the movie revolves around a bunch of mercenaries escorting some scientist-type guy to some place in eastern europe. ray stevenson is the head merc, and he's pretty sweet. the way the film is shot is particularly cool; it's really bleak and washed out. pretty much what you'd figure eastern europe to look like. so the mercs go to what turns out to be an old nazi bunker, and horrory hyjinks ensue.
the gist of this movie is that undead unkillable nazis terrorize the mercs. sounds pretty cool, right? turns out, it is. most horror movies now seem to revolve around gore, which is all well and good as long as they don't take themselves too seriously. if the movies don't revolve around gore, they're undoubtedly some remade japanese horror movie involving technology coming back to bite us in the ass (one missed call, really?). so what makes Outpost cool is that there isn't much gore (though what there is is kinda cool), and there's no freaky asian chicks jumping out of tvs. instead, you've got a pretty basic premise (bunch of guys terrorized by ghosts/zombies) that works because of how it's shot. i'm not one for praising cinematography, but whoever did this one really hit the mark. the lighting is great, the cutting is great, and it all serves to really set a tone that freaks you out. the music helps out a lot too. put those three things together, and you've got a pretty freaky movie. it won't stick in your head forever or haunt your dreams, but if you watch it alone in the dark at 2am like i did, it'll creep you the fuck out. and that's really all you want out of a horror movie...
oh, one other thing. i like horror movies that don't end happily. now, most horror movies don't usually end in sunshine and kittens, but i want a little more than just the main character or major supporting character dying. i want that "ohhhhh shiiiit..." at the end of a horror movie, where you realize that everything has completely gone to shit. the Descent did this, the Mist did this (really really well, i might add), and Outpost does it as well. my one fault with the ending is that the director explained the "oh shit" moment a little too much. he could've stopped it about a minute earlier. see it, and you'll know what i mean.
ha, ok, no one MORE thing. i love last stands. there's just something so badass about someone resigned to their fate loading up all of their weapons and saying "you know what, if i'm goin out, i'm taking as many of you fuckers with me as possible." no whimpering, no trying to run when your leg is fucked to shit, just stopping, leaning against a door or wall, telling the last surviving dude to get the hell out of there, reloading your gun, and going hog wild on some zombies before they tear you to shreds. moments like that i movies make me smile every time. i like to think nobility like that exists in the real world. it's more than nobility, though. it's realism. it's knowing that you're fucked, accepting that you're fucked, and deciding not to take it lying down. man i love that...
so yeah, that's Outpost. such a better horror movie than anything made in america in the past 5 years. if you like the Descent, the Mist, Dog Soldiers, etc, then you'll like this one.
plus ray stevenson rocks the shit...
Outpost - proof that you don't need millions of special effects to make a good movie
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