Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 1164
RT slug: 1019482-southern_comfort
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1019482-southern_comfort
Release year: —
Runtime: 106 mins
Wide release date: —
Limited release date: —
Festival premiere date: —
Streaming release date: 2018-12-20
Tomatometer final: 81%
Audience score final: 74%
Genres: Action, Mystery & Thriller
Directors: Walter Hill
Writers: Walter Hill
Producers: David Giler
MPAA rating: R
Executive Producers: —
Created: 2026-08-15 12:42:43
Updated: 2026-08-15 12:42:43
During the Vietnam War, a squad of National Guardsmen -- including Hardin (Powers Boothe), a no-nonsense Texan; Reece (Fred Ward), a hunter; and Spencer (Keith Carradine), a sensible private -- take part in a military training exercise in the swamps of Louisiana. After attempting to steal several canoes and firing blanks at a Cajun, the group members find themselves being hunted by the locals. Scared and unfamiliar with the territory, the men must scramble to escape.
—
Canonical reviews: 26
Canonical fresh: 21
Canonical rotten: 5
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 81%
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-08-15 11:16:51
Snapshot Tomatometer: 81%
Snapshot review count: 26
Snapshot fresh count: 21
Snapshot rotten count: 5
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #2799 (full_snapshot)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| Cinema Group Ventures | production |
| Phoenix Films (II) | production |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keith Carradine | Spencer |
| 2 | Powers Boothe | Hardin |
| 3 | Fred Ward | Reece |
| 4 | Franklyn Seales | Simms |
| 5 | T.K. Carter | Cribbs |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1180 | processed | — | 2026-08-15 12:42:43 | Processed successfully into movie_id=1164 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2799 | 2026-08-15 06:16:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-08-15 11:16:51 | 81% | 26 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 26 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=26, fresh=21, rotten=5, tomatometer=81%. Net new reviews added=26, fresh=21, rotten=5. Current canonical totals=26 reviews, 21 fresh, 5 rotten, tomatometer=81% (80.769%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (26). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (81%). |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 243412 | Sean Axmaker | Stream on Demand | Fresh | — | 2026-07-28T21:52:15.000Z | 2026-07-28 21:52:15 | [Walter] Hill doesn’t overplay the symbolism and he keeps the focus on the dynamics of undisciplined battle virgins tearing their unit apart from fear, arrogance, and a misplaced sense of vengeance. |
| 243413 | Matt Brunson | Film Frenzy | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2026-06-13T03:50:07.000Z | 2026-06-13 03:50:07 | A rousing popcorn flick, but one that's frequently marred — make that crippled — by titter-worthy dialogue. |
| 243414 | Richard Freedman | Newark Star-Ledger | Fresh | — | 2026-01-16T19:39:37.000Z | 2026-01-16 19:39:37 | It is a taut, occasionally gruesome, account of inadequate men in the grip of overwhelming panic against a background of awesome natural indifference to their plight. |
| 243415 | Michelle Kisner | The Movie Sleuth | Fresh | — | 2024-05-09T15:24:10.000Z | 2024-05-09 15:24:10 | Southern Comfort is about how a single weak link can bring down an entire operation and that even good people can be pressed to do terrible things when backed into a corner. |
| 243416 | Mitchell Beaupre | Paste Magazine | Fresh | 10/10 | 2023-09-29T22:38:43.000Z | 2023-09-29 22:38:43 | It’s a film which exemplifies Hill’s skills as an action director, with masterful cross-cutting to keep the tension at a fever pitch, slowly burning as the situation starts dire and somehow keeps getting worse. |
| 243417 | Rob Gonsalves | Rob's Movie Vault | Fresh | A | 2022-12-01T15:03:53.000Z | 2022-12-01 15:03:53 | Walter Hill stages some outstanding shoot-outs (as usual) and provides a compelling edge-of-your-seat coda. |
| 243418 | David Nusair | Reel Film Reviews | Rotten | 2/4 | 2022-06-18T22:01:54.000Z | 2022-06-18 22:01:54 | ...a slow-going endeavor that doesn’t, at the outset, contain too many elements worth wholeheartedly embracing or getting excited about... |
| 243419 | Mike Massie | Gone With The Twins | Fresh | 8/10 | 2020-09-07T09:42:43.000Z | 2020-09-07 09:42:43 | Panic and insanity soon overtake discipline and training; human minds aren't always prepared for war, even on a small scale. |
| 243420 | Larry Vitacco | Philadelphia Gay News | Rotten | 2/4 | 2020-05-27T19:32:29.000Z | 2020-05-27 19:32:29 | The multi-penned script loses much of its credibility because of the stupid antics of various characters. |
| 243421 | Diego Galán | El Pais (Spain) | Rotten | — | 2019-08-23T18:52:19.000Z | 2019-08-23 18:52:19 | The characters are robots, the enemies are bad clichés, and the violence is so obvious that it is hardly interesting. [Full Review in Spanish] |
| 243422 | John Beifuss | Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2014-09-04T10:13:28.000Z | 2014-09-04 10:13:28 | The notion of Vietnam as quagmire is literalized in this stunning 1981 action-suspense film. |
| 243423 | Noel Murray | The Dissolve | Fresh | 4/5 | 2014-07-07T07:36:27.000Z | 2014-07-07 07:36:27 | Beyond its genre roots and its deeper meanings, Southern Comfort is a well-honed study of characters and setting. |
| 243424 | Fernando F. Croce | CinePassion | Fresh | — | 2010-04-02T20:12:09.000Z | 2010-04-02 20:12:09 | Walter Hill gives machismo, and he takes it away |
| 243425 | Dennis Schwartz | Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews | Fresh | B | 2009-06-27T07:41:51.000Z | 2009-06-27 07:41:51 | Fails to deliver all that's promised. |
| 243426 | Chuck O'Leary | Fantastica Daily | Fresh | 5/5 | 2005-10-10T10:21:59.000Z | 2005-10-10 10:21:59 | 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. |
| 243427 | Scott Weinberg | eFilmCritic.com | Fresh | 4/5 | 2005-04-03T05:06:48.000Z | 2005-04-03 05:06:48 | Perfectly entertaining gung-ho war flick. Walter Hill knows his action. |
| 243428 | Philip Martin | Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | Rotten | 1/5 | 2004-12-26T15:36:48.000Z | 2004-12-26 15:36:48 | — |
| 243429 | Emanuel Levy | EmanuelLevy.Com | Fresh | 3/5 | 2004-11-23T09:04:09.000Z | 2004-11-23 09:04:09 | — |
| 243430 | Roger Ebert | Chicago Sun-Times | Fresh | 3/4 | 2004-10-23T22:40:41.000Z | 2004-10-23 22:40:41 | The strength of the movie is in its look, in its superb use of its locations, and in Hill's mastery of action sequences that could have been repetitive. |
| 243431 | Daniel M. Kimmel | Worcester Telegram & Gazette | Fresh | 3/5 | 2004-05-14T07:59:25.000Z | 2004-05-14 07:59:25 | — |
| 243432 | Frank Swietek | One Guy's Opinion | Fresh | 3/5 | 2004-04-15T13:06:38.000Z | 2004-04-15 13:06:38 | — |
| 243433 | Mary Ann Brussat | Spirituality & Practice | Rotten | 2/5 | 2004-03-27T09:43:02.000Z | 2004-03-27 09:43:02 | — |
| 243434 | Carol Cling | Las Vegas Review-Journal | Fresh | 3/5 | 2003-08-22T17:05:42.000Z | 2003-08-22 17:05:42 | — |
| 243435 | Brian Mckay | eFilmCritic.com | Fresh | 4/5 | 2003-03-19T15:10:56.000Z | 2003-03-19 15:10:56 | Goes down relatively smooth. Pour yourself a glass or three of its namesake, and enjoy! |
| 243436 | Christopher Null | Filmcritic.com | Fresh | 4/5 | 2003-03-09T08:56:06.000Z | 2003-03-09 08:56:06 | — |
| 243437 | Nicolas Lacroix | Showbizz.net | Fresh | 4/5 | 2002-11-16T09:49:14.000Z | 2002-11-16 09:49:14 | — |
Showing the latest 100 canonical reviews for this movie.