Could director Walter Hill’s Southern Comfort be one of the most underrated thrillers of the 80s?

Samantha takes a look back…

Southern Comfortmust be one of the most underrated of thrillers.

Uncomfortably tense and undeniably menacing, this film masterfully leaves us on edge from start to finish.

They can say whatever they want, but I dont want to hear another word about it.

Southern Comforthas also been compared toDeliverance, and even the filmstrailermakes this comparison.

Ask the average person you pass on the street and its likely they wont have even heard ofSouthern Comfort.

Weather is also sympathetic to the story.

Less, in this case, really is more.

The bayou has a distinctly ominous presence throughout the film.

Throw into the mix the local Cajun culture and you have something resembling culture shock.

It is significant that this occurs within the United States.

The National Guard troops come into contact with the Cajuns early on in the film.

But none of this really matters in the bayou.

In fact the National Guard is represented as something of a shambles.

Throughout the film panic amongst the troops continues to grow.

They see dead animals strung up in the woods (spoils from the hunters) and become increasingly unnerved.

Hardin and Spencer are the only survivors of the attacks and eventually make it to the road.

Its clear that they are, quite literally, not out of the woods and remain behind enemy lines.

The film reaches its tense climax in a backwoods Cajun town still stuck in the past.

Although they are out of the swamp, the oppressive presence of the bayou remains a strong force.

The townspeople are friendly to the pair, telling them to stay and drink.

In reality they have little choice but to do so, a fact which isnt lost on Hardin.

But Spencer is happy to relax.

These are the good Cajuns, he tells Hardin.

Culture shock is at its height here, as Hardins paranoia reaches its pinnacle.

His fears are realised when he is confronted by one of the Cajun hunters who shoots him.

Spencer comes to his rescue, and the two make a run for the military helicopter that appears overhead.

As it begins to land by the town, Spencer and Hardin stumble toward it.

But significantly, the film represents a clash of cultures.

Yes its a film about survival, but more than just individual survival, its about cultural survival.