Leofwine_draca While at first glance the plot might not seem to be anything special - just a rehash of the DELIVERANCE story with a little bit of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians thrown in, this is in fact a deeply engrossing and excellent thriller. I actually consider it to be a better film than DELIVERANCE, and it succeeds in every respect. A modern comparison to this film would be THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT albeit in a different genre, as both films contain a lost party of people being stalked ruthlessly by an unseen and disturbing presence in the woods.The tension remains taut from the word go in this film, and the suspense steadily increases until the final chilling frames. There is no escape, no surrender, no lovey-dovey stuff in this film, only death and isolation. It's also a lot more horrific than many so-called horror films of the time, which simply pale in comparison to this. The acting is uniformly excellent, with the actors (there are no actresses whatsoever) bringing depth to their initially cold and compassionless roles of soldiers. It's the fact that we care about the soldiers which makes the film really upsetting, and, dare I say it, frightening. The cold, wet setting is put across well as we watch the men trudge through muddy water and lurk in desolate clearings, every moment draining their vitality.The deaths, when they do come, are quick and shocking. They're also extremely varied, I mean we've got everything in this film: shooting, stabbing, hanging, you name it. One man is even caught in a jungle trap of which the Italians were so fond. There are plenty of disturbing moments, such as a bit where the corpses of the dead are discovered tied to a pole, having been dug up. Or when one soldier kills another after a bloodthirsty Cajun shouts "kill him!" in a total frenzy - there is something evil in his expression, the malice shows. The ending of the film promises an initial salvation, but there is something not quite right, and sure enough events explode into a final fight for life. The suspense isn't over until the final frame of the film which reveals as to whether the two survivors actually make it or not. Don't be put off by the fact this is labelled as an action film or a thriller, it's in reality a bone-scratching tale of desperation and inevitability. And of course, you just can't miss it. Sure, some bits are slow, but overall the film is totally brilliant.

videorama-759-859391 Of course, you might compare this film in many ways to Deliverance. Although this is a less better film, I'd opt to watch this instead. I love the performances in this film, especially Keith Carradine, who really struts his stuff, and I did like Powers Boothe, and we can't rule out Brion James, man of many faces, as a revenge driven shooter and yokel. Peter Coyote leads a training exercise, with his squad of U.S. marines (not the most likable sort), in the the murky swamps in the bayou, not the best place as you'll find out. When making the mistakes of stealing these yokel's canoes, begins a game of vengeance, where one by one the squad are picked off, where inevitably we have the two survivor factor. Some of the characters are so arrogant (esp. Fred Ward) where quite frankly, I was glad to see the back of some of them. The movie actually becomes better the more it progresses, resulting in some real tasty entertainment. The thrills are in wondering how the next soldier is gonna get it, or how the squad intend to outsmart them, with the next plan of strategy. Southern Comfort is quite violent too, amid exploding brains and matter, or watch a pig get gutted. I loved the music scores in this. It's last fifteen minutes is almost, as when the surviving two are in the company of a festival of town folk, it's quite eerie, as to tell which are good or bad. You don't know in this sea of yokels. Powers Boothe was quite a reason to watch this, as I do like that actor, but the others hold their own too. A very made film in the tradition of Deliverance. Enjoy.

george_the_jack What could have been a great story for a good thriller is ruined by the remarkably sub-par acting.Except from ''Harding'' the rest of the actors do seem like street actors or amateurs and this fact subsequently results in the role development of the film. Even Carradine is not good here.A shame really as the story and the idea behind it could have made a great movie.I wouldn't say I've spent my best 75 minutes of my life watching ''Southern Comfort''. Sorry to say.If you want to judge by yourselves, give this a shot but frankly don't expect too much.

Scott LeBrun Extremely well directed, atmospheric thriller from dependable veteran Walter Hill. It gets a lot of mileage from its forbidding environment: the Louisiana swamps, which are very hard to navigate for those that aren't locals. And it's into these swamps that a bunch of city slickers, a macho team of National Guardsmen, must flee when they make the mistake of antagonizing some Cajun hunters in the area.The Guardsmen soon realize that they're lost, and appropriate some canoes belonging to the hunters. What makes matters worse is when team member Stuckey (Lewis Smith) fires his blanks at the approaching Cajuns, who relentlessly pursue the Guardsmen and set up all matter of traps for them. Unfortunately, our protagonists don't just have the Cajuns to worry about when they start fighting among themselves.As can be expected, Hill does an expert job of assembling an incredible male ensemble, full of rock solid actors. Powers Boothe plays Hardin, the odd man out in the main group because he's from Texas and doesn't particularly care for "redneck" characters. He's also one of the few characters on hand who has more than half a brain in his head, as far too many of the group are clearly unbalanced, and the second in command, Casper (Les Lannom), just isn't that effective in the leadership position. Also starring are a charismatic Keith Carradine, an intense Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales of "The Onion Field", T.K. Carter of John Carpenter's "The Thing", Alan Autry ('In the Heat of the Night'), and Brion James ("Blade Runner") in a great role as a grizzled, one armed Cajun trapper.Ry Cooders' flavourful music is wonderful, and the tension is undeniable, especially in the final scenes where one thinks that Carradine and Boothe may have found sanctuary in a nearby community but Boothe worries that their adversaries haven't given up and may show up any second. The production design by John Vallone and cinematography by Andrew Laszlo are also well worth mentioning.Look for Sonny Landham ("48 Hrs.", "Predator") in a bit part near the end as one of the hunters.Eight out of 10.