Outcast

I saw this film as part of the "Imagine" film festival 2011 in Amsterdam. The synopsis sounded promising, but the end result could have been much better, even with identical ingredients. Several story lines and related characters were not exploited fully, and the plot offered much more potential. There is also a plus side: the casting was very good, and the acting was believable throughout. For a film of this category, the latter is essential.

In the first half hour an overwhelming series of characters passes by, alas without proper introduction how they were related and what made them tick. The synopsis as published by the film festival, did not offer much to tie things together. And last but not least, the dialect did not help either (though considering myself reasonably fluent in English, part of the dialog escaped me).

The initial confusion disappeared later on. The story got some flesh gradually in the last hour, and something was beginning to happen. That was where the horror element became apparent. Unexplainable things occurred, but we were left in the dark what was underneath all those events. In other words, precisely what we came for.

I'm not sure about the explicit and uncontrolled violence throughout the story. For example, the audible breaking of someone's fingers one by one, in an attempt to extract information, is very unpleasant to watch and hear. We also saw a lot of self mutilation, with blood riddled results, but that was an inherent part of the story line, hence fitting its purpose. Nevertheless, I saw much more uncontrolled violence than I was prepared for, even in the context of this film festival.

All in all, when leaving the theater I gave a "so so" rating for the public prize competition. As said above, there were a lot of promising ingredients, but the end result was much less than could be achieved with a bit more thought on character exposition and story development.

What do you get if you cross the plot of Let The Right One In with the special effects of a budget Hulk movie, then set it all in Trainspotting territory, with a bunch of Irish Gypsy mumbo jumbo thrown in for good measure. Well, fairly obviously, you get low budget horror thriller Outcast.

Intense, witchy Mary and her teenage son Fergal (Kate Dickie and Niall Bruton) are on the run. But when they set fire to their van and accept a scummy council tenancy in a run-down scheme on the outskirts of Edinburgh, it appears that their days on the road are over. Big mistake, as mysterious, tattooed, radge hit-man Cathal (James Nesbitt) is hot on their heels, tracking them down using bizarre divining rituals involving pigeons' entrails. Well, it's hardly as if the reclusive pair are on Facebook.

But while Mary sets about weaving protective spells around their flat, Fergal is off getting to know his new neighbourhood, and in particular feisty 'teenager' Petronella (Hanna Stanbridge), who spends her days caring for her mentally disabled brother while her alcoholic mother lies sprawled on the sofa sleeping off the grog. But as a sudden, awkward and rather unlikely romance starts to blossom, Cal is closing in, having been given the go ahead by the local gypsy king or Laird (played, of course, by James Cosmo, as it is illegal to make a film in Scotland without offering him a part).

All sounds a bit strange. Well, it is, but it's also gory, gritty and weirdly compelling – although not always terribly convincing. Perhaps I just have trouble believing there's black magic taking place on my bus route. Or indeed that such cheesy, playground black magic could be so immediately effective – Rosemary's Baby this ain't.

But that aside, this is a brave film that's genuinely trying to do something different, and while the result is at times cheap and patchy, it's also like nothing you've seen before, a sort of dysfunctional Mike Leigh film for the Twilight generation.

Now where did I put my jar of blood and pile of dead birds? I'm off to cast a spell on a traffic warden…

See more of my reviews at www.elainemacintyre.net 8-)

It's difficult to know what movie-goers want sometimes. Do they want the usual product with its anodyne plot line, CGI and names you've heard of? Or do they want something different that might challenge their preconceptions of what a good movie is? Do they want to praise a film for trying to be a bit different even if not perfect or do they look for signs of weakness in anything they see, delighting in the opportunity to trash something?

Outcast has a lot of faults. The creature effects are a bit wobbly, it's slow in places and could do with tightening up, some of the acting is mediocre. And yet this does try to be different. It's horror mixed with social realism as some have already pointed out. It's visually striking and well photographed although shaky cam sometimes gets the better of it. Some of the acting is very good indeed – I was particularly impressed by the ferocity of both Kate Dickie and James Nesbitt and kudos to him for appearing in this low budget film yet not holding anything back.

The story will make you work and it will help if you have some concept of how myths and legends operate (and who doesn't, it's in our psyche). There is a resolution which makes perfect sense in the context of the story. It's not a fun movie and probably not a date movie! Outcast is a brave attempt to make something different. It has lots of faults but they are ones I am happy to forgive because of the efforts and obvious good intentions of all involved in making it.

Some people reviewing this film have been complaining everything from the script to the actual film itself but I wonder how many films they have seen that live to their high expectations? This lowbudget supernatural horror film was a big surprise for me because I never heard about it before nor have I met anyone who have seen it.

The story about demon hunter Cathal(James Nesbitt) using irish "Pikey" or traveller/gypsy magic in order to snare a demon beast is slightly different from similar stories in the same genre. The hunt is not as easy as its seems and some people have a hidden agenda....

Using very ordinary locations, in this case, a rundown apartment complex in Edinburgh poses it challenges. A type of location used in many other films like Fish Tank (2009), All or Nothing (2002), or A Taste of Honey (1961)etc.

How to make such usual, cliché ridden location into something more menacing, chilling, more resembling the Gothic horror environment in an old abandoned castle for example? Director Colm McCarthy has the answer by using very little lighting, editing and very sparse use of CGI, makeup etc he creates a most chilling atmosphere out of a normal housing project.

However, being a lowbudget means that whatever SFX is used is not as good as bigger budget movie but Colm McCarthy does a very good job with it.

Story itself is reminiscent of some of Clive Barkers films, such as Lord of Illusions (1995), Hellraiser (1987), Nightbreed (1990). Mix this with irish traveller/gypsy magic and that type of culture (watch Ian Palmers doc Knuckle)and add some HP Lovecraft, especially themes from The Dunwich Horror and you will get what Outcast (2010)is about.

The acting is very good, James Nesbitts obsessed demonhunter Cathal, Kate Dickies Mary who has done a lot great performances in films like Red Road (2006) now mostly famous from Game of Thrones is just excellent.

The new faces for me are Hanna Stanbridge, Niall Bruton who are very good playing two teenagers thrust into a problematic situation that none of them seem to understand.

So, future viewers that like supernatural horror films, and don't mind lowbudget flaws, watch this film with a different approach to witchcraft, demons and sorcery.

"Outcast" looked like one of the most anonymous and modest titles that were scheduled in this year's edition of the Brussels Festival of Fantastic Films, but I'm nevertheless very glad that I went to see it, as this was one of the most imaginative & courageously ambitious stories in a long time. The film is still quite flawed and lacks steadiness, but it's most definitely a welcome chance of pace from the nowadays overload of brainless slashers and tepid remakes. Strange as it may sound, "Outcast" is a fusion between fantasy horror and social drama. And it works, too! Imagine yourself an alliance between directors Ken Loach, with his typical proletariat setting and characters, and Mike Newell how he directed "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". The convoluted plot, courtesy of the brothers Tom and Colm McCarthy, hints at multiple themes and maintains a mysterious atmosphere throughout, but still unfolds as a coherent and surefooted horror story. Mary and her shy adolescent son Fergal carry a sinister secret with them. This secret forces them to continuously move between cities, because they're hunted down by a couple of warriors that use black magic to track them down. They end up in a lower class apartment block in Edinburgh, where the unworldly Feral promptly falls for the local foul-mouthed and feisty Petronella. Mary desperately tries to boycott the relationship, especially because she senses the hunters Cathal and Liam approaching, but the love is for real. Meanwhile, the family's aforementioned secret is spreading mayhem and terror in the grisly Edinburgh neighborhood. I know this is all very vague, but it would really be a shame to reveal too much about the widely versatile story. The script features Irish folklore elements as well as Scottish mythology, and everything wonderfully merges together with the grim and depressing setting. In fact, everything in this movie merges together well, even the hardcore gory massacres with the genuinely touching romance sub plot. The acting is great, with particularly the young Hanna Stanbridge excelling above the rest. She even makes the plebs Scottish accent sound like poetry; what a marvelous girl.