31 Days of Halloween 2017: Southbound

2016, Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath, Radio Silence -- download

"If this segment ends right here, I am out," is what I said as the first segment came to a close. We hoped this anthology series, that claimed to all the segments together, would get better. Many indie anthology series, an excuse for a bunch of horror directors to work together and put something out, show the passion (if not skill) these people have for their genre. They are always rough around the edges, but know where they are going. They are fun.

This was not fun.

This seemed to be made by a number of horror directors who saw other horror anthology series and assumed they could make one themselves. The segments are often pointless, with some good ideas, but never fully baked. Constructing a bloody scene well, does not necessarily means the scene is well done. There was one segment, set around a ritual in the desert, where we thought it could be improved by the arrival of Manos or at the least, Torgo.

And the tied together story? Well, if you ignore the radio announcer (do late night radio shows with creepy DJs even exist anymore?) going on about fate and whatnot, then the final story leads back to the first story that we were dumped into without much adieu. And that's it. Not really a tie, but a timeline. And the first segment still ended with... nothing, absolutely no fucking point. I really should have been out then.