Last year, it was Terrifier 2 that caused some viewers to have heart palpitations and vomit due to some particularly shocking and gruesome scenes. The hype allowed Damien Leone’s clown terror sequel to climb into the top ten at the national box office, grossing $10 million on a $250,000 budget.
And as our colleagues at FilmStarts report, if the first impressions of The Outwaters are to be believed, we won’t have to wait for Terrifier 3 to send moviegoers running out of theaters in search of a bucket. The film, directed by Robbie Banfiche, premiered at the New Jersey Film Festival in February 2022 and has since been featured in many genre film festival programs. But if he’s been getting a bit of buzz before, he’s the talk of the town today with his official film and streaming debut in the US.
The Outwaters was released in US theaters on February 9 before making its way to the streaming platform Screambox 17. The media is already hailing it as the best horror film since The Blair Witch Project. More than 25 years later, many have struggled with the “found footage” genre without ever matching Blair Witch. Could The Outwaters be the exception genre fans have been waiting for so many years?
Reactions speak volumes
In The Outwaters, three flash cards are found in the sunny Mojave Desert. The recorded images show a group of four people who came to shoot the video clip, the four hikers soon faced the horror. If the journey begins peacefully, then everything changes when the tranquility of the camps is disturbed by mysterious sounds, 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 that cost just $15,000 to make. In terms of word of mouth, the film may be as successful as Terrifier 2, even if not unanimously. In any case, the reactions of the viewers speak volumes, as you can see in the tweets below.
“I’m still processing The Outwaters. I don’t know if it worked for me. The sound made me so uncomfortably dizzy that I had to vomit from the theater. This has never happened to me. It’s more annoying than scary, if that makes sense.“
“I just watched this tonight. Having watched Skinamarink (The House) and The Outwaters in the last two nights, I’m happy to state that low-file slow-burn horror is excellent and scarier than 90% of their multi-million dollar competitors.“
“So listen, The Outwaters is a scary, scary movie, but when this shot happened, the audience literally went wild. Well done Robbie Banfitch. The scariest movie of the year just came out.“
“Outwaters is the first movie that has given me nightmares since I was a kid. I love when a movie resonates with me because I know others may interpret it differently… Has anyone else with a LGBTQ+ religious background seen it? May 2023 continue to be the year of experimental horror!“
Will the film spread more?
Is the film more in the cinema? Brandon Hill, the film’s American distributor, called for mobilization on Twitter:I’ve been getting a lot of requests for more The Outwaters shows. So, fellow horror fans, if you want to see what Dan Scully calls “the best found footage film since The Blair Witch Project,” please shout it down to your theaters, remake it, and make it happen!“
Over 71% of reviews of the feature film on Rotten Tomatoes are positive, and the specialist press hailed the “ambitious and effective found footage”, but at the same time warned: if you don’t like these films low-budget horror films that draw their suspense from moments when almost nothing It happens, you should think twice before watching The Outwaters. If you don’t like the “shaky cam” characteristic of found footage, you’ve been warned…
At the moment we still don’t 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:
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
