The found-footage indie horror is a total winner – and one of the scariest movies of the last few years
When was the last time a horror movie really scared you? I don’t mean when one unsettled you a bit, or left you a little nervous. No, I mean when a scary movie left you squirming in your seat and hiding behind your hands out of pure fear. For me, it was last night, watching The Outwaters. Rarely has a genre flick gotten so under my skin as this – over the course of 104 brutal minutes, I was subjected to forms of terror I didn’t believe were possible thanks to some of the most horrific imagery and sound design of any horror movie of the last few years. In short: it’s a winner.
The feature debut of American director Robbie Banfitch, The Outwaters follows a group of friends on a trip to the Mojave Desert to film a music video, with director Robbie (Banfitch) filming their behind-the-scenes escapades. Once there, they find themselves haunted by mysterious sounds before a menacing force descends – and their descent into madness begins.
The Outwaters, like many found-footage films before it, is a film that relies more than anything upon its soundscape – and this is just one reason it’s worth seeking out in its limited cinema release. Most of its scariest scenes take place in the desert, in the dead of night, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, there isn’t always a lot to see. For many sequences, all we are able to see is whatever Robbie’s torch is pointed at – a tiny sliver of light in an otherwise entirely black screen. It’s a testament to Banfitch’s prowess as a director that this never becomes a problem. If anything, it serves only to elevate the terror, preying on the viewer’s innate fear of the unknown and the dark while scaring the hell out of them with only audio.
It’s impressive stuff, but what we do see is genuinely the stuff of nightmares. A stranger stood atop a hill, silhouetted against the late evening sky, holding only an axe. A pair of bloodied, naked legs ambling slowly towards the camera. A flashing light in the distance that suddenly turns hostile, its origin something we can only speculate upon. Other, more spoilery goings-on that I won’t get into here, because this is a film best experienced as I did: knowing absolutely nothing. But rest assured: this is not your average found-footage flick.
Before the onslaught of terror begins, however, we spend some time getting to know the characters – and if The Outwaters has one flaw, this is it. It’s not that this opening stretch is bad, far from it (it’s arguably essential for the back half of the film to work as well as it does), but it may leave some viewers a little impatient for things to get going. For others, however, it’ll be a nice way to settle in with our group. While character development is absolutely not the focus of the film, the main quartet of actors is good enough to give us their character’s general vibe, and in a film like this, that’s what matters most.
Banfitch is backed up by Scott Schamell, Michelle May and Angela Basolis, all of whom do a solid job with what they’re given – and given that they’re not the film’s primary concern, this is absolutely fine. But when the desert night eventually gives way to terror, they really shine, their screams echoing through the darkness and rattling around your skull, their uncertainty feeding our own fear. As characters they might not be able to do much, but as harbingers of horror they’re exceptional.
Like most films of its ilk, The Outwaters will not be for everyone. I’ve seen myself that, outside of certain horror circles, general reception has been mixed – and that’s okay! If every movie was made to please everyone, the world would be a horribly boring place to live. But it’s precisely because Robbie Banfitch and his crew wanted to try something different that we’ve been given a movie like this.
This feels like a real moment for independent horror. The underground side of the genre has been thriving for years now, but The Outwaters feels different somehow – it feels more like a landmark, like a proclamation of a new voice in horror who’ll go on to do tremendous things. I’m always reluctant to compare new movies to old ones, but The Outwaters feels in many ways like The Blair Witch Project for a new generation. There’s the same level of ingenuity, innovation and resourcefulness – the use of a microscopic budget (around $15k, in this instance) to create an instantly iconic piece of horror that wears its lack of money on its sleeve and instead finds incredibly creative ways to scare the hell out of its audience. I’m staggered it exists, and beyond grateful that it does.
If you’re a fan of the genre, then The Outwaters absolutely deserves your support. It features some of the most horrific imagery and sound design of any horror movie of the last few years that left me hiding behind my hands for huge stretches of its runtime. Its introductory segment quickly gives way to full-blown terror, endlessly unsettling and skin-crawlingly creepy, with images that’ll sear themselves into your brain and remain there until the day you die. I can't wait to see what Robbie Banfitch does next.
Now, if someone could make the prequel and epilogue short films available to watch in the UK, I’d be grateful!
The Outwaters is in cinemas now and on digital 8 May.
Images courtesy of Blue Finch Films. All rights reserved.