Glasgow Film Festival 2023: Mister Organ

A documentary as laser-focused as its subject, drawing on themes of obsession and fear.

Synopsis: Journalist David Farrier (Tickled) is drawn into a game of cat and mouse with a mysterious individual. Delving deeper he unearths a trail of court cases, royal bloodlines and ruined lives, in this true story of psychological warfare.

David Farrier is no stranger to the weirder side of the world, whether in the notorious documentary Tickled or in various Dark Tourist adventures. As a result, you have to know that Mister Organ is about more than just a routine car clamping dispute. From a neighbourhood dispute about an antiques shop clamping cars a mysterious and sinister figure emerges – that of the titular Mister Organ. In Farrier’s own words, the nuances make this “exactly my kind of weird mess”.

The documentary is, ultimately, frustrating. Seemingly endless phone calls from Michael paint him as a tenacious, threatening, but primarily tedious figure – someone who has honed skills specifically to intimidate and bully. It is also frustrating if you are looking for answers as to how he arrived at this point. Farrier is clearly rattled by his behaviour and while this is understandable, it does feel like this somewhat stalls the investigative aspect of the documentary. Other talking heads appear, as well as Michael himself, but there is never a sense of insight into him. Part of this is down to a “hot and cold” filming process, in which Michael is sometimes on board and other times detached and evasive.

This does mean there is relatively little attention paid to the style of the documentary, playing out with very little stylistic flair. That isn’t strictly an issue for the subject matter but it can occasionally feel dry with nothing to divert the eye. At times, you are felt with the impression that this could serve better as a deep-dive podcast. One visual moment that does leave an impression, however, is of a housing area late in the film that does serve the film’s messaging as it almost shifts into a different space in an attempt to find some closure.

Outside of Organ’s repeated harassment campaigns and the human debris left in his wake, the documentary feels like it has a second layer that goes much deeper than just Michael. Using his situation as a lens for what planting a seed of fear can do and the documentary itself feeling like it taps the brakes, that sense of fear dominating the situation is palpable. Every dispute raised feels so small at the outset but as the story unfolds, the true impact of that relentless harassment becomes ever clearer. This is the real strength of the documentary and is worth the time it takes to arrive at that point.

A good documentary needs to capture the mood of its subject matter and in this sense, Mister Organ succeeds, building the trivial and almost humourous into something all-encompassing and genuinely unsettling.

3 out of 5 stars

Mister Organ will screen at the Glasgow Film Festival on March 7th and 8th. You can find out more about the screenings at the Glasgow Film Festival webpage.

Glasgow Film Festival 2023: The Artifice Girl

A rich sci-fi focused on the ethics of AI feels timely and relevant but also manages to centre an impactful, more individual narrative.

Synopsis: When an internet vigilante develops a revolutionary new computer program to combat online predators, its rapid advancement leads to serious questions of autonomy, oppression, and what it really means to be human.

Franklin Ritch introduces the characters in his film in the tensest situation imaginable, with Gareth (played by Ritch) being interrogated by Deena (Sinda Nichols) and Amos (David Girard) about images on his computer. As the pair continue to question him, he reveals a shocking truth about the alleged child abuse imagery: the girl is not real, but an AI construction that Gareth has built to trap predators. Cherry (Tatum Matthews) has assisted Gareth in gathering evidence against would-be abusers, but growing disillusionment with the police response has led to him furthering the design and working more independently. Already, there is a sense that Cherry’s development as being a surprise even to him, describing her evolution as “pushing a wheel down a hill”. That first act sets the scene for the ethical questions that frame the film as the second and third chapters use jumps in time to explore the fallout from those early decisions.

It would be easy to look at the film’s initial concept and write it off as a provocative thought experiment, but this is a far more sedate and thoughtful film than that suggests. Outside of establishing the situation, it isn’t interested in probing that vigilantism, but shifts focus to the escalating discomfort around the technology. Throughout, there is an emphasis on what humans bring to technology with discussions of consent and autonomy made all the more uncomfortable by the presence of Cherry and the way she is spoken of and to. This shifts it from potentially exploitative subject matter into a more explorative space, although, there are still references to child abuse that people may wish to avoid.

As each chapter mostly sees two or more characters confined to one room, it could easily lose a sense of cinematic spectacle. Ritch meets this challenge with a roaming camera and swift cuts, adding an energy, enforcing the tension and tapping into those heightened emotions. In quieter moments where the camera is allowed to rest on a character, it does so almost too closely, still adding that tension while also allowing the performer to take centre stage. All of this makes moments where the camera is allowed to step back and indulge in open space and more fluid, less tense movement all the more impactful.

The dialogue-heavy nature places a huge amount of pressure on the performers – again, a challenge they are able to meet. Tatum Matthews is extraordinary as Cherry, having to perform as an AI functioning as a real girl, peppering uncanny moments and movements within a performance that shifts considerably in each section. To hold her own against the ever-reliable Lance Henriksen is so impressive and their interactions lend the film a real power. David Girard’s quieter processing of the initial situation too, is memorable, his pause providing a reprieve from the otherwise wordy scenes. As a viewer, that pause with him allows you the space to pause too, collecting your own thoughts on the ethics under discussion.

This is far from an action-packed thriller – it is more insidious, more memorable than that. Clever writing neatly weaves references from the first act into the third without needing to signpost it. This is a film that makes you want to lean into the discussion, to consider your own position and that of human interaction with technology. However, the dedicated performances also allow you to become absorbed in the more personal story within that much meatier discussion.

The Artifice Girl is weighty, engrossing work, showcasing exactly what sci-fi has to offer in terms of thinking about the world around us.

4 out of 5 stars

The Artifice Girl will screen at Glasgow Film Festival 2023 on March 6th and 7th. You can find out more about the screenings at the Glasgow Film Festival webpage.

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023: Midnight Shorts Block

Midnight movies are an absolute essential for a horror festival – those films that are best played to a slightly sleep-deprived and otherwise altered, but most importantly, enthusiastic audience.

Chicks

Polly (Nicole Marquez-Davis) is nervous, but excited, about attending her first sleepover. As she settles into the ultra-pink surroundings, sing-alongs and pillow fights it looks like her worries were unfounded, until dark motivations emerge from her fellow attendees. Honestly, I don’t think you can really predict where Chicks is headed at all but the film cleverly seeds visual references throughout, resulting in a cohesive feel. The bizarre tone never lets up and it is very cool to see something so unashamedly girly with that underlying darkness.

Meat Friend

Another of the Soho Horror Film Festival shorts I’d been lucky enough to see before, Meat Friend, as you can probably tell from the image above, is a difficult one to describe! Izzy Lee’s short is full of perfectly delivered one-liners from the titular Meat Friend. Just the perfect kind of film to watch with an audience to really appreciate every strange moment.

Big Weekend Plans

Tesha Kondrat takes a relatively simple concept about a woman deciding to end her life and takes it in a deadpan direction as her plans continue to go awry. At just over 5 minutes long the short is an ideal length to explore that idea, not needing to expand or fill the time, meaning every beat and scenario is pitched just right.

Maybe You Should Be Careful

Megan Robinson’s film features a break from the traditional narrative of a woman as a victim and swaps it so the male partner is preoccupied with a recent series of male disappearances in the area. Despite Alistair’s (Dan Beirne) concerns, June (Kelly McNamee) is keen to put a spark back into their dimming sex life, resulting in a series of misunderstandings. Both performers have excellent chemistry which makes this mainly dialogue-focused short work as they find themselves increasingly at odds. Those exchanges excellently weave doubt in the viewer, culminating in a great punchline.

Wild Bitch

Rebekka Johnson and Kate Nash take on triple duties in this hilarious short, writing, directing and performing. Johnson plays Barb – a woman who tightly wound TV news journalist Melanie (Nash) is sent to interview as part of a story about the impact of new development on the natural surroundings. Their interactions are great fun and paying attention to the background is so rewarding with a few excellently placed sight gags. Despite the laughs, there are also serious points to be made here in terms of the treatment of women and nature.

The Promotion

Rapid-fire dialogue underpins this witty, ever-escalating tale of two office workers desperate to secure a promotion. The barbs they throw at one another continue to grow in absurdity as they move around the cramped office space. At less than 5 minutes long, this is punchy and again, delivers a message along with sharp humour.

The Midnight shorts block screened as part of the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023. Find out more about the festival at their webpage.

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023: Young n Deadly Shorts Block

The horror genre is no stranger to sinister coming-of-age tales and this group of short films uses excellent performances from young performers to capture the fear that comes with growing up as well as the ability for younger people to be just as dangerous as their adult counterparts.

Amygdala

Anna (Eva Samioti) is having a birthday party and her younger sister Melina (Panayiota Yiagli) is desperate to be involved. This atmospheric short hinges on Yiagli’s stoic, forceful performance as she attempts to retain closeness to her sister at any cost. The shifts between that gentle, coming-of-age story shot in soft-focus around Anna’s relationship with Maria (Donna Petropoulou) to the darker elements are accomplished with great skill, never quite letting you relax for the duration.

Spell On You

The sudden appearance of a wart on Salomé’s nose signifies a break from innocence, heralded by her father’s extreme reaction and immediate exclusion from childhood games. As she struggles with the continued appearance of skin lesions, she begins to notice other strange things within the house that no one is talking about. Slow pushes on near-static scenes allow a kind of quiet to wash over the film, echoing the secrets playing out within the household. The sedate pacing and rich colours make this an easy short to be invested in.

Lalanna’s Song

There is a real stylistic flair to Lalanna’s Song, especially as it switches from the relative mundanity of the character’s experiences dealing with daily prejudice and sexism into something otherworldly. Shoby (Parvathy Thiruvothu) and Miriam (Rima Kallingal) are mothers, trying to balance their own lives with that of their children. The pair share a fluid chemistry and their dialogue is free and easy, realised in a way not always captured on film. Shooting the same event from different perspectives and snap edits switching up images all contribute to a constantly shifting and relatively slippery short that is never short of intrigue.

Hiama

Hiama follows Vani (Elsie Polosovai) in her experience at a prestigious private school. Her race and that her mother is a cleaner at the school mark her as an ‘other’ resulting in abusive behaviour from her peers. Using the familiar trope of menstruation as signalling a change in a young person’s life, this film has such a powerful energy. With a focus on Polosovai’s face and movement, the intensity just grows and grows into something truly powerful.

The Young n Deadly shorts block screened as part of the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023. Find out more about the festival at their webpage.

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023: Queer Horror Shorts Block

Final Girls Berlin has always dedicated a space to queer horror, platforming films that range between queer fears and a celebration of LGBT+ figures in front of and behind the camera. 2023’s edition was no different, with films exploring identity, fear and coming to terms with both.

Plastic Touch

Everything about this film is furthered by the complete commitment to the aesthetic. From the performance style and set dressing, the viewer is immersed in the world of two sex dolls who meet and imagine another life together. In embracing the stilted movements and exaggerated body parts this is instantly absorbing. It is to the film’s credit that it is able to be powerfully moving despite the stylistic restrictions placed upon it as the relationship is explored.

Apostasy

Identity and religion are competing within Tula -a young girl struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality and burgeoning feelings. Her internalised struggle comes to the fore through the inventive use of religious imagery that leaps off the screen. Maddison Dell’Aquila’s performance is excellent, able to balance both uncertainty and strength.

Ricochet

With a departure from more conventional narrative, Ricochet is a short (around 4-minute) exploration of a honeymoon gone wrong following the couple indulging in some acid-laced raspberries. This is a hazy montage of increasingly intense and sinister experiences that may alienate some, but there is no doubt that a real effort has gone into constructing the imagery that provides a hallucinogenic feel.

It Takes a Village

It Takes a Village also prioritises its visual style over anything more straightforward, constructing a candy-coated suburban village where something sinister is happening. Sound clashes and overwhelms, delivering on the uncanny nature of the situation while maintaining that clearly defined visual style.

Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You

After an arresting opening sequence, Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You envelopes the viewer in a highly sophisticated and tactile haunting. Centred on a composer who seeks to use music and sound to connect with her dead lover, this has a palpable mood, enforced by layered sounds as jarring chords leap over static hisses. The time afforded to the story and the treatment of the ghostly goings-on allows for greater impact.

Violet Butterfield: Makeup Artist for the Dead

It is no surprise that Violet Butterfield secured the Audience Award at the festival. This charming, campy short features the charismatic presence of Violet (Michelle Colón) who has a special connection with her clients. The mix of the macabre funeral home setting and Violet’s quirky manner and style perfectly marry, but above all the film’s overall message of acceptance is intensely meaningful and uplifting.

The Queer Horror shorts block screened as part of the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023. Find out more about the festival at their webpage.

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023: High Tension Shorts Block

The Final Girls Berlin Film Festival presented a shorts block guaranteed to raise heart rates and provoke intrigue. A mix of supernatural phenomena, claustrophobic traps and frantic chases await.

You Will See

A slow-moving creep-fest focused on a supernatural camera that gradually ramps up the tension to an almost unbearable degree. This is supported by lingering on the incredible detail in the photographs that pulls you into every frame. There is a constant sense of unease throughout that feels uniquely rattling, becoming as obsessed with the perfect shot as its lead character.

Face Not Recognized. Try Again.

It has been said that the now everyday use of mobile phones has taken a lot of previous tension out of horror films, with scripts having to find time to focus on why the phones do not work or take them out of the situation entirely. Face Not Recognised leans into the idea of the phone not always being a perfect solution. As a woman wakes up with her head encased she finds she cannot call for help because she cannot unlock the phone. For a relatively simple concept, this really dials up the tension and unpleasant details as she tries to free herself. The vastness of the forest surroundings and the fear of what could have been done and what lies within the casing sustain the concept brilliantly.

Nia Sol Nia Sombra (Neither Sun Nor Shade)

Another successfully stressful entry as Nerea (Yannick Vergara) finds herself in an altered state in the forest. Soon, she is proposed to, but this only seems to start a sequence of even more unusual events. This swirling, intentionally disorienting work unfurls the details as that tension rises, utilising the wide open space as a constant threat with themes of punishment.

Kickstart My Heart

Kickstart My Heart was easily my favourite short film of 2022 after a screening at the Soho Horror Festival so it was an absolute pleasure to see it again. Kelsey Bollig has delivered on every short film I’ve seen of hers so far and I’m very excited about her feature debut. Kickstart My Heart stands out for the dynamic way it deals with thudding action sequences and vibrant choreography while also weaving an intensely emotional narrative. Further added to by a credit sequence that confronts the viewer with just how personal the film is, this is horror being used perfectly as catharsis.

Unes (Bond)

Kicking off with a pleading phone call from Zola to her ex-girlfriend, Unes establishes multiple sources of horror in the first few seconds. Zola’s boyfriend is seemingly transforming into something dangerous and she desperately needs to be away from him. The slaughterhouse setting adds an extra layer of discomfort as characters duck behind hanging animals throughout the chase. Cleverly, the film doesn’t dwell on the details of transformation, instead putting all of the focus on building the atmosphere. A great credits sequences ties everything together, allowing a deeper connection to the characters.

Phantasmagoria

Phantasmagoria features a mysterious figure arriving in the wake of a death in the family. The family’s distance from the village allows the film to build this threat, keeping everything in close quarters. The emphasis on the verbal sparring between the younger woman and the stranger makes this gripping, continuously flipping motivations and the source of threat. The inherent claustrophobia of the house and the dim lighting all add up to a potent, stirring finale.

The High Tension shorts block screened as part of the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023. Find out more about the festival at their webpage.

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023: Bodily Autonomy Shorts Block

That the fight for bodily autonomy is still ongoing is utterly depressing so it is no surprise that creatives are taking that frustration around real-world horrors into striking horror narratives. The anger of these shorts is clear, calling attention to different kinds of control over bodies and lives.

Marked

Anyone who has ever experienced the side effects of hormonal birth control will find resonance in Marked. Andrea (Lauren Summers) takes on a new, experimental treatment after finding the pill is causing too many problems. While the unnerving visuals are memorable, the scariest part of this is the medical gaslighting she endures and how much she is sidelined in her own healthcare. The apathetic men around her do little to help and even the doctor is keen to emphasise the benefit for her partners over her own experience. This is an excellent union of horror with an all-too-real concern for many dealing with birth control.

La Antesala (The Anteroom)

This excellently rendered sci-fi concerning a refugee fleeing with her baby uses that initial gloss and high-tech appearance to expertly pull the rug from beneath viewers. A chilling view of a post-apocalyptic event and the increase in control that comes with it, delivering so many unpleasant details in dialogue before a final jolt of horror that hits hard.

Yummy Mummy

Lillith is having a baby and it is all people want to talk to her about. She laments, ‘no one is interested in me anymore…just the bump’ as everything in her life begins to revolve around her unborn child. Shrieking intrusions and quick cut highlight her increasing loss of control and voice. The clash between the talk of the birth of a child being a brilliant thing while also detailing the intensity of the medical experience perfectly outlines how trauma and celebration are both dominant concerns. The special effects here are excellent, coming to represent Lillith’s fractured state.

Sleep

I am not even that sure I can review this adequately. Every now and then you watch a film that hits you with the kind of fear that I can only describe as primal. At only around 5 minutes long Sleep is one of the shortest films in the block, yet uses close-up, tightly wound photography to the most unsettling effect. Absolutely anxiety-inducing and functions as a short blast of a nightmare I’m unable to get out of my head even weeks later.

Lichemoth

When a photographer heads to photograph a notorious metal band, she gets more than she bargains for when on-stage theatrics could be something more sinister than she ever imagined. With a strong basis in folklore this explores the idea of possession via sexuality. There is a dreamy quality to the original concert setting that persists throughout, using flashing lights to add to the sinister goings-on. This is a film content to take its time before arriving at its macabre reveal.

Sangue Nero

Sangue Nero features a young girl struggling with a tense family situation that escalates into abuse. Seeking revenge and to take back control, Chiara is led by unusual forces to complete this. The low-lighting of the house is warm, yet claustrophobic, aiding in placing the viewer in Chiara’s restricted, tense life. As the forces unfold, the ties between generations of women and a connection to nature become an increasingly intense mix, offering an escape from her harsh reality. This almost-dreamy take on revenge is engaging and satisfying.

The Bodily Autonomy shorts block screened as part of the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023. Find out more about the festival at their webpage.

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023: Creatures Shorts Block

While some horrors can remain metaphorical, sometimes only a well-realised creature will do. This selection of short films pits people against creatures looking to invade, take over and otherwise alter their lives in a variety of ways.

Hell Gig

I’ve been lucky enough to see Hell Gig previously with an appreciative festival crowd and it is a real joy to see the sparky dialogue in this short land with a room full of people all on the same page. Maeve (Bruce Bundy) heads out into the desert to rescue her friend Eli (Jamie Loftus) but soon finds the situation is more out of control than she imagined. The pair are struggling stand-up comics and their insecurities and need for work have left them impatient with one another. Obviously, being within the Creatures section, you know there will be a creature but the reveal is absolutely joyous, with the puppetry adding a genuine sense of character that makes this so much fun.

Sucker

Alix Austin’s short neatly marries the physical and metaphorical while also merging practical and CGI effects to match. Sam (Sophia Capasso), worried about her sister Caitlin’s (Annie Knox) isolation, heads to her house to try and see what is behind her strange behaviour. Confronted with a unkempt flat, she starts to clean, until Caitlin reveals what has been holding her there. Searing audio-visual snippets showcase the internal turmoil while quick cuts enhance the uncanny nature of the reveal. This is such a clever way of handling this story, managing to convey its central metaphor as well as providing a satisfying creature film.

You’re My Best Friend

This quirky and enjoyable short makes great use of fun montages to sell its concept and the passage of time. What begins as an amusing, if slightly ridiculous concept is given a genuine sense of heart by the finale. Each step of this short takes you with it, delivering on gags at a high rate, whether in the initial trawl of dating apps or in the montages. The apartment styling allows the film to imprint a sense of style and a geography – by the climax this is a film that feels truly lived in.

Appendage

If there is anyone out there who doesn’t appreciate Rachel Sennott’s turns in either Bodies Bodies Bodies or Shiva Baby, I’ve not met them yet. She has an unmistakable charisma and an ability to deliver strong character work in such a short space of time that she’s near-perfect for short-form storytelling. In Appendage, she plays a nervy trainee designer trying her best to pitch her idea to an intimidating designer who undergoes an energetic and unusual battle with her confidence. This has an impressive energy and really does answer the question of what happens when body horror meets the critical inner voice.

Kid Free Weekend

Kicking off with a quote from ‘a very wise person’ about not interrupting a woman’s first taste of freedom, Kid Free Weekend immediately throws us into a cosy domestic space full of retro stylings. Sun streams in through the windows and our heroine Vivian looks set for a luxurious, quiet time. However, as night approaches, it soon becomes apparent that something is threatening her alone time as she is drawn into a battle with an invasive creature. What is really impressive here is how much the house is transformed as the tone shifts with the bathroom lighting becoming a harsh glare during the conflict.

Mantra

When Emma first watches Paul pinning insects she is intrigued by the process, so it is perhaps no surprise that when Paul leaves her alone, she forms an attachment with a praying mantis. This short utilises some incredible sound design and extreme close-ups for maximum discomfort and that under-your-skin quality. Despite that discomfort there’s also a sensual quality, with the slow, sophisticated photography enveloping the viewer into their isolated relationship.

Fishwife

Fishwife uses dialogue sparingly, for the most part introducing us to our lead character through the earthy tones and quiet rituals of her life before rupturing that with a late blast of energy and threat. Offering tantalising glimpses rather than overexplaining and indulgent detail, this manages to maintain a palpable sense of unease throughout.

The Creatures shorts block screened as part of the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023. Find out more about the festival at their webpage.

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023: Close to Home

Taking something of a departure from the otherworldly elements of horror, the Close to Home shorts block features films that seek to explore everyday social, cultural and political concerns through the lens of horror.

Everybody Goes to the Hospital

Everybody Goes to the Hospital takes a distinctive animation style and marries it to an absolutely traumatising story of familial apathy and medical torment. Made all the more painful by hearing each detail in the voice of a child, the film unfolds in chapters that detail the medical issues of the girl, sometimes confused in her explanations as she tries to put together what is happening to her. Truly heartbreaking.

Merah Bawang Putih (Shallots & Garlic)

Generational divides, eating disorders and lockdown ennui all come together in this mix of family traditions and modern concerns. This adaptation of the folklore brings it to that modern setting and indulges in body horror (both external and internal, via calorie counts appearing on screen early in the narrative) along the way. An underlying soundtrack maintains a steady tension as the film unfolds.

Ethel

Like Everybody Goes to the Hospital, Ethel makes use of textured stop-motion animation to explore the nature of unpacking trauma as a child. In Ethel, the discovery of a box of outfits leads to a disquieting, fantastical dance with her mother’s passions surfacing in interesting ways.

Seafoam

Seafoam excellently uses extreme close-ups to constrict space and imbue a real feeling of claustrophobia throughout. Director and performer Izzy Stevens infuses the metaphor into every frame, with each moment increasingly feeling like an intrusion. Form and meaning are built well, with the splits in images and those close-ups contributing to a discomfort that grows ever more intense.

Scooter

I have been lucky enough to see Scooter a few times now and I appreciate it a little more each time. This story of a girl walking home alone at night is not what you expect and is all the more engaging for it. Anita Abdinezhad as Adrienne is a likeable screen presence and her reactions anchor the direction the film takes.

The Close to Home shorts block screened as part of the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2023. Find out more about the festival at their webpage.

The Outwaters

The Outwaters exploits the trappings of found-footage that we’ve all come to know and love (or loathe) to create something distinctly different.

Synopsis: Four travelers encounter menacing phenomena while camping in a remote stretch of the Mojave Desert.

Found-footage remains a subgenre that really divides people. Years of sub-par offerings have, somewhat understandably, led to viewer fatigue and even further scepticism when it is suggested that a new film has rewritten the rules or provided a fresh take on it. The Outwaters presents a challenge to the conventional found-footage presentation, although opinions will be understandably split as to whether that challenge satisfies.

In typical found-footage fashion, our story begins with a panicked emergency phone call and details of the missing people our story follows. The introduction goes on to explain that Michelle (Michelle May), Angela (Angela Basolis), Scott (Scott Schamell) and Robbie (Robbie Banfitch, also directing and writing) were last seen in August 2017. Memory cards have been recovered and the findings of those cards are presented in unedited fashion.

If you are not already a found-footage fan, this is unlikely to convert you. It suffers from many of the same problems that films before it do, with extended sequences of getting to know characters through their recordings and plenty of dark spaces, loud noises and rattling cameras. These issues are compounded by the film’s length at around 1 hour and 50 minutes, including an opening section that definitely feels overlong. While that scene-setting is important, some may find the lingering and lack of momentum a struggle, especially when contrasted with the loud noises and frenzied style of the third act.

The four characters are in the desert to make a music video, the concept of which is suggested early in the recordings. Their idealised view of the desert and ‘Coachella’ stylings is soon ruptured, ranging from the odd but benign groups of donkeys that keep appearing to the more overtly sinister appearance of rattlesnakes and a hatchet thrown into the scenery. That the desert is not only terrifying but also spiritually further away from the rest of the world is really palpable here and the style ably captures the scale of it.

There were times during The Outwaters when I questioned the use of the found-footage storytelling method with some sections near-abandoning the conceit to add atmosphere. Despite this, by the film’s conclusion, I had come back around to understanding why this was used. The fragmentation of visuals and the ability of the camera in such settings to show ‘just enough’ protects the integrity of solid practical effects and skirts around the issues of trying to portray the cosmic. That first-person view of the chaos that unfolds in the final third would not be nearly as powerful if it attempted to show the full picture. Still, there will be frustrations around this as the viewer is kept, deliberately and repeatedly in the dark. Other imagery, when it appears is arresting enough that you are torn between wanting to immediately look away but also being completely compelled by it.

There are rewards to be had in surrendering yourself to The Outwaters and it certainly represents fierce creativity and an attempt to do something different, which should be celebrated, even if this does feel that it would be a more precise, impactful experience with a shorter runtime.

3.5 out of 5 stars

You can find a screening of The Outwaters (in US and Canada for now) at the following link.