Review - Outpost

When it comes to female revenge fantasies, I'm an easy sell. I'm a dude who appreciates a good reminder to the masses that women kind of have feelings too, or something I don't know I wasn't listening to the dialogue I was enjoying the scenery.

Back in the day, that's what I'd say if I was ogling women. "Just checking out the scenery." I was SuperCoolGuy5000. In the case of Outpost, I genuinely was captured by the beautiful shots of Idaho. Boy, Idaho has a lot more mountains than I remember.

I would almost call this movie a black comedy, with the comedy bits strategically placed, somewhat like Easter Eggs, rather than as an integral part of the intent from Joe Lo Truglio in his film directorial debut. But don't call it campy, even though it's set in the woods. The wide-sweeping shots of mountains and sky set a serene backdrop, a perfect place for Kate (Beth Dover) to suffer a bout of the Menzies after a I dunno some attack or whatever. Women are so unpredictable, ya know? One minute, a dude is taking a discrete picture of his co-worker's backside (for private, not to share obviously!) and the next minute, she's all "Men are the worst!" It's true though, men can be the worst, as demonstrated by my hilarious jokes in this post, but Outpost balances the blame game with a fair look at the effects of trauma on the mind, and makes you smirk just enough to convince you that this is pretend, that it's all made up, it's all in your mind.

Beth Dover is a sympathetic soul, one you root for in character and in life, and she embraces every aspect of this role and, I dare say, she kills it.

Often, I wonder, "What is Detective Boyle from Brooklyn Nine-Nine doing right now?" I just like to try to enter the mind of a guy as weird as that. Outpost seems like the kind of movie he'd fever-dream up after gorging on Ayam betutu from some secret Indonesian restaurant in Queens.

The quick mix is this: take a handful of Tucker and Dale Vs Evil, a pound of minced High Tension, mix in some Deliverance (that scenery!), bake for 84 minutes, slice, dice, and serve. That's a recipe even a man can follow!

Distributor: Lightbulb Film Distribution

Release Date: 11th September 2023

Short Synopsis: Kate seeks to heal past trauma by moving to Idaho, and taking a job as a fire lookout volunteer. But alone in the mountains, unable to leave her outpost, she is overwhelmed by isolation and paranoia. To protect the tower, she must discover the truth, confront those responsible and face her own demons.

Director: Joe Lo Truglio

Writer: Joe Lo Truglio

Cast: Beth Dover, Becky Ann Baker, Dylan Baker, Dallas Roberts & Ato Essandoh

Run Time: 88 mins 9977

Cert: 15

Platforms: AppleTV, Amazon, Sky Store, Virgin Media Store, Google Play and RakutenTV