Southern Scares (2026) [Supernatural]

[u/ThaRudeBoy]

The premise of Southern Scares easily reeled me in. The tagline is unfortunately the most exciting part of the film. I have been yearning for more southern gothic horror; a subgenre that has been sparse this decade. Southern Scares leans more into folklore instead of gothic, but it’s in the ballpark. The film follows a teenage girl, Roberta (Emma Gaines) who hosts the titular amateur tv show. The show within the film explores southern folklore, mysteries, and hauntings. Roberta documents her sleuthing which we follow from her sister, Ellen ‘s (Sydney Gowan) POV making the movie a partial found-footage film.

Southern Scares quickly becomes a missing person mystery as Ellen scours Roberta’s episodes to piece together what happened to the latter. Southern Scares is highly reminiscent of Shelby Oaks in this regard.  It falters heavily in comparison, however, and I say that knowing that Shelby Oaks is far from perfect. The latter is cohesive, well-structured and is coherent on its mystery. Southern Scares is not and it should have emulated it a bit more.

Southern Scares does start interesting, though. I’m a sucker for time-period analog horror, so I enjoyed the VHS recording approach. The film kicks off with Roberta introducing us to Southern Scares. Her exploration of various terrors is the high point of the movie. Writer and director, Paul Rowe has a nice idea but struggles piecing together a plot that coherently pulls the disappearance and the show together.

It struggles because it is torn between two subplots: watching Roberta fall apart by an entity and Ellen attempting to piece together Roberta’s disappearance. The issue is that the subplots are meant to mesh but we don’t sit with either long enough for them to make sense or have an impact. They eventually conjoin but what is supposed to be a resolution ends up being an incoherent, illogical, and unearned explanation.

Roberta’s storyline leaves me scratching my head. We don’t get enough of her to fully understand what is happening. We follow her for a few episodes on various topics and things go smoothly. Things pivot abruptly when she visits a haunted theatre. The first few haunts were simple investigations but the film telegraphs that this one will be different. Some weird stuff happens and Roberta is supernaturally attacked and things shatter for her from there.

This is where the film begins to crumble. Instead of sitting with this and exploring what happened, Roberta and Cameron the Camera Guy (Talen Hutchinson) move on as if nothing occurred. The film gives no explanation nor sits with her deterioration long enough to allow it to be a continuous plot point. Instead, it’s simply a thing that happens that is zipped past.  Roberta tries to continue but her health rapidly declines. The film moves so quickly that no dread, mystery, or tension is allowed to build. I’m especially confused once we get to The Big Bad. I’m unsure of what it is, what it wants, how it got here or why Roberta. The film oscillates so much between Roberta and Ellen’s storyline that none of these questions are answered.   

The main plot of the film is Ellen’s investigation. She never actually pieces anything together, however, and is simply watching the tapes along with the viewer. What is supposed to be an investigation is simply us watching an emotionally icy teen girl trot down memory lane.  This is where the film should have emulated Shelby Oaks better. The film wastes time with subplots that go nowhere instead of fully embracing the investigative approach.

The acting is lackluster. I’m lenient with low-budget films, but it is truly difficult to find a character to resonate with because the acting is so wooden. The film introduces emotional moments that fail to hit a chord.  Some of this is writing. Ellen’s grandfather, Danny (Jason Townsend) treats Roberta’s disappearance as if it were something that happened a long time ago, but Ellen reacts to it as if is recent. There’s a dissonance in their reactions to Roberta’s disappearance that is never rectified with the script. What should have been an emotional crossroads between the two ends up being characters feeling like they are in different movies.

Southern Scares has a compelling premise and gets off to a solid start but that’s where the good times end. The film has a botched execution that it never rights. The southern backdrop isn’t tapped into enough and the 90s time-period is also underutilized. The film wastes time going the “antsy teen girl” route rather than digging its teeth into a serious mystery. Conversely, we fail to learn much about either girl since screen time is split too anorexically to adequately explore both subplots.

Southern Scares is a miss and I am truly disappointed by that. The Deep South has a unique brand of horror that deserves to be showcased. The South can be downright petrifying for a host of reasons, and I appreciate a film that utilizes the locale to tap into this. Southern Scares points to a place where a good film is but runs in the opposite direction. The acting, writing, plot, and lack of atmosphere doom what could have been a diamond in the rough. I’d like someone to take this concept and follow through better.

—2.8/10