Right off the bat, I need to state that The Outwaters won’t be to everyone’s taste. There is about a thirty-minute stretch of the film’s 110-ish-minute runtime that is probably best described as experimental. That chunk combined with the found footage aesthetic and the script’s reluctance to provide concrete answers makes for an atypical horror experience. That uncompromising attitude wields most of the film’s appeal, though. Clearly, producer/writer/director/star/DP/editor/sound designer/special effects creator Robbie Banfitch has a vision, but is it one you’ll appreciate?
The film begins with audio of a hysterical 911 call layered over still photos of our four leads that lets us know that they have all been missing for several years. The only evidence that remains is three video cards. That footage from a handheld camera is what we see onscreen. The story follows Robbie (Banfitch), his brother Scott (Scott Schamell), Ange (Angela Basolis), and Michelle (Michelle May) as they trek into the Mojave Desert to film a music video. Bizarre and unsettling events begin happening on their first night and soon the group will descend into an incomprehensible and inescapable realm of madness and terror.
The script for The Outwaters is mostly tight and purposeful. The video card conceit lends some rhythm to the piece and the opening fifty minutes allow us to get to know our characters. We get a sense of their shared history, and they are all likable, which makes what eventually happens land with greater impact. The two small earthquakes that occur in Los Angeles during the first act is a nice touch that foreshadows the coming upheaval of both the characters and conventional storytelling. Dialog is naturalistic and effectively conveys that what we are seeing is just the raw footage from the recovered cards.
Now, you’ll note I used the term “mostly” at the top of that last paragraph. That’s because that aforementioned experimental stretch wants to rely on our interpretation of unexplained lights, dimly lit glances, blood trails, and frantic whimpers more than any sort of typical storytelling to create unease. I would describe it as aggressively disorienting. Those viewers prone to motion sickness or with sensitivities to strobe effects may have issues with this section. I think there are enough clear and unencumbered shots interspersed throughout the sequence to maintain our attention, but just barely. It works in the sense that it puts us amid whatever it is that happens, but it’s exhausting in that it feels like an assault on the senses. What you want out of your cinema will likely be the deciding factor in whether it clicks for you.
Performances are believable and mesh well with the found footage conceit. May stood out for me as her character has the most flavor, with her grief and singing talents being focused upon during the film’s setup. I suppose Banfitch’s Robbie is the main character, though, as he is holding the camera for most of the duration. The back half of the film requires him to convey a profound mental unraveling mostly through unhinged ravings and traumatized gibberish. It’s a deceptively difficult undertaking but I think it works within the confines of the conceit.
The Outwaters’ camerawork delivers the desired realism of the found footage approach. It may even go too far, in that the footage from the experimental section is so jumbled and garbled that it makes for a difficult watch. Much of that section is characterized by blanketing darkness that is only penetrated by the tiny spotlight provided by Banfitch’s handheld camera. It borders on insufferable, but there’s no denying the atmosphere it conjures. Additionally, some of the imagery that we do see is quite striking. Outside of that sequence, Banfitch can capture the forbidding beauty of the Mojave. He’s able to convey an otherworldliness that dovetails perfectly with the plot. I also enjoy how he sets us up for the film’s shocking and grisly conclusion via the film’s construction and visual approach.
Though Banfitch uses quite a bit of restraint in deploying Salem Belladonna’s score, it is memorably unsettling. However, it also breaks the illusion to a certain extent in that it reminds us that we’re watching a movie. As nicely done as it is, I think I would’ve preferred no score at all. While we’re on the topic of music, I should also note that May’s songs that she sings within the film are beautiful and assist in building mood.
I fully expect Robbie Banfitch’s The Outwaters to divide audiences. With a purported $15,000 budget, the filmmaker can wring out an amazing amount of tension and exasperation with a ferocious commitment to subverting our expectations of found footage narratives. I do think that the film could be more effective if maybe ten to twelve minutes were shaved from the experimental section. The sequence would still be sufficiently long enough to pummel the audience in preparation for the gruesome final moments. It certainly makes an impression, though, and the film has stuck with me since my initial screening. Recommended for fans of The Blair Witch Project (obviously), The Descent, and The Endless. The Outwaters begins its limited theatrical engagement this week and will make its streaming debut on Screambox soon after.
Michael Cavender