The Outwaters

First off I will say that I very much enjoy horror movies, be it action, found footage, si-fi, oldschool, etc. A good movie is a good movie, but this however is not. I have never written a review before for any movie but this one was so bad that I was compelled to. I paid for this movie and with about 30mins left I had to shut it off, it was just that bad. The plot was terrible, it made no sense whatsoever, there was nothing connecting me to a single character. The footage gave me a headache considering most of the movie is shot looking at a pinhole flashlight. I hate to say it but... garbage.

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.

You won't know what's going on. But not in a "over your head" artistic kind if way. More of a "not going to explain it because I don't know how" bad filmmaker kind of way.

The story is non-existent and won't ever be explained so don't hold your breath. And again, not explaining your story isn't artistic, it's lazy. High concepts are confusing. But confusion isn't high concept.

The acting is good and the poor cast shines early when the movie is setting up for its terrible 2nd and 3rd acts.

Look I'm an expert in found footage. I've seen them all. I love the genre and I can even find beauty and meaning in the Bad Ben series of films.

But THIS? Skip it. It's just a mish mash of gore and severely limited views. What an overrated mess. Omg.

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.

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.