Horror Film Outwaters Storyline Disappointing

The Outwaters begins with a 911 call in which an operator tries to get the caller’s attention who is screaming at the top of her lungs. There are noises behind her, but she is so frightened that she has lost her ability to speak. It’s a prologue that foreshadows very bad things to come. Then, for what seems like an eternity, almost nothing happens. Authorities gathered this found footage that introduces our victims. Robbie (Robbie Banfitch) is an L.A. filmmaker who takes singer Michelle (Michelle May) to the desert to film a music video. Scott (Scott Shamell), his brother, will accompany him, and Ange (Angela Basolis) will handle makeup and hair . That’s all there is to it. These four individuals are traveling to the middle of nowhere. They will die there. That’s not so much a spoiler as the tone the film creates. It all starts with desert sounds, an unusual number of bees, and what appear to be extreme weather risks. The Outwaters unleashes unimaginable horror shortly after Robbie puts his microphone into a hole in the ground and hears something unexplainable.  Screaming, grunting, and body parts hitting the ground combine to form the sound. There is a tiny little light revealing almost nothing, but what it does reveal is frightening. Flesh with blood. Teeth. Maybe something demented? Banfitch takes it a step further by gathering his people and then casting them into Hell. It creates a deeply unsettling experience in which we are supposed to feel distorted and afraid. This film is not for everyone and I wouldn’t watch it again, it was just a pointless horror movie. I found it confusing and weirdly scary; it didn’t really make sense and was basic/plain. Robby Banfitch is the director, cinematographer, and editor of The Outwaters, which adds an extra layer of urgency to the film by making it feel as if these people are playing changes on themselves. Rotten Tomatoes showed that people disliked it with the Tomatometer at 72% and I can say I almost agree. Yes it was scary but the story is vague and the way the horror builds and what it is doesn’t make sense to me. I disliked this film just because of the story line, not so much the actors or the cinematography. I would rate it a 4/10.