Southern Comfort

Southern Comfort (1981)

  • 86% of critics liked it
    (14 reviews)

  • 73% of users liked it
    (5,293 ratings)

A handful of part time soldiers unwittingly turn a field exercise into a miniature war in this offbeat action drama from writer and director Walter Hill. A group of National Guard reservists are sent to Louisiana on a chilly weekend for war games exercises. None of these weekend warriors seem… More

R,
Directed By
Written By
Walter Hill, Michael Kane
Genres
Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense
In Theaters
Jan 1, 1981 Wide

Critic Reviews

  • Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

    Walter Hill gives machismo, and he takes it away

  • Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    Fails to deliver all that's promised.

  • Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily

    An atmospheric, tough-as-nails survival tale, and arguably Walter Hill's best movie overall. Well cast with a great Ry Cooder score. Packs a definite wallop.

  • Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

    Perfectly entertaining gung-ho war flick. Walter Hill knows his action.

  • Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com

    Goes down relatively smooth. Pour yourself a glass or three of its namesake, and enjoy!

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Tim S


    This movie is fucking entertaining as all get out. Just look at the line up in this movie: Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Carradine, these guys are all great in this trashier version of Deliverance. But instead of that plastic Reynolds and Voight facing rednecks, these guys are facing… More

  • David L


    A excellent paranoia thriller that takes place in a swamp in the Louisana where eight National Guard members who are on a routine reconnaissance excerise, unwillingly and intentionally start an exhausting battle of wills and survival with some Cajuns who know the swamps like if their… More

  • Stephen M


    On exercises in the swamps of Louisiana, some National Guardsmen provoke an indigenous Cajun trapper community and find themselves systematically hunted for sport. As Robert Aldrich's "Too Late the Hero" and John Boorman"s "Deliverance" covered somewhat… More

  • xGary X


    Atmospheric variation on the Deliverance theme involving a collection of arrogant gun-toting rednecks in uniform biting off more than they can chew in the lawless louisiana swamp. Could also be read as an allegory of the US involvement and subsequent defeat in Vietnam (if you are so… More

  • David S


    Another gritty action film from Hill (48 Hours, Last Man Standing) that pits a group of National Guard soldiers on a routine training exercise against some local Louisiana residents. Unlike the similar 'Deliverence' the soldiers are actually a group of assholes and the… More

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Cast

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