Outpost: Review

20th May 2023

Kate (Beth Dover) is the survivor of a violent attack and it’s done irreparable damage to her mental health. Thinking that the best thing for her to do is to get away from it all, Kate applies for a position at a watchtower, overlooking a local forest in case of any fires.

Although not entirely alone, she still has contact with her co-workers, Earl (Ato Essandoh) and Dan (Dallas Roberts). She also meets a couple of locals, eccentric widower Reggie (Dylan Baker) and a friendly woman called Bertha (Becky Ann Baker) who both help her in their ways to regain her independence and her confidence. However, being alone for so long after a traumatic experience still plays on Kate’s mind.

Outpost is a psychological horror written and directed by Joe Lo Truglio, better known for Brooklyn Nine-Nine and now making his directorial debut. Something that starts out as a thriller, it turns out that Kate’s break from her life may not be the best idea, making the audience start to wonder whether she should be up there alone.

The movie also likes to take its time and to settle into the mind of the audience to what they’re going to see. The idea of a lone woman in a horror movie does certainly conjure up certain ideas, the threat of something unknown about to lash out is something often seen in horror. What Outpost does though is looks at the psychological effects of trauma and the anxiety that surrounds that.

Saying this though, Outpost isn’t exactly a character study and pays homage to The Shining in different ways to ensure its audience of its horror inspiration. The problem is that those looking for something deeper and more analytical may be disappointed.

That’s because Outpost wants to make the audience think that it’s a horror movie about a trauma survivor who learns to stand on her own two feet, where this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Instead, the final act takes a sharp turn into genre horror and what is possibly a commentary on how victims feel after a violent attack, ends up giving a surface level finale which ticks off the boxes for blood and gore.

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