63
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100It's an allegory about the Vietnam war, a study of American character and a national propensity for violence. Southern Comfort is a masterpiece.
- 80The DissolveNoel MurrayThe DissolveNoel MurrayBeyond its genre roots and its deeper meanings, Southern Comfort is a well-honed study of characters and setting.
- 80EmpireIan NathanEmpireIan NathanA war film without the war but with some interesting observations nonetheless.
- 75Chicago ReaderChicago ReaderStripping these characters to their essences, Hill identifies a shared culture of hatred that unites a range of Americans.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertSouthern Comfort is a film of drum-tight professionalism. It is also, unfortunately, so committed to its allegorical vision that it never really comes alive as a story about people.
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineArguably writer-director Walter Hill's best film to date, Southern Comfort works both as a pure action film and as an extremely effective allegory of America's involvement in Vietnam.
- 75Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenSouthern Comfort is a thriller that twists one up in knots, whipping the audience up to a point where they may wish that director Walter Hill would just spring the damn gore already so as to relieve the tension he masterfully coils.
- 60Time OutTime OutStraight-line conflicts, low-light visuals: the film's basics, its strengths, and its critical Achilles' heel are all those of the classic American male action movie.
- 60CineVueCineVueThe latent wonder of Southern Comfort lies in Hill’s dangerously direction and a script that spits and curses like a troop of undomesticated delinquents.
- 40The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyThough the film was photographed on what appear to have been extremely difficult locations in Louisiana and Texas, it never once convinces you that it's anything but pretentious moviemaking.