While looking to recover from a major traumatic event, a woman (Kate, played by Beth Dover) ends up hoping to enjoy some calm and isolation as a volunteer firewatcher at a fairly remote outpost, hence the title. But there are still interactions with others around her that cause her to fret, and her mental health may have suffered even more than she realised.
The directorial feature debut from Joe Lo Truglio (arguably best known for his comedic acting work, particularly his portrayal of Charles Boyle on Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Outpost uses a fairly slim premise to look at aspects of trauma and the standard female experience. As well as directing, Lo Truglio is also the one who wrote the screenplay, and he makes a number of choices that show some genuine care and interest, as opposed to just stringing together a number of jump scares. Those are also present, but they are executed well, and keep us well-informed about the lack of real improvement in Kate’s mindset.
Dover is superb in the main role. Although there’s a very good supporting cast around her, she carries a lot of the movie on her shoulders and has to keep you rooting for her even as her behaviour seems to get progressively worse en route to whatever the finale has in store for her. Dylan Baker is as good as he always is, playing a “neighbour” who is quite far away from the outpost, but also closer than Kate is comfortable with, and there are equally strong turns from Ta’Rea Campbell (a concerned friend), Ato Essandoh (Kate’s new boss), and Becky Ann Baker (someone who appears to have gone through a similar experience to Kate).
Nothing stands out, in the technical side of things anyway, but that isn’t a major negative. Lo Truglio simply presents this (character/trauma) study in a way that best allows viewers to experience the range of emotions that our lead goes through, and it’s a checkmark in his favour that he doesn’t feel the need to pack the film with flourishes or obvious nods to his influences. The film is about Kate, something reflected on both sides of the camera, and everything is balanced between being cinematically satisfying and keeping everything nicely free of unnecessary distractions.
Maybe not one to easily recommend to horror fans, this is still worth the time and attention of those who don’t mind something so deliberately-paced and earnest in intention. Despite being written and directed by a man, it feels very knowledgeable of, and sympathetic to, how every small moment of tension and vulnerability is heightened when experienced by a woman.
8/10
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