Movie Review: THE OUTWATERS

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: February 10th, 2023 / 02:48 AM

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Angela Basolis, Robbie Banfitch, Scott Schamell, Michelle May, Leslie Ann Banfitch
Writer: Robbie Banfitch
Director: Robbie Banfitch
Distributor: Cinedigm
Release Date: February 9, 2023

On the plus side, THE OUTWATERS is a celebration of the natural beauty of California’s deserts and hills. It has good cinematography by director/writer/actor Robbie Banfitch, and a solid folk-rock score.

THE OUTWATERS begins with a frantic 911 call that abruptly cuts off. Title cards tell us that Mojave Desert police found camera memory cards on February 22, 2022, of footage evidently recorded in 2017.

We then see the footage. Musician Scott (Scott Schamell), his videographer brother Robbie (filmmaker Banfitch), singer Michelle (Michelle August), and makeup artist/costume consultant Angela (Angela Basolis) are preparing to shoot a music video.

They have a happy reunion, record some tracks, then head out to their location, the Mojave Desert. Since none of them are native Californians, they are impressed with the lovely hills and winding stretches of highway on the way to their destination.

Robbie shoots lots of miscellaneous takes of his friends chatting and singing, and of the scenery. In the Mojave, the landscape is stark but still gorgeous. There are some strange noises that none of the characters ever think might be coming from nearby Edwards Air Force Base, and some peculiar slivers of light at night.

About fifty minutes in, something catastrophic happens. It’s never clear exactly what this is, but everyone is covered in blood, hysterical and trying to flee from a mostly unseen menace.

THE OUTWATERS suffers from some issues that plague a lot of found-footage films, such as the question of why the camera is being lugged along once the situation deteriorates (apart from the meta reason that the movie we’re watching requires it).

This particular scenario compounds the issue, as it seems that we’re meant to wonder if there’s a hallucinatory factor in the action. This cannot be the case if the police are watching the footage, which, per the opening titles, they’ve even tried to assemble in order.

There are a lot of other matters as well, including why it matters when the footage was shot or found, why one of the characters does certain things, or what overall is behind what we’re seeing.

But the really big problem here is that, in those first fifty minutes, we never get to know any of the characters. We learn that the women have a fondness for ‘60s/’70s clothing, and one of the brothers doesn’t have a good relationship with Mom. That’s not a lot to go on in that amount of time, and a sense of spontaneity doesn’t help us bond. When catastrophe strikes, we’re curious, but not scared or even concerned.

THE OUTWATERS is one of those movies that looks like the opportunity for production occurred before the screenplay was ready. We can respect it for being as well-made as it is, for knowing when to take advantage of serendipity in the environment, and (for those who care about this in horror) for its level of gore. It just doesn’t work well dramatically.

Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Like us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X

Latest Buzz

Movie Review: THE OUTWATERS

Eventually blood-soaked but never dynamic found footage

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: THE OUTWATERS

Related

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment

Assignment X Poll

Newsletter subscription status

Latest Buzz

Movie Review: THE OUTWATERS

Eventually blood-soaked but never dynamic found footage

Article Source: Assignment X Article: Movie Review: THE OUTWATERS

Related

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment

Assignment X Poll

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: THE OUTWATERS