If there was one movie in 2022 that turned the stomachs of diehard horror fans, it was “Terrifier 2.” With “The Outwaters”, the next generation seems assured…
Last year, it was Terrifier 2 that caused some viewers to faint and vomit due to particularly shocking and gory scenes. The buzz had then allowed the sequel to the clownish terror of Damien Leone to climb into the top 10 at the national box office, collecting 10 million dollars in revenue for a budget of 250,000 dollars.
And as our colleagues from FilmStarts report, if we are to believe the first echoes of The Outwaters, it won’t be necessary to wait for Terrifier 3 for moviegoers to flee cinemas in search of a bucket to throw up. The film, directed by Robbie Banfitch, celebrated its premiere in February 2022 at the New Jersey Film Festival and has since found its way onto the programs of numerous genre film festivals. But if until then he had made little noise, it is today that he is talking about him with his official film and streaming debut in the United States.
Released in US theaters on February 9 before making its way to streaming platform Screambox on the 17th, The Outwaters has been making waves ever since. The media is already hailing it as the best horror movie since The Blair Witch Project. For more than 25 years later, many have dabbled in the “Found footage” genre without ever matching Blair Witch yet. Could The Outwaters be the exception that fans of the genre have been waiting for for so many years?
THE REACTIONS SAY LOTS
In The Outwaters, three flashcards have been found in the sun-drenched Mojave Desert. The recorded images show a group of four people who came to shoot a video clip, four hikers soon faced with horror. If the trip begins peacefully, everything changes when the tranquility of the campers is disturbed by mysterious noises, vibrations and even animals with strange behavior…
In the tradition of Paranormal Activity and The House (2022), The Outwaters is a low-budget documentary-style psychological horror thriller, costing only $15,000. In terms of word of mouth, the film could at least be as successful as Terrifier 2, even if not unanimously. In any case, the reactions of the spectators speak volumes as you can see in the tweets below.
“I’m still digesting The Outwaters. I don’t know if it worked for me. The sound gave me such uncomfortable dizziness that I had to leave the theater to vomit. This had never happened to me before. It’s more disturbing than scary if that makes sense.”
“I just watched this tonight. Having watched Skinamarink (The House) and The Outwaters the past two nights, I’m happy to state my position that low-fi slow-burn horror is excellent and scarier than 90% of their multi-million dollar competitors.”
“So listen, The Outwaters is a scary fuckin’ movie but when THIS SHOT happened, the audience literally gasped. Good job Robbie Banfitch. The scariest movie of the year has just been released.”
“The Outwaters is the first movie to give me nightmares since childhood. I love when a movie touches me in a special way, knowing that others might interpret it differently… Anyone else LGBTQ+ with a religious background seen it? May 2023 continue to be the year of experimental horror!”
WILL THE FILM BE DISTRIBUTED MORE?
The film in more cinema? Brandon Hill, the American distributor of the film calls for mobilization on Tweeter: “I get tons of requests for more screenings of The Outwaters. So fellow horror fans, if you want to see what Dan Scully calls ‘the best found footage movie since the Blair Witch Project’ please shout it down to your cinemas below, retweet this and let’s make it happen !”
On Rotten Tomatoes, more than 71% of the reviews for the feature film are positive and the specialized press hailed the “ambitious and effective found footage film”, but at the same time issued a warning: if you don’t like these films low-budget horror movies that draw their suspense from moments when almost nothing is happening, you should think twice before watching The Outwaters. If you don’t like the “shaky camera” so typical of found footage, you have been warned…
For the moment, we do not yet know if the film will be released in France, fans of the genre can only hope.
In the meantime, (re)discover the Terrifier 2 trailer: