The Outwaters delivers a surreal liminal horror experience whose slow start explodes into a cosmic nightmare.
Found footage has officially leveled up: welcome to liminal horror. This trending horror subgenre makes things feel dreamlike, with disjointed sequencing, strange angles, and something not-quite-right with the atmosphere. I’ve been lovingly referring to it as “the next level of found footage horror” because no wild camera angle or jarring transition is off-limits.
What is Liminal Horror?
Liminal horror plays with our concept of perceived reality. At its most basic definition, the word liminal suggests an existence between different states of being. The rules of time and space do not apply. Some aspects of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining provide classic examples of this.
Modern references tend to coincide with the term “backrooms,” which alludes to areas outside our existence. Abandoned places are known to give off the liminal space aesthetic as the places we only see bustling with people get a peculiar aura about them once they are seen empty. More popular imagery amongst this trend includes photos of places and things that it feels like you remember – even though you’ve never seen them.
The Next Level of Found Footage
In January, all eyes were on Shudder’s film stylized in this subgenre, Skinamarink, as those who saw it proclaimed that watching this liminal horror movie felt like someone else’s nightmare captured on film. If you listened to the first episode of the Horror Press Podcast, you already know a little of what to expect if you’ve yet to see it.
The Outwaters is Screambox’s foray into this brand of horror. It takes the audience on a ride through hell as a group of people experiences something murderous in the desert. While I cannot speak for Skinamarink, The Outwaters feels like experiencing a blood-soaked nightmare.
By building a relationship between the audience and the characters, then obliterating it through a disorienting jolt to the senses, The Outwaters takes its audience on a mind-melting horror ride.
The Outwaters Creeps Up On You
If you had told me half hour into the movie that I’d have such a glowing review, I would have been astonished. While I’m not one to give spoilers, prepare yourself for a slow beginning. Much time was spent introducing us to our four main characters, and I impatiently awaited the horror to begin.
Director Robbie Banfitch knew what he was doing, as ominous music and upside-down shots appear randomly, teasing us with the horror we anxiously anticipate.
The action feels underserved when it arrives, as the build-up overshadows the minuscule occurrence. Then, the film hits the gas and doesn’t let up until the credits roll. It went further than I expected and then went further past that.
The beauty in holding back the delivery for so long is that it’s a powerful kick to the face once it comes.
The Outwaters Gives A Masterclass on Liminal Horror
Make no mistake: There aren’t smooth transitions between most footage clips, and the movie will not take the time to explain everything to you. But these features make the horror of The Outwaters work all the more.
The disjointed shots that follow through the action sequences happen so the audience can feel like they are experiencing the trauma too. Before we have fully processed one moment, a stream of events has flashed before our eyes, and we are along for this journey as they are.
Because of this play in trauma processing, the film feels realistic, even though cosmic malignancy is involved. The film successfully presented an encounter with something seemingly otherworldly in such a way that it felt possible.
In summation, The Outwaters goes from zero to 100, and the shots are shown so quickly that one view doesn’t give you the time to process everything you’re seeing. However, this format works because of what this movie is. As our main characters are subjected to nightmares come to life, they may not have time to process everything that has just happened, and neither do we.
It connects us with the experience, and Robbie Banfitch allows audiences to use their imaginations for the horrors we weren’t shown. The horrific images that follow are sure to burrow into your spinal fluid and randomly leech into your consciousness. The Outwaters’ slow beginning pays off to a bloody big finish. It may not be for everyone, but it certainly made a fan out of me.
Watch The Outwaters streaming on Screambox!
For more info on the making of the The Outwaters, check out our Q&A article!
