The Outwaters

I truly wish I could give this film a better rating. The premise is great, the blood effects are phenomenal, I just couldn't see much of anything! You rely on the small beam of light a character uses in the second half and all you can make out are eyes and faces! Don't believe the hype. This is a disappointing attempt at avant garde found footage filmmaking, that literally loses itself in the dark. Also, the dialogue and character interactions are incredibly jarring, it doesn't flow well in my opinion, and most of it is stiff and unnatural. The first 20 or so minutes will be the only coherent dialogue so brace yourself.

The Outwaters is a relatively ambitious but ultimately boring and self-indulgent Found Footage film. Despite the clear effort, and some truly excellent sequences- the majority of this film is very boring and lacks a clear direction. There is almost no characterization, very little plot, and very annoying sound design. Considering the circumstances around this movie (the budget, and the fact that this is basically a one man mission) - You can't help but be impressed at this ambitious mess at times. I hope that this director continues to improve, being a fellow New-Jerseyan, but I will never be re-visiting this one.

Terrible plot, bad camera work (especially since the main character is a cameraman), bad lighting. I felt like I was looking through a glory hole for 90 minutes.

This is what happens when someone tells you that you just need to get out there and shoot a film. You don't need money, actors, script, fx, or any of the other trapping that make up a films closing credits. Just run around, throw gallons of syrup on your feet, throw in an occasional wiener/boob visual (you know for those edgy scenes to make it legit adult horror) and presto; some people will show up.

The best part of this film was probably some of the sounds. Too bad film is a visual medium.

So I don't understand, was it just the same sequence over and over again? I have no idea. It seemed like it could be really scary but instead it felt like ground hog day of strange sounds and a couple images... did I miss something? Was my stream stuck on repeat or was it actually repeating the same footage over and over for 2 hours. Did anything change? Maybe I didn't really watch the entire movie, maybe I just think I did? I honestly have no idea what happened other than something with sounds and blood. Someone please explain so I know if I actually watched a movie or am I trapped in my own imaginary nightmare!!!! The only thing I understood was the beginning words on the screen and the end photos. Everything else was... I have no idea.

Before I start my review, let me state categorically that the editing is absolutely awful; what might have easily been a 90-minute (or less) feature has been stretched to nearly a 2-hour duration, for reasons I cannot comprehend.

Returning to the main course, as a follower of Found-Footage, I had high hopes for it, but it let me down big time. First and foremost, there is no visible urgency, and the incidents that take place have no clear explanation. Everything has been shrouded in vague, almost pretentious hallucinogenic images that makes little sense without context.

Yes, there's a lot of blood and elements of bodily mutilation, so gore fans may rejoice, but my point is, does having blood all over make it vile? That definitely makes for uneasy viewing, but does it truly intimidate? Especially in this day and age when people are so accustomed to seeing gore and brutality onscreen?

To summarise, it's a massive disappointment; it may placate a particular segment of the audience, and if you're one of them, I'm happy for you, but it didn't work for me at all! I admire the effort and ambition, but not the final product.

P. S. Terrific work with the Sound but alas! It had all gone to waste.