As I’m sure I’ve mentioned on more than one previous occasion, I’m not a fan of the “found footage” sub-genre of horror films. To be quite honest, I was never much of a fan of The Blair Witch Project, which is undoubtedly still considered to be the benchmark for “found footage” films, and the template which most subsequent “found footage” films seem to follow. Personally, I found the initial marketing approach of passing The Blair Witch Project off as “real” to be much more intriguing and frightening than the film itself.

So, when reviewing a “found footage” film, such as today’s review topic, I will admit that it’s sometimes hard for me to overcome the bias that I have towards these films. I generally go into the viewing with more than a little doubt, fully expecting to not be impressed by what I am about to witness. That said, when I made the decision to give writer/director Robbie Banfitch’s 2022 film The Outwaters a spin, I tried my damndest to push these preconceived notions to the side, and to just accept the movie for what it is.

Seriously, I really tried my damndest.

The Outwaters tells the tale of two brothers, Robbie (portrayed by Banfitch) and Scott (Scott Schamell), who travel out to the Mojave Desert in order to film a music video for their friend, Michelle (Michelle May), an aspiring folk-pop singer. (I use the term “folk-pop” as I truly don’t believe that Joni Mitchell or Mary Travers would have ever considered using Auto-tune.) Joining them on this trip is Angela (Angela Basolis), a friend (and, probably, lover) of Scott’s, who will be assisting with Michelle’s hair and make-up for the shoot.

The film spends an extended period of time (nearly an hour) establishing and developing its characters, as well as its primary setting, before things start going awry. However, there is some question as to just how important this approach is as the characters’ backstories and their individual personality traits play no real importance to the events which follow. Even then, I can say that I never really got to know these people. That’s probably for the best as I’m really only here to see bad things happen to them.

As with most “found footage” films, things start off rather peaceful and mundane. The group wander around the desert, which does provide us with some wonderfully shot footage of the environment and the various animals found living within. However, upon the group’s first night in the desert, they begin to hear unsettling sounds, the most prevalent of which is a loud, repetitive, booming sound. Robbie and Scott briefly search their campsite, but find nothing, leading them to attribute the sound to earthquakes which have been recently rattling parts of California. Convinced that there is nothing to worry about, the brothers return to their respective tents, but not before Robbie witnesses a bizarre strobing light in the distance.

The next day proves to be rather uneventful, and the group collects some footage for Michelle’s music video. Once nightfall returns, so do the strange sounds. Robbie leaves his tent to inspect, and is shocked to see a man holding an axe, silhouetted against the evening sky. He attempts to run away, but would appear to be attacked by the unknown assailant. I use the word “appear” as the viewer never actually sees what happens and is left to use their imagination to fill in the blanks. I would recommend getting used to this directional choice as there are many, many things happening throughout the film that you won’t get a very good look at. That is, if you even see anything at all. Granted, as this is a common technique used by the majority of “found footage” films, many viewers have become quite used to it. Too used to it, if you ask me. 

This is followed by the sounds of Michelle and Angela screaming, as well as a fair amount of footage of the desert floor, as Robbie seems to be running aimlessly. He could be searching for the women or he could be running for his life. Again, the viewer isn’t told, nor do we actually see enough for us to have a real clue. Whichever the case, the scene quickly shifts once more to morning, where we find a bloodied and naked Robbie emerging from a small gap between some rocks. His brother and friends appear to be missing. In their absence, strange snake-like creatures resembling the mouth tendrils of Tremors‘ Graboids have suddenly appeared.

From here, The Outwaters becomes a long series of sinister, gruesome, and seemingly hallucinatory experiences. This includes the appearance of another creature (which, surprise, we also never really get a good look at), the discovery of bloody tents and viscera, and the reappearance of our missing group members, all of whom are also blood-smeared, battered, and now acting anything but normal. There are also some bizarre sequences where starlike spots of light appear and move across a totally black screen or where it turns a liquidly red, much like the cover art for Metallica’s “Load” album. Again, all of this is open to the viewer’s individual interpretations.

The Outwaters does take a turn towards gore in its final act, particularly with a rather gruesome discovery, as well as acts of self-mutilation. At least one of these gore effects wasn’t handled all that effectively, in my opinion, while others felt like they were added on for the sole purpose of “shock value”. That said, I found it to be more confusing and forced than actually shocking or meaningful.

Unfortunately, that last sentence forms my overall opinion of The Outwaters. Confusing, convoluted, and essentially meaningless. All in all, the vast majority of the film (or at least the parts where anything of “importance” occurs) often feels like a collection of random scenes, lacking any real sense of direction or purpose. To quote Macbeth, “It’s all sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Now, I may be in the minority on this dissenting opinion as the film has received quite a few positive reviews. In fact, many of these reviews (or at least blurbs from said reviews) are prominently featured throughout the film’s trailer. Granted, many of the reviews come from smaller sites that I’ve admittedly never heard of, and which I’ll assume you probably haven’t either. (That’s not a “diss” against those sites. H&S is also a smaller site that most people have never heard of.) There are also a few positive reviews from larger sites that everyone has heard of, but we all know that those sites are sucking at the teats of distributors and streaming sites and get kickbacks and “promotional considerations” for lying to their readers. (Yeah, you can totally take that one as a “diss”.)

Reviewer’s Note: If any reviewer calls a “found footage” film a “dizzying experience”, just know that what that actually means is that you can expect the camera to be upside down or on its side for large portions of the film.

For me, part of The Outwaters failings come from falling into the same traps that many “found footage” films tend to stumble into. The Outwaters begins by offering up a “disclaimer” that what we are about to witness was put together from memory cards retrieved by law enforcement officials. To which I reply that it was awfully thoughtful of them to occasionally edit in music and sound effects. There’s also the ever-present fact that no matter what form of horror people are facing in “found footage” films, no one ever considers turning off the camera and just focusing on survival. Hell, they can barely focus on whatever they’re filming!

Overall, The Outwaters biggest flaw may be that at nearly 2 hours, the film is just too long for its own good. While it’s nice to have some character development, there’s really no need for half of the film to focus on this aspect when it ultimately plays little to no importance and generally makes the film feel like a slog to sit through. While the film would probably benefit from trimming 20-30 minutes off its runtime, it still wouldn’t help it make much sense.

I’m sure that someone out there will argue that my opinion of the film is unfounded and that maybe I just didn’t understand it, and that very well may be the case. As stated previously, The Outwaters does rely on the viewer using their imagination, and it is true that films shouldn’t spoon-feed explanations to the audience (although a few possible explanations are hinted at). However, if I wanted to use my imagination to justify the entire film, I could have just turned the film off and just thought of something more entertaining and sensical.

The Outwaters is currently available to watch on Screambox. A blu-ray release was just recently announced by Vinegar Syndrome (well, technically one of their partner labels), and is currently available to order on their site.