South of Sanity

Last updated

South of Sanity
Directed byMathew Edwards
Kirk Watson
Written byMatthew Edwards
StarringMatthew Edwards
Kirk Watson
Distributed byPlue Entertainment Inc
Release date
  • 31 October 2012 (2012-10-31)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

South of Sanity is a 2012 British horror film directed, filmed, edited and produced by Kirk F. Watson and written and co-directed by Matthew Edwards, both of whom star in the film. [1] The film was released on 31 October 2012 and is the first full-length fictional film to have been shot in Antarctica. [2]

Contents

Plot

The film takes place in Antarctica, centering around a rescue team that was sent to the Routledge research station to investigate a research team's lack of communication with the outside world. Once there, the team discovers no survivors in the research station but finds a diary that describes the research team's last days. The diary goes over the research team's growing malcontent and paranoia as the team is picked off one by one by a mysterious killer. [3]

Cast

Development

Watson began working on the film while working for the British Antarctic Survey, seeing the film as a way to pass time and "hone his film-making". [2] Matt Edwards initially wrote the script as a short story, but chose to adapt it into a screenplay. [4] Fellow staff members made up the cast and crew, with Edwards and Watson both starring in the film. [2] The crew used a children's face painting kit for makeup and utilized food coloring and syrup for fake blood. [5]

Reception

Joseph Wade of Something Awful panned the film, writing, "South of Sanity is packed to the gills with every slasher cliché in the book, and it rarely uses any of them well". [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Texas Chain Saw Massacre</i> 1974 US slasher film directed by Tobe Hooper

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American slasher film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the hitchhiker, the proprietor, and Leatherface. The film follows a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old homestead. The film was marketed as being based on true events to attract a wider audience and to act as a subtle commentary on the era's political climate. Although the character of Leatherface and minor story details were inspired by the crimes of murderer Ed Gein, its plot is largely fictional. It is the first film of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise.

Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subgenre of psychological thriller, and often uses mystery elements and characters with unstable, unreliable, or disturbed psychological states to enhance the suspense, drama, action, and paranoia of the setting and plot and to provide an overall unpleasant, unsettling, or distressing atmosphere.

<i>The Grudge</i> 2004 supernatural horror film remake

The Grudge is a 2004 supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film Ju-On: The Grudge, it stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, KaDee Strickland, Clea DuVall, and Bill Pullman, and is the first installment in The Grudge film series, which is based on the Japanese Ju-On films. Takako Fuji, Yuya Ozeki, and Takashi Matsuyama portray the characters Kayako Saeki, Toshio Saeki, and Takeo Saeki from the original films. The plot is told through a nonlinear sequence of events and includes several intersecting subplots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lovecraftian horror</span> Subgenre of horror

Lovecraftian horror, sometimes used interchangeably with "cosmic horror", is a subgenre of horror fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is named after American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). His work emphasizes themes of cosmic dread, forbidden and dangerous knowledge, madness, non-human influences on humanity, religion and superstition, fate and inevitability, and the risks associated with scientific discoveries, which are now associated with Lovecraftian horror as a subgenre. The cosmic themes of Lovecraftian horror can also be found in other media, notably horror films, horror games and comics.

References to Wikipedia in popular culture have been widespread. Many parody Wikipedia's openness, with individuals vandalizing or modifying articles in nonconstructive ways. Others feature individuals using Wikipedia as a reference work, or positively comparing their intelligence to Wikipedia. In some cases, Wikipedia is not used as an encyclopedia at all, but instead serves more as a character trait or even as a game, such as Wikiracing. Wikipedia has also become culturally significant with many individuals seeing the presence of their own Wikipedia entry as a status symbol.

<i>The Blair Witch Project</i> 1999 horror film

The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. It is a fictional story of three student filmmakers—Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard—who hike into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland, in 1994 to film a documentary about a local legend known as the Blair Witch. The three disappear, but their equipment and footage are discovered a year later. The purportedly "recovered footage" is the film the viewer sees.

<i>Whale Wars</i> Television series

Whale Wars is a weekly American documentary-style reality television series that premiered on November 7, 2008 on the Animal Planet cable channel. The program followed Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, as he and the crew aboard their various vessels attempted to stop the killing of whales by Japanese vessels (whalers) off the coast of Antarctica.

<i>Lake Mungo</i> (film) 2008 Australian horror film

Lake Mungo is a 2008 Australian psychological horror film written and directed by Joel Anderson and starring Talia Zucker and Martin Sharpe. It employs mockumentary-style storytelling with found footage and docufiction elements, using actor "interviewees" to present the narrative of a family trying to come to terms with the drowning death of their daughter, and the potentially supernatural events they experience after it.

Feeders is a 1996 American low-budget science fiction horror film written and directed by John and Mark Polonia. Shot on video on a $500 budget, it became semi-popular among cult film enthusiasts for its extremely amateurish direction, acting, writing and special effects.

<i>The Siege of Pinchgut</i> 1959 film

The Siege of Pinchgut is a 1959 British thriller filmed on location in Sydney, Australia, and directed by Harry Watt. It was the last film produced by Ealing Studios, and was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival where it was nominated for the Golden Bear Award.

<i>The Bourne Legacy</i> (film) 2012 action film directed by Tony Gilroy

The Bourne Legacy is a 2012 American action-thriller film directed by Tony Gilroy, and is the fourth installment in the series of films adapted from the Jason Bourne novels originated by Robert Ludlum and continued by Eric Van Lustbader, being preceded by The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). The film centers on black ops agent Aaron Cross, an original character. In addition to Renner, the film stars Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton.

<i>Grave Encounters</i> 2011 Canadian found footage supernatural horror film

Grave Encounters is a 2011 Canadian found footage supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by the Vicious Brothers. It stars Sean Rogerson, Ashleigh Gryzko, Merwin Mondesir, Mackenzie Gray, and Juan Riedinger as the crew of a paranormal reality television program who lock themselves in a supposedly haunted psychiatric hospital in search of evidence of paranormal activity, as they shoot what ends up becoming their final episode.

That Certain Something is a 1941 Australian musical film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Megan Edwards and Thelma Grigg. The plot concerns an American film director who decides to make a musical in Australia. It was the last film directed by Badger, a noted silent era director.

<i>Las Vegas Bloodbath</i> 1989 American film

Las Vegas Bloodbath is a 1989 American slasher film written and directed by David Schwartz.

<i>Come Morning</i> (film) 2012 American film

Come Morning (2012) is a dramatic thriller written and directed by Derrick Sims, who also was the cinematographer. The independent film was shot near Kingsland, Arkansas in Cleveland County. Come Morning premiered October 21, 2012 at the Austin Film Festival.

Zombie Planet is a 2004 American horror film directed and written by George Bonilla. Frank Farhat stars as a zombie hunter in a post-apocalyptic world. The film also stars Christopher Rose, Matt Perry, Rebecca Minton, and Karl Gustav Lindstrom.

<i>Armistice</i> (film) 2013 film

Armistice is a 2013 supernatural psychological thriller film about one man's fight to preserve his humanity and sanity over years of terrible imprisonment. It was originally called Warhouse.

<i>Into the Dark</i> (TV series) 21st-century American horror anthology series

Into the Dark is an American horror anthology streaming television series produced for Hulu. The first season premiered on October 5, 2018, and consists of twelve feature-length episodes of television films. Into the Dark was renewed for a second season, which premiered on October 4, 2019, and also consists of twelve episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midwinter Day</span> Celebration of winter solstice in Antarctica

Midwinter Day, or Midwinter, is an annual celebration held across Antarctica on the day of the southern winter solstice. It is the continent's primary cultural holiday and, along with Antarctica Day, is one of two principal Antarctic holidays. It is a celebration for personnel overwintering at Antarctic research stations, although some people off the continent observe it as well.

References

  1. "Reel South Pole adventure for Kirk". Donside Piper and Herald. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Scot shoots first fictional feature in Antarctica". BBC News. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  3. "Le premier film tourné en Antarctique". Journal de Montreal. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  4. "How an Aviemore mountaineer fought off boredom on Antarctica mission ... by making a chilling horror movie". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  5. "First horror movie shot in Antarctica". Wired UK. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  6. Wade, Joseph (13 June 2013). "The Internship; V/H/S/2; The Iceman; Frances Ha; South of Sanity". somethingawful.com. Something Awful. Retrieved 15 July 2014.