Horror in the High Desert 3: Firewatch

The most impressive thing to me about the Horror in the High Desert saga is the insane handle the creators have on the world building and lore. We've been blessed with the 3rd film in this series, Horror in the High Desert: Firewatch (2024) and I still don't understand what the hell is going on, but I am so fascinated and so spooked and so impossibly immersed in all of it. Horror in the High Desert really succeeds where a lot of found footage/faux documentary seem to struggle a bit, and that is giving you characters that don't appear to be the least bit fabricated. In fact, my own mom thought she was watching an actual true crime program before I broke the news to her.

While this film ends on a hell of a cliffhanger, it does make me more excited and continue to speculate where they might take this story next.

Unlike a lot of other fans of this franchise, I quite liked Horror In The High Desert 2. I loved the fast pace, the scares, the constant atmospheric tension. I loved the ending of the first one but got bored sick before the final fifteen minutes saved the film.

This one, IMO, combined the atmospheric tension of HITHD 2 with the boring documentary bits of HITHD 1. Plus lots of b-roll footage of desert.

I enjoyed that this film expanded upon the lore and introduced some new places that built upon the suspense surrounding the desert and the creatures.

Besides that, though, it lacked sufficient scares. I was neutral to the main character, I didn't like or dislike him one way or another. I wasn't able to connect with his backstory like I did with Minerva's.

I think this movie series would have been fun as a tv series. It's easy to forget what happened in the previous films and how each is connected because of how far apart the releases have been.

Overall, it wasn't a memorable addition to the franchise and felt more like filler. 5 stars for solid atmospheric tension, especially as it nears the end.

The way in which this series has transcended from a horror to thriller to mystery and back again while weaving its own distinct style, full of rich characters, has my full attention. I will be seated for every entry to come. I have just come from reddit where the theories on what is taking placing within the narrative are rampant and it's difficult to not rack my brain coming up with my own. The wait for this one to come out had people in a fervor, the kind of attention and following that money can't buy these days so I hope Merich and his team don't sell out to Hollywood execs and make the franchise paint-by-numbers schlock. Eagerly awaiting Part 4.

The story of this movie series keeps developing. I have to point out the new character-Oscar, since I saw myself in this character,his smiles,words and tones just lit me up. Also, I love the way how the director unveiled the core of this story, which made me keep track of every detail in this movie. Director aimed to make me feel unsettling in every creepy clip of the new footage in this third one as the first one did. The story from the night-shift conductor, which only shows a big pale moon in that scene, gave me goosebumps. Dutch Marich held the weird vibe and the suspense effectively til the end. Let us wait for the fourth one to come in the near future.

In a series that is quickly become one of the most unique found footage series (is it even found footage really? I believe it's "mockumentary" but that sounds like a comedy) this third installment is FANTASTIC! My absolute favorite thing about these movies is the way they take their time and slowly peel back layers as to whatever the heck is goin on out in the desert. We got some new information in this one that I won't leave here as a spoiler, but the tension I felt during the motorcycle scene and the ending of this one was off the charts! I want to know what the lady at the ranch found! Overall, this was my favorite of the series and I can't wait for the next!