OUTPOST is a very special little film. Not just because it’s good; it’ a gem, of that there’s no dispute – but because a couple took a chance on something that they believed in, knowing all of the risks and the pitfalls in starting such a venture. And still they went for it. Deserves the mother of all rounds of applause.
OUTPOST is based on an original concept by producer Kieran Parker and the screenplay was crafted together by Rae Brunton. Then Kieran and his partner Arabella Croft went and mortgaged their house to the tune of £200,000, started filming in an old munitions factory near Castle Douglas with additional filming at the Glasgow Film City studio. The film has recieved accolade in the U.S where it was first released on DVD, Sony bought the rights for £1.2 million and it’s won a Scottish Bafta for it’s producers under the rather swish title – Best New Talent.
I was kindly given a review copy of the film to watch and when the film is released on the 16th of May I can definately say that you are in for a treat. You can tell that a lot of thought and planning went into the execution of this film. What is surprising is that in the current climate of gorenography – OUTPOST amps up the suspense in favour of the gore. Doesn’t mean to say that there’s no gore in it – some of the set pieces are truly stunning, but that the gore is measured and isn’t thrown in there because they hoped it would stick.
The film concerns D.C played by Ray Stevenson (to be seen next in the sequel to The Punisher) and a group of mercenaries who go into war torn Eastern Europe at the behest of a dodgy but excellently foppish businessman. They go into an underground bunker that transpires that it was used as an experimentation centre by Nazi doctors during WW2. Then things start to get very messy, very, very quickly. And trying to survive the unfolding horrors becomes quite a pain in the arse to achieve.
The cast clearly have had a whale of a time; the award for best line has to go to the Irishman. When it comes, you’ll know all about it and you won’t be able to stop the belly laughs. The acting is great, you can tell that great care has been taken with the script to make sure that all of the characters are believable, but if there was to be a weak link cast wise, it would have to be the part of the Russian – the accent was all over the place and in parts sounded like Del Boy trying to talk through a mouthful of Borsch. But that is a minor gripe.
The special effects have been used well and the money shots are excellent. I was scratching my head at a couple of them wondering how they managed to pull them off. Even if they were CGI, they managed to make them not look like CGI. Which is always a treat.
The soundtrack, editing and cinematography to my unlearned eye all seem to be top notch. All in all a job well done and could certainly teach Neil Marshall a thing or two. This kicks the Descent out of the park and sends those Dog Soldiers home with their tails between their legs.
In my view OUTPOST should be the most talked about UK horror film for a few years to come. Until the sequel that is.
8/10
All Things HorrorReview Link: http://www.allthingshorror.co.uk/#/outpost/4528752152
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