The film contains five stories set on desolate stretches of a desert highway. Two men on the run from their past, a band on its way to a gig, a man struggling to get home, a brother in search of his long-lost sister and a family on vacation are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets in these interwoven tales.

Southbound poster

Southbound (2015)

One way in, no way out.

★ 5.9/10 September 17, 2015 89 min

FantasyHorrorScience FictionThriller

Director: Patrick Horvath, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Justin Martinez, David Bruckner, Tyler Gillett, Roxanne Benjamin, Chad Villella  ·  Writers: Susan Burke, Dallas Richard Hallam, Patrick Horvath, David Bruckner

The film contains five stories set on desolate stretches of a desert highway. Two men on the run from their past, a band on its way to a gig, a man struggling to get home, a brother in search of his long-lost sister and a family on vacation are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets in these interwoven tales.

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Trailer

Director

Patrick Horvath Patrick Horvath Matt Bettinelli-Olpin Matt Bettinelli-Olpin Justin Martinez Justin Martinez David Bruckner David Bruckner Tyler Gillett Tyler Gillett Roxanne Benjamin Roxanne Benjamin Chad Villella Chad Villella

Cast

Fabianne Therese Fabianne Therese Sadie Larry Fessenden Larry Fessenden The D.J. Kate Beahan Kate Beahan Cait Zoe Cooper Zoe Cooper Dispatch Gerald Downey Gerald Downey Daryl Karla Droege Karla Droege EMT Dana Gould Dana Gould Raymond Kensington Hassie Harrison Hassie Harrison Jem Roxanne Benjamin Roxanne Benjamin Claire Nathalie Love Nathalie Love Kim Hannah Marks Hannah Marks Ava Tipper Newton Tipper Newton Jesse

User Reviews (5)

Bob
Bob April 1, 2016
★ 7/10

If you are looking for a good thriller, with minimal special effects that calls upon the skills of the filmmaker and cast to make you feel the moment, this is a must see. Southbound, created by the independent group radio silence take the genres of thriller and horror to a new level, intertwining five stories that will have you turning on the lights and questioning the sanity of the cast. All five sequences take place in a nondescript desert town and call upon one's own fear to set the scene. As the story progresses, you see how each story leads into the next with connections that are tangential yet produce the notion that the setting for the stories is the source of danger rather than individual and unique experiences of each player. To this effect, the filmmakers do a superb job of capturing the essence of fear as you follow the lives of the players from story to story as the flow one …

Gimly
Gimly September 13, 2016
★ 5/10

Modern Day Southern Gothic Highway-Based is a very specific theme for a Horror Anthology to tackle, and while none of the segments are bad, none of them stand out as particularly good either. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

Reno
Reno December 4, 2016
★ 6/10

**The neverending tale(s)!** Five tales, written and directed by four directors. It was a horror anthology that takes place in just one day and night. Firstly, this film was not bad as it looks. Each tale and its interlocking with one another was very nicely done. The layers are not arranged in a column or a row or a circle. It was just like what you see on the poster, a star. Especially one character from each tale, how they become a victim in another was the highlight. The genre mixing was so good, I mean it was not out and out a horror. Mystery, thriller, crime, all was put together and presented smartly on the screen, particularly the loop was very fascinating. I have seen some similar kind, but this one was slightly different from those and a better one in some way. Not all the tales were awesome, though there's nothing wrong with them. For every 15 minutes, it keeps developin…

Dr Nostromo
Dr Nostromo February 27, 2026
★ 8/10

75/100 An anthology of overlapping stories presented as a series of bizarre, supernatural events along a remote desert highway (presumed to represent purgatory) over a 24 hour period. This one plays out fairly well with excellent pacing and some very creepy stuff ...especially the creatures. I have no idea what these reaper-like things are supposed to represent but they were very cool! Fitting quite snuggly somewhere between "The Twilight Zone" and the "V/H/S" series, there was something quite primal and disturbing about this twisted experience. Nice ending, too! -- DrNostromo.com

Sierbahnn
Sierbahnn May 5, 2026
★ 6/10

I generally do not like anthology-movies, as some stories are always so much weaker than others, and even where they interweave or overlap they lack a narrative thread. This movie was a lot better in that regard, with no 'weak' story among them. They are all unsettling and weird, and not necessarily in the same way, which gives you more a sense of these being in the same world than they being just scary stories stacked on top of one another. It lacks some cohesion, and since the narratives are so abridged some stories lack a certain narrative flow, but they aren't bad, and I think you should watch this, if you think this is your thing.