Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Outwaters.
There is much that is purposely unclear about what is taking place within the increasingly nightmarish experience that is The Outwaters, as it thrives on the complete and utter terror of the unknown. Though there have already been some striking horror visions released this year that were similarly made on a shoestring budget, the journey that this film from writer-director Robbie Banfitch takes us on becomes a found footage descent into hell unlike anything else out there. Following a group of friends as they go into the Mojave Desert, it starts out slow before plunging us headfirst into a fantastical and frightful world that defies all logic. Time and place become a bit slippery as the characters are soon stranded in something that none of them seem to understand no matter how much they try to cling to reality.
They soon are made completely at the mercy of all that surrounds them. Just as the characters are losing their minds before our eyes, there is much that the film itself becomes fixated on that reveals some of what is playing out. In the midst of the macabre scenes that are imbued with surreal flourishes are indications of what it is that is taking place and what it is that it all means for those trapped in its orbit. In case it wasn’t already clear, this piece is going to delve into detail about the ending and spoil all of what befalls the characters. In the event that you haven’t yet seen the film, best bookmark this page and get on that now. If you have, join us as we dive headfirst into the darkness from which there is no turning back.
What Is 'The Outwaters' About?
As some brief background, the character at the center of this is Robbie. Played by Banfitch, he holds the camera for the majority of the film and is the one guiding us through the otherworldly bloodshed that consumes them. Accompanying him on the trip is his brother, Scott (Scott Schamell), who ventures out one night from his tent when hearing strange noises. Soon, we hear the screams of their friends Ange (Angela Basolis) and Michelle (Michelle May) as a shadowy figure is attacking them with a small ax. Much of this is hard to see as the only thing piercing through the darkness is a small light.
As a result, the majority of the storytelling in these moments comes from the sound design, which establishes something is going terribly wrong without a great idea of what exactly that is. It is more than just the sounds of killing, as there had also been something the characters heard echoing through the desert. Even after their suffering may have been ended with the sweet release of death in normal circumstances, it is a series of seemingly otherworldly distortions that begin to pull them through time and space into something more destructive than anything they could have ever imagined.
Death Was Only The Beginning
What is distinct about a work like The Outwaters is that, while much of what we are seeing is not grounded by reality, the fact that there is a literal camera capturing it unfolding means all the warping is actually happening. None of it is the product of a bad trip, the result of a bad dream, or any other such nonsense. The found footage component means that, no matter how strange it all gets, everything that we are seeing is indeed happening. As Robbie wanders through the desert, the video card shows that he is being transported without any control over it. He will observe his group from afar walking into the desert at the beginning of their journey, a vision of his distraught mother who we had briefly met earlier, and the mutilated remains of what is left of his friends towards the end. Much of this is punctuated by what seems to be a tunnel that he is being pulled through, resembling a process of being reborn over and over again. Robbie is trapped with no way to escape this and, as we are even invited to believe, it may have been him who was wielding the ax from the very beginning.
The motives beyond this remain murky as it could have been from being driven to madness or because he may have genuinely believed it was an act of mercy to break them free from the torment of this purgatory. This is further supported by the fact that when he encounters someone who appears to be Michelle who is covered in blood, she takes off running to get as far away from him as possible. It is as if she remembers that it was him that attacked her and all of her friends before. Like all of what Robbie does, this is a futile effort and won’t save her though she clings to it desperately. In a world where there is no sense of salvation to be found and what may be a tentacled creature of some kind can grab hold of you when you least expect it, it is hard to blame her for just trying to clear out. Alas, that is not a possibility.
A Grim Ending
As we see in the end, none of them are getting out of this predicament alive. When Robbie observes the severed heads of his friends, the loop has potentially been broken by their gruesome demise. As he then begins to mutilate himself, it feels like it is both his own attempt to join them while also carrying something deeper. Rather than just end his life, he inflicts pain that is unnecessary and feels more like he is trying to punish himself. It is as if he holds himself responsible for what happened. It is an ending whose meaning is that their doom was inevitable the moment they stepped foot in the desert. For all the ways the horror may have come at the hand of someone they once knew, it also is an experience that is humbling in revealing how much of the universe we can't ever fully comprehend. The wandering Robbie may have gotten a small glimpse of some of this, but any knowledge that he gained about the vast universe outside our own observable world required his annihilation as payment.
The Outwaters is available to stream now on Screambox.