This is an updated version of an article published on 13 January 2023.
Introducing the latest movie to add to the found-footage horror canon: The Outwaters. Last year brought us a handful of special additions to the subgenre — the new instalment in the VHS franchise, V/H/S/99; the religious Taiwanese terror Incantation, as well as a couple festival hits, like our favourite Skinamarink.
Directed by Robbie Banfitch, who’s been making low-budget indie horrors for nearly two decades, The Outwaters premiered at New Jersey Film Festival back in February 2022. Since then, it’s enjoyed a successful run at film festivals, where it’s slowly picked up a cult fanbase. Now though, we have a trailer and release date.
So what is The Outwaters about, and when can we see it? Here’s everything we know.
What’s the plot of The Outwaters?
Told using footage found across three different memory cards, The Outwaters follows four friends who set out to make a music video in the tranquil Mojave Desert in California. But their shoot goes awry when strange rumbles and oddly behaved animals signal trouble afoot.
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What are critics saying about it?
Since its premiere, The Outwaters has racked up strong reviews, with a solid 84% on Rotten Tomatoes before its formal release, complimenting its story and sound design in particular. Bloody Disgusting called it a “singular effort with an impressive level of craft” and suggested you’d need a barf bag. Yahoo said it was the “new take on The Blair Witch Project”. Film Cred called it “unnerving and deranged”. The critic for Nightmare on Film Street said, after her screening, she was left “holding bits of my confuddled mushy brains in my hands looking for someone to talk to”. Slay Away called it a “death dream”.
Is there a trailer for The Outwaters?
Yes! A new full-length trailer just dropped.
What’s the release date for The Outwaters?
The Outwaters is in US theatres now. No word on other territories yet, but we imagine it will spread like wildfire as soon as the word-of-mouth hits.