The World of Movies: South of Sanity
Written by Rachael Crawley
The World of Movies is a series that explores global cinema, drawing on films from many countries, industries and eras. This week, we face our fears in the isolation of Antarctica.
South of Sanity.
May contain spoilers.
“But wait!” you exclaim when you see this article. “Antarctica doesn’t have a film scene. Only scientists live there!”
That is where you’re wrong, dear reader. It turns out that, especially during the winter months, the researchers and guides working in Antarctica tend to have a lot of downtime – and many of them work on creative projects. The Antarctic art movement is starting to gain attention, led by the voices of artists from several different nations. South of Sanity (Mathew Edwards/Kirk Watson, 2012) is technically funded by Britain. I count it as an Antarctic movie, purely to draw attention to this fascinating corner of the art world.
The movie is centered around a (fictional) British research station, where the crew have mysteriously disappeared. The only clue left is a diary. We flash back to “Day 1” of their final seven. Things are tense at the station – morale is low and the mission is falling apart. Faced with a long winter at the base, many of them are falling into despair. And then one of the crew is found frozen to death outside.
In the aftermath, blame is tossed around and suspicions grow. Existing arguments are exacerbated – it turns out having a lot of people confined in a small space together can foster a lot of conflict. During the man’s wake, we discover that something more sinister is at work. This base has a killer on the loose.
South of Sanity.
What follows is a classic slasher plot, as characters are killed off and the survivors try to stop it. Honestly – it’s pretty effective. Yes, this movie is basically no-budget, and its production values match. This isn’t necessarily a strike against the film. With what they have, the filmmakers manage to do a lot. They make great use of the setting, and really succeed at conveying the tight corners of the research station and the isolated Antarctic expanse. If nothing else, this can be quite a visually beautiful movie. When one considers that the cast and crew are generally non-professionals, working with only the resources on base, it’s pretty impressive.
South of Sanity does have its drawbacks, however. While the movie seeks to establish a mood of foreboding – and by and large does so – it tends to be a little on the slow side. The transitions between shots can get quite repetitive. The characters have some nice moments to themselves, but could have been a little more differentiated. I also found the sound to be a bit muffled, which sometimes made the scenes difficult to understand.
Is it a horror landmark? No, but it doesn’t try to be. The film leans into its creakier special effects and embraces its various cliches. (I should note it does get fairly gory, especially toward the end, so viewers should be aware of this.) It’s clear that everyone working on it had a grand time. A lot of effort and creativity went into this film, and that’s a draw in itself. As a campy horror film – and for its novelty as the first movie wholly made in Antarctica – it’s an experience worth checking out.
Rachael Crawley holds a Master's Degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, and has worked with film in Canada and in Europe. She adores language and cinema, and how these subjects interact with each other.