The Outwaters

A 911 call with screams in the background and an increasingly frustrated cop on the other end is a promising start to The Outwaters. Followed by names, photos and last seen dates of the protagonists. Their story is told through memory cards.

A hippyish band Michelle (Michelle May), Angela (Angela Basolis), Scott (Scott Schamell) and Robbie (Robbie Banfitch who wrote and directed) decide that the ideal location to record a video for their music is the wastes of the Mojave Desert, after a protracted introduction to the characters. It’s all good natured, strolling around the area, facing down donkeys and taking soundings preparing for the shoot.

Its’s not an idyll but the group are relaxed and shooting is going well. That is until it gets to night when there are what sound like explosions in the area and things lurking outside the tents. Taking a look out they see a figure in chiaroscuro with an axe. It’s a startling image and foretaste of what the desert has in store for them.

And the viewer too which is as gruelling but for not the same reasons. The protagonists are put through the bloody mangler with lashings of it on their collective bodies, ground and tents, with very little to give away what is going on, with for much of the time only a camera light piercing the dark.

This makes for a very frustrating watch worse after a dull opening period that introduces the main cast, when there should have been some element of release from that mundanity. But there isn’t and it soon becomes a chore watching this all unfold.

Robbie Banfitch has got a good idea here pitching the terror and utter confusion of the group at the audience to then get wrapped in it too.

The problem, and appreciating that this is a found footage film, is that filming technique obstructs the flow of the story. So, when one of the cast is chasing another across the desert, rightly the camera, is not the priority and is dangling so the viewer gets an upside-down image which may be authentic but annoying. Equally the use of the narrow beam light doesn’t add to the atmosphere or create tension, just exasperation. As such it’s 110 minute runtime feels very long indeed.

The Outwaters is in cinemas from 7 April and on digital 8 May 2023