By John Townsend
Found footage is, it seems, back at the forefront of horror with films such as Jed Shepherd’s Host and Deadstream from Vanessa and Jospeph Winter. And now we have The Outwaters, a film that is apparently so scary it’s being billed as the most terrifying movie of the year. So, is it the most terrifying movie of the year?
Well, no.
Four friends head into the Mojave Desert to shoot a music video and things get very weird, very quickly. And the experience is a similar one for the audience as after quite a laborious, often tedious opening half that establishes very little in the way of character depth – you’re supposed to just like these characters without knowing anything about them – the craziness kicks in with psychedelic episodes, bloody murders, Lovecraftian-esque tentacled things, and lots and lots of screaming. Only you can’t see what’s going on. The best you can hope for is a glimpse of something gruesome slightly out of focus as the narrative switches influences so frequently as to render the film incoherently unwatchable.
And, as with all bad found footage films, the camera is barely justified. The opening tedium does at least warrant its usage, adding credence to the setup. In the near hour of jumbled carnage that ensues, there’s just no reason for anyone to keep filming.
If you make to the grim finale, you’re treated to scenes that one presumes are supposed to shock, but one particular moment is almost comedic in its ludicrousness. In a rich period for horror, The Outwaters is some way short of being the scariest film of the year.
The Outwaters is out now in the US.
