In the found footage style, there is a new horror film called THE OUTWATERS. It also has moments of pure body horror and is a total headf*ck. There's no way I can sit through the entire 100 minutes. While the majority of the repetitions are necessary and appropriate, there are a few that could have been eliminated for clarity's sake.
Of course, I also recognise that watching a screener at home isn't the same as the experience I'd get in a dim movie theatre. It's possible this could make for a truly terrifying, all-encompassing cinematic horror experience. The length of the film would not likely bother you as much. Maybe you'll feel trapped and want to run away, but that's the point.
Read on for more of our horror movie review, The Outwaters. Release date for the film is set for February 9, 2023.
An excellent foundation for a found-footage horror film.
The Outwaters follows the tried-and-true formula of the found footage genre, in which random memory cards are discovered and piece together an unscripted narrative. While the memory cards are eventually discovered in a desolate area of the Mojave Desert, the found footage itself begins much earlier.
The four friends in the found footage take a trip to the Mojave Desert to camp out and shoot a music video for one of them. She's a singer who could benefit greatly from an online music video. In addition, I'd like to comment on how enjoyable the music is (it was composed by Salem Belladonna).
The song that played during the closing credits ("Red Hands" by Lauren Jacquish) was giving me major feels.
Once nightfall arrives, the story's horrors accelerate. At this point, things start to get incredibly bizarre, extremely quickly. They have bigger problems than dealing with strange noises and lights on this trip.
At the end of The Outwaters, the people in the found footage and the audience are taken on a twisted journey filled with unrelenting terror whose source is never fully revealed.
Robbie Banfitch (who also served as the film's writer, director, and cinematographer) stars alongside Angela Basolis, Michelle May, Scott Schamell, and Leslie Ann Banfitch in The Outwaters. All of the performers give outstanding performances, just as expected from their roles. It gets progressively crazier, so props to everyone involved.
The origins of the found footage genre are revisited.
In many respects, The Outwaters harkens back to the pioneering days of the found footage genre. An opening sequence reveals that some memory cards have been discovered, followed by numerous snippets of footage building up to the story, which is a full-on horror affair. This aspect even made me think of Cloverfield (2008).
Some have drawn parallels between this film and "The Blair Witch Project" and "Skinamarink." The first comparison, in terms of found footage, makes perfect sense to me (one scene even feels like an actual tribute), while the second is more compelling to me because of the atmosphere and the creep factor it evokes. In contrast to Skinamarink, I find The Outwaters to be more powerful and, yes, better.
To reiterate, I think The Outwaters drags on for too long. It was a hundred minutes long, but it flew by much faster than Skinamarink, which had the same official running time. Mostly because the story is more involved and we get to know the characters better this time around. Of course I could use some of that. Watching Skinamarink and then this new one led me to the same conclusion.
The extent to which this film adheres to the "found footage dogma" is debatable. It's unclear how the added sound (and music) ended up in these spliced-together clips on some memory cards. It's only because the protagonist is a filmmaker that we can get into the fact that he refuses to let go of the camera, no matter how out of control things go. I can get behind that!
The Outwaters is playing in theatres now and will soon be available on Screambox.
Robbie Banfitch both penned the script and directed The Outwaters. Like we said before, he not only directs the film but also stars in it. But it unquestionably does the job, so it was the best option. Robbie Banfitch isn't holding anything back, even when the gore and bare flesh of body horror become the focus. At all!
Personally, I found the laser-like focus of the flashlight a bit irritating. Yes, I do realise it's unsettling that we can only see a small portion of the screen at a time. Who in their right mind would think to bring a flashlight into the pitch-black desert at night?!
Once more, the shock value is high, but it eventually got on my nerves. Because of its length, I found it difficult to become invested in the film as a whole. It also has a lot going for it, so I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys found footage, body horror, or mindf*ck stories in general.
Our 2 out of 5 stars is probably too low. However, we don't offer partial star ratings. If we were to rate movies, this one would get a 212 out of 5.
The Found Footage Slasher THE OUTWATERS will be in theatres starting on February 9, 2023. After its run in theatres ends, you can watch it online only on Screambox.
Details
Robbie Banfitch (the writer and director)
Robbie Banfitch, Angela Basolis, Michelle May, Scott Schamell, Leslie Ann Banfitch.
Summary
Discovered in the depths of the Mojave Desert, the four missing campers' memories tell the tale of a fun-filled camping trip gone wrong. On one fateful evening, the four friends' lives are irrevocably altered when they are plunged into a realm of darkness that no human was ever meant to see.
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