are in trouble and...
Is that it? Well... Switch to a thriller. Psychological such, a good thriller, with notes of something otherworldly and ...
And somewhere in this moment, an attentive viewer understands that unrelated stories begin to resonate with each other - in a similar sense, in mood, in some details, in time, in characters. And in the end, it all adds up to the big picture.
The film is demanding on the viewer. It needs to be watched. Watch carefully, noticing different small details and references of stories to each other. The film itself doesn’t tell the rules of the game. But they are, and this is another plus (and another complexity) of the film – in addition to tracking the plots of stories, you need to gradually make a picture of the world in your head, look at the message and finish writing the stories of the characters.
And it's not for everyone, but it's great for my taste. Like entering the world 'Beginnings' Nolan, but without Nolan’s dialogues, which explain each cog, and look for these cogs.
Atmospheric thriller? Yeah.
Psychological thriller? Yeah.
Multi-layered story? Yeah.
A little popcorn horror story and a phone game? Definitely not.
This is what you are looking for when you intend to see it.
Who are these people and what is going on here? Involuntarily this question arose. While I was trying to understand the content, action, and construction of the plot, Christopher Smith’s Triangle unwittingly appeared in my memory. I have always been fascinated by this unconventional approach.
“Omnibus Movie” or “Road Movie”, but this movie should be seen as a whole. It is a feature-length film where each story with its main characters interacts with the subsequent event, which smoothly and continuously puts it all together. A strange city, cursed people, sinister babikas who vaguely resemble the Dementors of Harry Potter, travelers who were in the wrong place at the wrong time... In general, all this is twisted by a snake that bites its tail.
To be honest, I really wanted to understand who these creatures are, why these people are cursed and do not age, and even in our space and time there is this track and the city. But they did not give us answers, thereby forcing us to think and assume what is happening there.
I must have left too many spoilers here. Forgive me and just watch this movie! I voiced the most important aspects of the story, but despite this, watching what is happening is very sticky and interesting. Unusual thing with its own special feature.
Creating film almanacs has always been quite a difficult task. Not only for the creativity of the filmmakers themselves, but also for the perception of the audience. After all, each director has his own unique style and vision, and given the large number of directors involved in the project, it is impossible to avoid the result when some works are stronger than others. Not a revelation and this film almanac shot Roxanne Benjamin, Patrick Horwart, David Bruckner and the collective Radio Silence.
Two bloody young men running from something in their car. A group of young rock musicians is forced to interrupt their movement after a car breakdown. A man hits a young girl in his car and races with her to a local hospital. An ordinary American family goes on a trip to the states and turns into victims of mysterious people with masks on their faces. Each of the heroes of the short films is on the way. Some run away from something, others go to meet and look for something. The center of the whole narrative is the usual highway leading strictly to the south.
In principle, this project does not represent anything completely new. Huntingly playing on the screen long boring and repeatedly "chewed" plot moves. But certainly beating them in the most favorable and interesting light. Especially with a kind of cyclical narrative. When each of the subsequent short films willingly picks up the events of the previous one and logically continues on the screen. In the end, it goes back to the very beginning and gives long-awaited answers to many questions. What can be safely called the main advantage of the picture.
Not to mention the very smooth direction of the whole project. When despite the presence of several completely different directors at once, the project creates a very homogeneous and generalized atmosphere among all short films. Not only decently recreating on the screen the atmosphere of suspense, tension and complete mystery, but even partially recreated the atmosphere of old-school horror films of the 80s. The second and fourth shorts do not impress with the duller material and the minimal quality of the “bread and spectacle”, but they certainly gladly compensate for the moment with the other three shorts. Including an excellent finale of the project made in the spirit of “Vacancy for the victim”, “Strangers” and “You are finished!”
6 out of 10
Monsters of the South is certainly a rare example of a worthy cross between the horror film genre and the film almanac format. When, despite the complete disparity in the directors and the short films themselves, the whole project sets a very homogeneous atmosphere and willingly pleases with really decent works on the screen. At least I don’t want to waste my time.
From the almanac "Monsters of the South" I expected much more, but it met my expectations only partially.
The main thing that has succeeded and for which I praise this film is a successfully created atmosphere of isolation, detachment, remoteness from the rest of the world. In this frightening world there are only their own fears, their embodiments and the dreary expectation of retribution for their mistakes and sins of the past. I really appreciate this atmosphere in King’s film adaptations and in general in horror, where it ensures their success if not half, then a third for sure. So in "Monsters of the South" in all the novels it is perfect. Other people may be around the main characters, but still feelings of complete loneliness, fear, complete hopelessness and its predestination do not leave in any of them. Well, the second novel in this regard is generally classic. Three of my five points on the tenth scale I put the picture for the atmosphere.
Two more get from me that second story of a lone driver, a pedestrian on the highway and an abandoned hospital in a deserted town. This is really the most successful story in the almanac. Everything is good, even naturalism and the flowing blood from the screen, which otherwise might seem too provocative. Dana Gould, who draws the whole story, is amazingly good with every frame and word, and so much so that I wanted to see Dana in other projects: Monsters of the South became an acquaintance with the actor for me. But the abandonment, detachment in this novel is also perhaps the most ideal and therefore even more terrible.
Unfortunately, the other three novels can not boast of this. It is clear that no one will chew everything to the end in this genre, but the details and details that could give interest to these stories are noticeably lacking in the picture. You can start with the same skeletal-spider monster that became the hallmark of the tape. Who he is, where he came from, why he behaves this way and what he wants - answers to this were not given, although after a few lines of the characters it could be done elementary.
The novella about a group of girls stuck on the highway and virtues, professing a mysterious cult, also lacks details relating primarily to the history of relations between girls. And about the mysterious family that picked them up on the road, it would not be superfluous to tell in more detail, since according to the results of all that happened, only solid guesses remain to build.
The same applies to the story of a brother who came to save his sister in a town whose inhabitants are either from the other world or on a trip there. According to the characters, again, only questions and white spots: what, how and why.
The same sins and the core story of two men racing in a car on a deserted highway. What they did was a secret to the seven seals.
However, all this could be forgiven and written off if there was at least minimal decent acting in Monsters of the South. But alas, with the exception of Dana Gould, the performance of actors is weak even for the amateur level. If there are hints at her in the story with her brother and sister, then the novella with the girls is a complete nightmare: they do not play at all and do not try! And all the other heroes in it, too. It is the fact that almost all the actors in this project scored on acting as such that disappoints him most, much more than the gaps in the script.
Potentially it could be a stylish horror, but in the end it turned out to be a below-average spectacle, catching only one story.
It should be said that in my reviews, I have repeatedly confessed my love for horror anthologies, and always found in such collections my own charm. And today I managed to get acquainted with a typical representative of this genre called “Monsters of the South”, but about everything in order.
First of all, I will not consider each novella separately (a whole bunch of reviewers have done this before me, and more than in detail), but rather I will share my impressions and feelings from all the stories in the complex. So, first of all, I would like to note from the positive side - the atmosphere of the picture. The oppressive and pressing impression when watching, the slow injection of suspense and the sinister voice of the leading radio broadcast, made me unwittingly cringe and just stick my eyes to the monitor. I would also like to note that it is quite a good musical accompaniment.
But there will be a lot of disadvantages, too. Initially, what is limping in all the short films of this almanac is an understatement. I love it when a movie doesn’t answer all your questions, but it leaves some pretty good food for thought and guesswork. But here, unfortunately, this factor is the main drawback of the picture. We don’t know, the main motif of many characters and most importantly, almost every ending of the story, made me sit with a puzzled face and a new stream of questions in the spirit of “What was that?” and “Is that all?” The logical chain of narratives is not built, and they are practically not connected with each other (exception, the first story is closely intertwined, paradoxically, with the last). Acting at an acceptable level. But the script work, in almost all stories, is quite contradictory.
As a result, the director’s quartet managed to create a rather tolerable anthology, especially it turned out to recreate the correct atmosphere of road horror, but the indistinct finales of stories and frank script punctures put the scales almost in perfect balance.
After all, we are all trying to find our way home.
There are horrors that come out only on small screens, in small editions. Of course, horror movies are not for everyone. But why then we see endless sequels, triquels, remakes of The Call, The Exorcist, Blair Witches...? Why do we see so few standing, unstamped nightmares on the big screen?
And while distributors will think about easy profits, we - lovers tickle their nerves, have to surf and look for really worthwhile projects.
This film does not reveal any secrets. This picture is about everyday values and simple things, clothed, however, in terrible forms.
The authors tell about several, at first glance, unrelated stories. All the participants in these stories are travelers on the road, who diligently flee from their past. But in whatever direction they go, nevertheless, inexorably fall to the south.
Of course, this is not a multi-million dollar budget, and some handicraft blows, but in this case it is more a plus than a minus. A light raid of art house here is also quite suitable. The tape is really scary, you really do not know what awaits you at the turn of this road.
Overall, it's a great nightmare. I recommend it.
I went to the movie with the expectation that I just did not like the trailer or the synopsis, but as a connoisseur of horror, I decided to go to it anyway. I took a lot of food to stay awake, but I was wrong when the session started. I could not take food at all, because the film did not let me be distracted from the screen for a second. It is presented in the form of a film almanac, and connects with each other 5 mystical stories of different people. The end of each story smoothly passes into the beginning of a new, and the only thing that connects absolutely all the stories, only the guy with the radio, whose words sometimes very tense in terms of the atmosphere.
The film begins with two guys trying to escape from the strange creatures that adorn the posters of the picture. Who they are will never be given an exact answer, but they are signed as "Lost Soul", or "Lost Soul", although it seemed to me that they were more suitable for the word "Reaper". They also appeared periodically in all stories, and more often in those moments when the heroes could die. And in the case of runaway guys, the reapers will be extremely aggressive.
It is very difficult to tell the essence of the stories without spoiling them, but I will try. Three girls were on their way to a concert and stuck in the middle of the desert. After a while, a man and his wife propose to pick them up, but only one girl out of three is against this idea. As it turned out, she was right, because something is wrong with these people, and her friends also begin to behave strangely.
The story follows a man who was driving on a deserted road at night and hit a girl because he was looking at the phone. She's lying on the pavement, bleeding, she has multiple fractures. The man can't call an ambulance because he doesn't know exactly where he is, but in the distance he sees the lights of the city and the ambulance operator who is on the line gives instructions on what to do and how to do it. The girl is breathing, but she is in a very bad state, and the city is empty, and only the main character of this story can try to save her life. And there will really be one of the incomprehensible and gloomy moments, which was pretty much beaten.
After the incident with the hit girl, the action moves to the bar, where a bearded man with a shotgun breaks in and wants to find his sister. But in this bar live not quite ordinary people, but more like werewolves. However, the hero is not confused and is ready to do anything to find a sister. And at the end of the story, a little strange creatures will appear at all, but this has its own charm.
And the last story is about a family that came home and was attacked by people wearing Presidential masks. “You are finished!” and naturally the first part of “Judgment Night” is reminiscent. Why these masked people need this family, we'll never know. But the reapers will not take long to wait.
Reminiscent of the TV series 1996 "Goosebumps", which I loved to watch as a child, and which then really scared me. A little nostalgia flashed. I also want to praise the soundtrack, which, as it turns out, can have a positive effect on a horror film. Again, I will give an example of the film "It"2014. "Monsters of the South" pleased and surprised, for which the authors and all the actors are very grateful. Let's appreciate those movies.
I have always been interested in low-grade movies. They give hope for something worthwhile, something that some may not understand, but you will take and understand, reveal the deep meaning of the picture hidden from the majority. When this happens, you get true pleasure, then thinking about the picture for a while, and with firm confidence after a while, be sure to reconsider a second or even a third time.
First of all, I was interested in a poster with a skeleton, rarely in horrors you will find something like this, I hoped to get fear emotions not from ' boo' effects but from ' something' the unknown, which scares with its riddles and presentations of the authors.
What we have in the end: the hopes described above were not met. Trying to find meaning, hidden or even direct, I did not find it. At first, I thought that it could not be so bad, and the point is that it is specially done in order to then cunningly turn the story in a different way, say, for example, it was dreams, drug hallucinations or some parallel universe, and there is nothing like this in the film is not revealed, although what is happening on the screen is clearly not in our world, the benefit of the fantasy genre is present in the description. The way the characters react to what is happening to them and all the complete absurdity that is happening on the screen left me no chance to take the picture seriously. What will a person do when they see a monster from a poster? I don't know, but I expected, I hoped, that the authors of the picture would give a worthy variation in the spirit of the reactions of people from the dream catcher to something hitherto unknown in the world. And this fear through the play of actors in slow streams would flow to me, would make me empathize with the characters, trying their fate on myself. In fact, it's a lazy look not focused on a certain point, that's the whole reaction. After ten minutes of viewing, I already knew what awaited me next and looked only for the hope of seeing at least something intriguing, and to admit the plot with medical practice slightly met expectations, perhaps the actor’s play was to blame, although it seems that the feeling ' games' was in contrast with its complete absence from others.
Bottom line: not interesting. Not even pulling on ' once'
Unfortunately, I have not seen the previous work of the authors, namely the film “Z / L / O”. But I will definitely watch it soon. The movie “Monsters of the South” made a very interesting impression on me. The film itself is a collection of novels. Let me clarify that the project is low budget. I don't think it's more than 3-5 million. A million and a half, probably. It's not a fact. Actors are selected appropriate, that is, little-known. But to say that the language is not played well will not turn. What is the story of the Monsters of the South movie? It is difficult to give an exact definition, because the film has many different ideas, morals and meanings. But judging by the reviews, the audience completely refuses to see them. And it's hard to blame them. The film does not present itself in the best way. But nevertheless, if you get into the taste and begin to take the film seriously, then suddenly it will turn from boring, dull and unremarkable horror into a complex and meaningful movie. The genre is difficult to characterize, so to get sure. Thriller is the best fit.
So the movie is going up and down. Boredom to reasoning. And if you get distracted or dull, you end up bored and get bored. That's the problem with the movie. You should watch it. All the while staring at the screen and thinking about what is happening over time, somewhere in the 40-50 minute of the film, you will begin to notice the meaning in all this orgy, and at the moment of climax you will feel that the last half of the film flew at the speed of light amid reflection. The denouement will give you many questions, and not such a question as they call: plot holes, but a question for reasoning. But that's only if you're literally blowing into the movie.
That doesn’t save the movie from other problems. The main one is: inefficiencies. Some inefficiencies benefit the atmosphere, and some destroy it. But in fact, a lot of inefficiencies spoil the impression. The most important thing is that we have not been told what is going on here. This is not good for the atmosphere. And the problem could be solved very simply. Tell me it's a damned road or a city. But no. We're being created a lore, without a base. It's like a room without a floor. Well, we got an undisclosed Silent Hill out here, and we don't know what to do about it. There are acultists, and magic, and some demons. Who are they? How? Why? The film does not answer any questions. And that's with all the interesting ideas that the film brings up. It's a vicious circle. They give you food for the mind, then develop it, and then leave it unanswered. And I wish they would leave us questions, like Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, when, after watching the movie, you still have questions, but the film is sort of brought to a logical conclusion, we were shown the denouement, we were given to think about what was going on, and after the film ended, we kept thinking, not about the plot inefficiencies and holes, but about the questions that the film leaves at the climax. Yes, I agree that I’m a bit high on the example, but Kubrick’s film is the best example in this context. By the way, before I lost my mind. I already mentioned that. The film goes from bottom to sky. The beginning of the film is very boring, confused and incomprehensible. The ending is also confused, but interesting and mysterious. Again, he leaves questions behind. So here's your advice if you go to see a movie. Don't blink! Blink and you die! They move until you see them. So don't blink!
Whatever it was, all the ideas that the film wanted to present, he presents. You might wonder why I didn’t mention one of them. Because it doesn't make sense. The film looks like the perfect work for lovers to build theories and make up stories. Everyone will understand the film in their own way. This hides its artistic value. The only problem is that a very small percentage of people can not lose a thread during such an exposure. This is why the user ratings are so low. To be honest, I was on the verge of losing the thread myself, but I was able to stay afloat. I also used to get mad at the cameraman sometimes. Tired of taking epilepsy.
Verdict: A movie lover who's diligent. It is necessary to look in a fully adequate state. If you're sleepy, forget it! If you're tired, not today! Well, I'm exaggerating, but that's your best chance of having fun. To the average viewer. Contraindicated!
“Monsters of the South” is another way to wonder what horror movies our distributors miss on the screens of theaters, and what – not. This "masterpiece" is already in theaters.
There is no logical narrative in the film. All stories don’t even come together in the end. Here are two clearly unclean guys driving a car, and they are chased by well-drawn skeletons for low-budget horror. So what? Nothing is explained to us. Who are all these people? What kind of paranormal? Why do they go back to the place they left? Delusion.
The heroes are simply incredibly stupid. Girls go home to some sectarians. Weird things don't keep you waiting. But the heroines are not smart enough just to call the police. And there's a connection, the other person's calling 911 perfectly. Moreover, remember the moment when the girls broke down in the middle of a typical desert highway in Alabama. They're being offered help. They refuse. The garage will come to you, dear ones? In such a stupid scenario, fear can not go out of the question.
Actors. Remembering them has no sense, as they all have too little screen time. For the most part, the game is bad.
"Monsters of the South" is a frankly weak horror film. I don’t recommend it even to fans of the genre.
When I saw the first short film of this project, I thought something like, "Galimatya again." But the second part was, to my surprise, interesting, and attracted attention.
So, a dull beginning is not an indicator.
I liked the movie.
First of all, it's very solid. One follows from the other, the narrative is smooth and logical within a specific story.
Secondly, the picture is not trivial. The trivial horrors ate the lash. And here we see different stories that add up to one mosaic. Here, the camera work is very harmonious and appropriate, because sometimes you feel like playing some kind of horror (for example, the toy “Sylent Hill”).
Thirdly, the actors look and play believable, no one annoys or knocks out.
Fourth, the film is similar to artachus, but in a good sense of the word. Applying already proven techniques, the director manages to play with the audience and make the movie fresh, ambiguous and unusual.
I would especially like to highlight the second and third shorts. It was hard to take your eyes off and shift your attention -- exciting. I'm not saying the movie is scary. Interesting, of course. It was really interesting to see how each story would end and how it would all end up intertwined. I am glad that there are still atypical, but not stupid horror films.
7 out of 10
Sometimes you don’t need much, in my case just a poster for the film sparked curiosity and desire to see it. And of course, love of the horror genre. But the poster is very cool, if I had it, I would hang it on the wall.
Southbound is an anthology film, and what turned out well is the interconnection of all parts; the interpenetration is enough to build a common world, to create that very feeling of an endless loop in the viewer, but the previous episodes do not overlap the current, do not overlap with each other, and still look like separate stories.
Events that occurred before shown in the film, do not describe why the characters found themselves in this strange world, what deserved their fate – you can build vague theories from excerpts of their conversations, but there is no complete explanation in any of the cases.
Two guys, all in blood (not their own) can not get out of the roadside diner and get away from flying skeletal creatures; girls from the rock band stuck in the desert are forced to spend the night with strange, as if from the past of people who turn out to be Satanists; a man, carried away by a telephone conversation, knocks down a girl from the previous part, tries to help her, guided by strange consultations of suspiciously many knowledgeable operators and rescue doctors; no longer a young man who understands where he is, because in this place he is specifically looking for a sister, and finds her suspicious and spends his last days in the family, who is in need of their daughter, who is in the last home.
In English, the expression “going south” in addition to directly moving south means an unforeseen situation when everything goes to hell. Combine this with the theme of the road, which usually involves trying to find something or escape from something. Adding characters, I mean everyone, they’re all guilty of something, trying to get away from guilt. Naturally, escape fails – an endless loop of time, space, denial of guilt, everything connects here, and all of them will have to pay for their sins. Those who do not want to confess to themselves will have to pay again and again.
Anthologies of any genre are usually bad, I don’t just mean horror movies. Different directors, even united by the topic, usually create something awkward, and the attempt to fit different episodes into one framework makes everything even more ridiculous. The more valuable such a successful collaboration as Southbound - parts of the film naturally combine with each other, sometimes seamlessly connecting and flowing into each other.
The themes are also successfully combined: a trip through the desert, with all this philosophical overtones of the symbolism of roads, and an attempt to escape from guilt, from conscience. But you cannot escape either physically or from yourself and your past, so the narrative logically turns into an endless loop.
This integrity, consistency – this is the main advantage of the film, becomes even more important, given that this is an anthology shot by different people. Well, the fact that this is a horror movie, so, an additional plus.
Oh, curiosity will kill someone one day, and I'll probably be that person. I had to believe the annotations of the picture, which suggested that “American Vagrants”, take the “Traveler”, then drive to the “Stupid”, where they are waiting for a settlement suggesting the idea of “American Gothic”, and as a measure there is “Jippers Crippers”? Well, agree, it sounds too incredible to be true, well, I take, and believe it, without even going to the page of KinoPoisk and did not bother to find out what the directors who made this wonderful film are famous for. But if I knew... I would still watch this film, but with a fair amount of skepticism, because the guys working on the film were able to give us such a “wonderful” trilogy as “Z / L / O”. No, really, the guys and girls should finally tell and maybe they could reach the “Tales at the campfire”, about “Tales from the Crypt” I do not stutter, do not pull, even in dreams. Yeah. They can. And then they catch up and add. Well, it's "The Way to the South," straight to hell.
No, seriously to hell or purgatory, who is closer, since the scene of the picture takes place in the center of nowhere, in a town under a loud name... a loud name... without a clue. There's no name for this town, and there's no explanation, but there's bad stuff going on, yeah. Here, for example, the first of many stories tells the story of two friends “not spilling water”, who are driving on a desert road, pressing the gas pedal to the stop. Obviously, someone is chasing them, but the horizon is clear, which can not be said about the heroes, because they are covered with blood from toe to head. What do I do? Should we stop at the nearest diner and clean up? That's what heroes do. No, really. I tried to make a bad joke, but two bosom friends do not want to joke and they go to the bar to wash, not caring about customers and local workers. Really, why? After all, on the roads and scales of America are constantly traveling idiots covered in blood. You wonder why people disappear without a trace. In any case, two not very smart people landed on Groundhog Day and they are not allowed to leave the city, returning them again and again to the parking lot. Moreover, nearby begin to gather “dementors”, who happily rub their feet in anticipation of the upcoming fun.
I must admit that this short film is intriguing. She does not explain anything at all, does not try to reveal the characters, and the actors themselves do not even try to play, all the time walking with lean faces, does not try to catch up with the atmosphere of fear, but in any case awakens interest, Dementors. Interest, and with it hope that it will only get better. But alas, the next story smashes these hopes to dust, saying that it will not be better, but worse – for sure.
Three girl musicians, whose characters can be described as a bitch, a bitch and... a bitch, go to a rock concert where they are going to play jazz. No, don't ask. I don't know how that's possible either. There were supposed to be four girls, but one of them died. How did this happen? Pfft. No one will explain anything. What is it that connects girls besides music and bad character? Nothing. Should we worry about them? I don't even know. Would you worry about a cardboard box under the TV? The answer to this question will allow you to understand how to treat three “charming” ladies. Unfortunately, and perhaps fortunately, the girls did not try to stab each other with combs or poison with hairspray. Instead, they met a cute old couple who offered to let the girls down. In any case, the director positions these guys as a cute old couple, but the smiles that descend from the lips of old people will make anyone feel like Duffy Duck, who is pursued by Elmer Pad. But girls, like, this behavior seems normal and they happily decide to spend the night in the mansion of an elderly couple, and at the same time get acquainted with the rest of the family and taste a delightful stew that resembles rhino excrement. Not that I've ever seen rhinoceros feces, but what an elderly couple served at the table wouldn't even eat a person dying of hunger, but girls seem fine. And then... but doesn’t it matter? No, really. With this attitude to life, the maximum that threatens is the Darwin Prize.
The third story tells about another member of the human race, which somehow managed to live to conscious life. So our hero (the only person in this film who at least tries to play), driving on the night highway communicates with his dearest wife and as a result knocks down a person, breaking all the bones of the latter. For five minutes, our hero is beating around the bush, thinking about what he should do, huh? You could blame it on the shock, but it is not in the eyes of the actor. Finally, the hapless driver decides to approach the victim and ask “how is he?” Having received only wheezing and gurgling in response, the obviously hapless pedestrian tried to curse the driver in the most exotic manner, the hero decides to call an ambulance, but here is the trouble - he does not know where he is. Well, that's no problem. You just need to take the failed victim, or rather what is left of her and go to the nearest town, there will help. Alas, but the city is deserted and another winner of the Darwin Prize, carries a failed fellow traveler to the hospital, simultaneously breaking off the last part of the body, not specifically the truth, but because of its awkwardness, but we will not be angry with him, right? There is no one in the hospital, but the hero is not lost. He, listening on the phone to the voice of a man who introduced himself as a surgeon, decides to perform the operation himself and save the life of the unfortunate man. God save and save.
Of course, there is also a story about an old Terminator, who is the illegitimate nephew of Wolverine and came to the cursed city to find his sister. There is also something reminiscent of the backstory of the characters from the very beginning of the picture, which tries to pass for “Funny Games”, but eventually turns into a natural “Judgment Night”. But I think that the above will be enough to get an idea of the movie. A film that lacks one ma-a-scarlet detail to turn from a piece of drywall into a one-time spectacle – self-irony.
2 out of 10
Ever since the days of “Traveler”, in which Rutger Hauer, armed with a mysterious grin and a firm desire to bring innocent young people to the next world, viewers remember that on provincial American roads you need to be extremely attentive. As soon as you get out of your favorite apartment or house, get in the car and go beyond the horizon, it is critically important to temper a romantic mood that can lead to mistakes, some of which can become incorrigible. When civilization is left behind, skyscrapers are replaced by one-storey houses, spread out from each other at an impressive distance, you can rely solely on yourself.
Every year on the roads of the United States and other developed countries, countless people die who do not think that the next trip will be the final chord of their cloudless life. And what is remarkable is that not all accidents and disappearances can be explained by logical conclusions, because of which a whole department with cases has been formed in the archives of the police, the last pages of which end with three dots. Dark night roads leading to nowhere, overgrown with hundreds, thousands of legends, which simply could not but use the filmmakers looking for extraordinary ideas to create high-quality horror. Almost every road drama deserves to become the basis for an intense film, but it is not possible to reshoot all the intriguing stories bestowed by life and supplemented by the irrepressible imagination of the writers in the near future. And this is definitely a positive point, since the screens for the most part get the most interesting, blood-cold stories that can please both connoisseurs of the genre and ordinary viewers who want to tickle their nerves. Consisting of several novels, the almanac “The Way to the South” collected 5 separate stories with a common denominator – a remote desert road that pulls out the most terrifying nightmares of careless travelers and brings them to life.
Prologue. Escape
Through the veil of impenetrable night, a lonely car rushes along the highway. Two men, smeared in blood, clearly do not want to slow down, because they understand that just one minute of delay can cost them their lives. Looking around, they are desperately trying to grab the eyes of demonic pursuers following the car for more than an hour and seemingly fate gives them a chance to break away from the nightmare, allowing them to get to the nearby diner by the morning with indifferently eating breakfast locals. It seems that all the worst is over, but the chase from the underworld does not end with the rays of the sun. The boys have to resume a race whose price is life itself. But getting out of the way of the uncharted south is not so easy. Once in the enchanted circle, the heroes sooner or later will have to face the pursuers face to face and only Providence knows what trials they will have to endure.
The first story. The long road to the scene
The first rays of the sun gave hope for a better day not only to two guys desperately escaping from the past, but also awakened a trio of girls from hibernation who stayed in one of the roadside hotels on the way to a concert, where they should act as guest performers. In a hurry packing and returning to the favorite retro van, the girls did not expect that after a couple of kilometers of the way they will have to stop on the side of the road because of a broken wheel. Without at least one guy in the company who would take care of the spare, the beauties were forced to wait for random fellow travelers to ask for help. And they didn't have to wait long! Already an elderly couple, returning home from the big city to their secluded mansion, invites the girls to spend the night in comfortable conditions, and in the morning to help them repair the van. Having no better options, the heroines agree, thereby giving rise to disturbing events with a frankly frightening bias. Having fallen under the care of overly conservative and suspiciously courteous guardians, the girls gradually adopt their lifestyle. And only the leader of the group is not going to adapt to the rules of the “saviors”, trying to get out of the monastery, which may become her last refuge.
History two. Home, to your wife
Late at night, returning home from a business trip, Lucas usually brightened up the long journey with conversations with his wife on the mobile phone, but this night he will definitely never forget. Just for a fraction of a second distracted from the path, the hero at all speed knocks down a girl who ran directly into the middle of the road, from which she flies aside for a good few meters. Being in shock from what happened, Lucas nevertheless finds strength and turns to the rescue service. However, even now the problems of the hero do not end: the operator is not able to figure out exactly where Lucas’ car is and how to get to it. Thus, he will have to take responsibility for the life of the girl on himself and follow the telephone instructions to fight for the salvation of the unfortunate. But how difficult it is to do when expensive leads you to a ghost town, where around every corner lurks a frightening unknown.
History three. Looking for a sister
A seedy bar in one unremarkable southern town every evening gathers in its walls tired working people, lost the meaning of life of local residents and other lost souls who want to pass away a couple of hours before going to bed for a glass of frothy beer. This evening, like all the previous ones, promised no accident to the regulars, and yet they came along with a distraught bearded Danny looking for his long-lost sister. Waving a gun and spreading threats, the uninvited guest still gets his way and finds out where to look for native blood. But how do you know if the fugitive will want to return, because over the years she could have changed beyond recognition?
Epilogue. The circle is closed
A happy family of ordinary Americans, represented by their father, mother and young daughter, travels in a private car to the southern edges. Deciding to stay for a while in a rented house, the heroes are going to get to a nearby restaurant to have a festive dinner, but their plans are not destined to come true. Mysterious silhouettes in frightening masks take the house under siege and are clearly not going to delay with the bloody denouement of the frightening carnival. Unable to contact police or neighbors, the heroes have no choice but to find out what their tormentors need. And what they find out, they certainly won't like.
The Almanac “The Way to the South” is a chain of stories indirectly related to each other and closed in a single circle. Do not expect a detailed explanation of what is happening from the film, because here the ball is ruled by inefficiency, which does not require unnecessary explanations from the authors. Each viewer should independently determine his attitude to what he saw, building a logical chain and making the necessary conclusions. “The Way to the South” risks becoming misunderstood, confused and even meaningless, but it can not take away the enticing mystery that keeps the screen right until the end of the latest story.
'This film carries a big message, which is that what we have done in the past will not go away, no matter how hard we try and no matter what we do, the sins of the past will always be with us. And sooner or later you will have to pay for what you did. #39
I'm not a big fan of road stories, stories about highways and cities in the desert, I'm neutral. Today I came across a film that contains four different stories that happened on the road to the south:
The first story sets the rhythm for the whole film; two guys rush home, running away from their problems that happened to them last night, but they don’t tell us exactly what kind of troubles they faced, but clearly something strange is happening to them on the way home. With this story, the film begins and ends with the denouement itself, or rather, we learn what happened that night.
In the second story, we meet three cute jazz girls who go to give a concert, but a car breakdown forces them to get in the car to strangers, which should not have been done.
Next up is the third story that I liked the most. A man goes home to his beloved wife, distracted from the road, he ... I won’t spoil it, a really intense short thriller, if I may put it that way, and it made me cry.
The fourth story did not interest me at all, I wanted to finish the viewing faster. I thought she was crazy. The strangest thing about it was the ending, which defies any logic.
The cool thing about the film is that the stories themselves flow smoothly from one to another, there are no boring moments, except for the last story, although maybe someone will like it. I can recommend this picture to fans of horror 80s, as well as everyone who loves road stories.
This picture does not apply to simply template representatives of the horror genre, which do not carry any semantic load. This tape carries a big message, which is that what we have done in the past will not escape, no matter how hard we try, and that we do not do the sins of the past will always be with us. Sooner or later you will have to pay for what you do.
The directors of this film showed this against the background of several road stories in which the heroes of each of them pay bills for their past misdeeds. The heroes of the tape will inevitably catch up with something dark, terrible and sinister. Retribution and retribution for sins committed. No escape, no escape. Everything has to be paid for in this life as the main conclusion of the picture.
The tape, as I thought, was not made smoothly. Road stories, although united by one common mystery, look rough, in terms of presentation of material. This creates an imbalance, the contrast will be obvious. Some stories are weaker, some are stronger. One that stood out, which for me was the strongest and hardest, is the story of a lonely driver who hit a young girl in the middle of a night and desert road.
All the actors played their parts at a good level, even more strongly written script and worries for the characters of the picture would be an order of magnitude more, but what is quite enough for a full sense of fear and hopelessness for all the heroes of this horror.
Pressing music at the most eerie moments, a well-written atmosphere, a good choice of locations and very good special effects make the tape interesting, the stories themselves throw food for thought, because the picture is conceived and made in an interesting author’s key.
Many may think that there is absolutely no logic in the picture. But it is, the logical chain is clearly traceable, just almost lacking the integrity of the storyline in each of the stories. But what the viewer will see should be enough to understand the whole essence of what is happening. Smart film of the grassroots genre of cinema.
The team of masters of low-budget, but quite good horror films VHS (evil), trilogy of short films which gathered quite a lot of fans, decided to repurpose a little and create something not quite slasher, but more mystical, mysterious and psychological. It was not entirely clear, but quite interesting.
Again, a series of short films, connected by a common conceptual storyline, which, as it were, sum up in the finale a certain line and the general idea of a road movie. The series itself is quite shy and almost all with open finals. At first, the impression is completely vague and even rather negative, but in the process of rethinking, a certain pleasant aftertaste is created, although memories of what is happening are quite smeared. However, some particularly schizophrenic or bloody shots are quite imprinted on the mind and periodically surface, causing some gloomy brooding.
The movie is completely on the amateur and it is quite difficult to find an analogue of what is happening. I had associations with something sometimes Lynchian in atmosphere and with old American mystic horror shorts, a la according to King's stories.
If the second part comes out, I’ll watch it.
The authors of this tape unfortunately decided to play the game of the now known subgenre - an almanac of several stories. There is nothing wrong with this, but once the directors understood that with such a structure, the film is corny broken into weak and strong mini-stories.
So it happened with "The Way to the South", in principle, each mini-story is interesting in its own way, but when this range is reduced to a general impression - they are unfortunately far from delight. It all begins with some escape of two not the most criminally clean guys, they wander into some unknown space and they are pursued by flying skeletons.
Then three girls from some amateur music group fall into the hands of Satanists, then a smooth transition to another story, where a man knocks down one of the heroines of the previous plot and takes her to the hospital. Creatively, this story would get the best assessment, and the intense spectacle, and the atmosphere of the scenes there.
Well, of course, there are still continuations of other stories, but in the end, the film is devoid of any logical chain and it can be evaluated only on the principle of “I didn’t understand anything, but it was cool.” If you are confused by this approach to viewing - then you should skip "The Way to the South" and do not dwell on the reviews of film critics. Fortunately, this film was not made in the style of mocumentary, because otherwise it would have been a losing option. It's just for a one-time view.
'The Way to the South' is the case when there is something to praise and criticize.
We were already in a world where people paid for their sins, but the best Japanese artists, designers and composers worked on the design of that world. All we have this time is a companion voice from the radio, which should take us far and long, without answering a number of questions, and hoping that this is all it takes to create an original horror thriller.
You don’t have to look at the list of writers of the script to understand that different people worked on it. Although the stories share a common logic, some of them create a strong contrast to each other, disrupt the overall integrity, complicating perception. Weak characters also contribute to this. And it's not about actors. They play their modest roles with dignity - but the script prescribes them not strongly enough, and therefore, it is difficult for the viewer to put himself in the place of the heroes in most cases. The only exception is a lone driver from the 3rd story (perhaps the best episode), as if accidentally found himself in this orgy.
The atmosphere rests only on psychology, mystery and closed history. On the one hand, we get something new and original, and on the other - 'The Way to the South' very much loses in this aspect and a number of others ' Silent Hill' (both the film and the original world as a whole). And this comparison will come to the mind of a certain part of the audience.
Surprisingly, starting the viewing, and not interrupting it after 25 minutes, really want to see the picture. There is psychology, a worthy soundtrack, a local mystery, which, unfortunately, boils down to a banal loop, but at least saving this last episode.
Best in the genre 'The Way to the South' Loses. It's a matter of taste. Fans of surrealism, if they do not constantly note the almost absent design, may be satisfied. And in general against the background of the commercialization of Western horror 'The Way to the South' may even please with its small budget and author's approach.
Seeing the trailer for the film 'The Way to the South', I immediately wanted to see this film. He reminded me of the recently watched tape "Eyes of the Star". The film received critical acclaim on Rotten Tomatoes, which is very much not suitable for horror films. They usually get 10-40% positive reviews. And here is as much as 70%, but the public will not be delighted with the film, like me. The film was given a score of 6.1 out of 10 on "IMDB", which made me very upset. This is exactly the same as with "Eyes of the Star". People are simply not ready to watch this. I hope the film will be appreciated on this website because it deserves it.
Remember the poorly rated collections of the short meter "Evil", they perfectly conveyed the atmosphere of the VHS era. Most people did not like this concept. There were few moments, and stories could either impress or disappoint, which was the case in my case. Many stories deserved to be in the movie, but there are exceptions that simply couldn’t be watched.
For example, The ABC of Death has the worst shorts I’ve ever seen: they’re dumb, meaningless, stupid and boring. The exception was a plasticine toilet story called T is for Toulet. Cartoon history could not pull the film. Okay. Let’s finish with other movies.
Now about "Southern Way":
Anthology of intertwined stories for different tastes. The following stories will be presented to your attention:
Exit
Road. A car with two guys in it. They're heading south. They're running away from some problem. We are not brought up to date, but immediately confronted with terrible consequences. History itself repeats itself twice. At the beginning of the film, and at the end. A story in the spirit of Home Invasion. Impressed, but not surprised.
"Siren"
Road again. A car with three girls on their way to a concert. The breakdown of the car forces them to ride to strangers. I was most impressed by this story. I liked the play of the actors, and the denouement was quite expected, but cool. We move from one story to another.
"Accident"
Same road again. A man goes home to his beloved wife, and a lot of strange and frightening things happen to him throughout the story. But it wasn't without stupidity. I won’t spoil it because the second story is closely related to the third. After a series of actions, we are again transferred to completely different characters.
"Escape"
This story did not impress at all with its content, and I wanted to stop watching it. I'm not going to talk about it, just look at it.
Logically, the film ended with the first story, but for me, the 3rd story was just not necessary. The rest of the narratives were more able to convey the atmosphere of the 80s.
In conclusion, I want to say: Yes, I love these movies!
Going to the viewing, I was rather skeptical, because the directors who shot short films for the video almanac "VHS" put a hand in creating the film. Given the fact that the trilogy made a lot of noise, of which negative reviews were much more, it was quite risky to expect something really high-quality and fresh. As a result, against all odds, Southbound can now lead an army of short horror collections, leaving far behind the damp dilogy The ABCs of Death.
The main character of the film is the road. It is on it that the stories are closely intertwined into a whole story, and so masterfully that it will not immediately be clear where the beginning of a new short is.
The Way Out
The rhythm of the whole film is set by a short meter from the directorial team Radio Silence, who, by the way, completed the first part of "VHS" with a short film "10/31/98". Without any background, the viewer is immediately thrown into the epicenter of what is happening. On the way, a car rushes with two bloody guys who are pursued by mysterious creatures. A rather experimental beginning, fueling interest in other stories, eventually brings up a lot of questions to what is happening, almost without giving answers.
Siren
The story of a rock band of three girls who have a van on their way to a concert. Forced to accept help from an elderly couple, they find themselves in another rather strange situation. As you can guess, the house in which they will be brought, does not bode well for our heroines.
The Accident
The following story from director David Bruckner, who shot the short meter of Amateur Night for the first cassette of VHS, was the most powerful part of the collection. Once again on the road, the story switches to the driver, who rushes to his wife, but hits the girl and tries to fix the situation. Fortunately, greedy to bloody scenes of the viewer, what is happening turns out not in favor of the driver and everything only gets worse. The tension in this story is simply colossal, and the scene of the operation in an abandoned hospital looks hyperrealistic and the unprepared viewer will cause shock.
Jailbreak
If up to this point the whole film was imbued with the spirit of classic horror, then with the beginning of this story "Southbound" completely goes into the deep wilds of the old school. A man breaks into a bar with a shotgun in search of his missing sister. Visited bars, which, not to say, quite people, let him know that the missing person is in a certain city, which, not to say, is a city, rather a place between reality and hell. Everything would be fine, but after a stunning previous story, this one looks at the level weaker, but nevertheless curious.
The Way In
The final story from Radio Silence about a family going on vacation in a country house for the last weekend, before the daughter leaves for college. Everything will turn the moment someone knocks on the door and a short game of survival begins. The colors will thicken when the hell gets cramped and it breaks out. This short film puts everything in its place and closes the circle, creating a cyclical universe of the film.
In general spirit, "Southbound" is reminiscent of the horror of the 80s, the best works of John Carpenter and, of course, the pioneer of the genre "Creepshow" for pertinent humor and unpredictability. By the way, after the show in Toronto, the company The Orchard bought the rights to the film for release in 2016.