Four friends take a trip to the Mojave desert to film a music video, with the plan to camp out for a few days. What they find is a terrifying cosmic descent into fear, madness and murder
When first approaching The Outwaters, as a fan of the found footage subgenre, I was excited. The early hype seemed to point towards something new and exciting for fans of the shaky cam scene. I was anticipating the usual fun, 80/90 minute romp regardless. What I witnessed was a totally different beast, a sensory overload that has propelled found footage from something of a comfort for me, to a nightmarish hellscape that has burrowed into my brain from that initial, disturbing watch.
A terrifying 911 call opens the movie, with unfathomable screams permeating the dark screen. We are introduced to a group of four friends. Brothers Robbie (director Robbie Banfitch) and Scott (Scott Schamell), and friends Michelle (Michelle May) and Angela (Angela Basolis). We are allowed the time to understand the relationships between the four, spending a near hour of the 110-minute runtime with the group dynamic. From the off, their interactions have a hazy, dreamlike quality. Michelle seems to be the main focus of the group, her music video recording being the reason for their doomed desert outing. This extended time with the characters allows us to get a feel for their interactions, and ultimately care about what their future holds. On their trip, Banfitch uses the camera extremely well, with some fantastic shots overlooking the vastness of the Mojave on the first night with well-placed silhouettes against the horizon. On the second day, where the use of sound starts to come to the fore as an ominous crashing, brushed off by one group member as thunder is heard repeatedly.
Then we come to the second night, and all hell breaks loose. Robbie spots an axe-wielding figure on the horizon and, as he turns away, appears to be struck on the head. We don’t know 100% what has happened, as all we hear are footsteps and a “thud”, but on his return to camp he states that his “head is raining”, so it is left to us to make up our own minds. From here on out, all bets are off as to what actually goes down. This is not the found footage we have become accustomed to over the past 10 or so years. The camera jolts, follows along the floor and appears to be upside down. While this is happening, our only source of light is what appears to be a pin-sized torchlight. Angela appears caked in blood, her voice distorted and panicking. Robbie appears to witness himself hacking at something (or someone) with an axe. Blood sokes the tents. It all adds to a confusing assault on the senses which never allows for a moment’s peace.
It is cosmic horror elevated to the max, a trip beyond the comprehension of our eyes and ears, pulling you down for more while you hope for some chink of light at the end of this unfathomable tunnel.
As we break into the next day, the crashing noise appears louder, and there is some ungodly creature screeching its way across the desert, with an almost uncanny noise (think the bear from Annihilation in terms of sound). Before long we are thrown back into the same nightmare fuel as before, and as Robbie appears to become more confused, afraid and mentally unhinged, it becomes even more difficult for us to follow the goings on. Characters appear in ever-confusing scenarios, added to flashes of light and sound, you could become overwhelmed by what you are witnessing, but that appears to be the intention.
For even the most hardened found footage fan, The Outwaters could prove to be a bit much. The lingering time spent with the characters is long but it’s necessary when you consider what is coming. Then once we reach the real meat of the horror, there could be a sense of frustration at what you are unable to see or comprehend. For my money, the whole experience works hand in hand – the slow build-up compliments the chaos. Add to this a brutally gruesome and blood-curdling ending, and Banfitch has crafted something unseen in this subgenre before, and it may be some time until we come close to such bold, horrific and downright unsettling filmmaking of this magnitude. It is cosmic horror elevated to the max, a trip beyond the comprehension of our eyes and ears, pulling you down for more while you hope for some chink of light at the end of this unfathomable tunnel.
When it hits I suggest there is only one of two ways to watch this. Ideally, in a cinema, where the sound design will be amplified to the max, and every horrific beat will land tenfold. Other than that, a good headset is the best home equivalent. Plug in, switch the lights off and let The Outwaters drag you straight to hell.
The Outwaters is in cinemas 7 April
