Outpost. Steve Barker. 2008.
Former soldier now turned mercenary DC is hired by a somewhat shady businessman to put together a team and lead him safely to a undisclosed location in the wilds of wartorn Europe. Their destination turns out to be a remote and abandoned WW2 bunker deep in the forest. To say that things don't exactly go well would be obvious at this point.
I dug this off the shelf last week after planning a rewatch due to the sad passing of Ray Stevenson. I have to admit I'd only seen it the once, and despite remembering it being ok, it wasn't one I'd rushed to view again and subsequently had forgotten about it.
Well, some years later I was pleased to find it wasn't just "ok" as I'd recalled but actually very good. Sort of a haunted house movie transposed to an old secret German army bunker. There are rather a few unnerving little moments here, playing with sinister sightings in the corners of the screen or appearing briefly during flashes of light in otherwise pitch black environs. Stevenson is ideal in the role as DC, playing it with just enough charisma to make him pretty much the only likeable character amongst the squad of hardened mercs. That I suppose is where this film succeeds as well, to make a film (particularly horror) still thoroughly engaging with characters that aren't very endearing is quite a feat in my eyes. It says a lot about the crafting of the film, the intense atmosphere both in the bunker and in the spooky woods around, the excellent camera work and effects, the generally subdued down to earth gritty look and performances. Yeah I enjoyed Outpost very much on second viewing.
Sent from my SM-G780G using Tapatalk
 |