Outpost (2023) review – Isolation horror that isn’t very isolated

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at a movie from 2023 called Outpost.

Outpost is a little bit of a mess. In fact, it’s such a mess that we put together an Outpost Ending Explained article in case you need answers. Keep in mind, only check out that article if you have already watched the film. Otherwise, stick right here. Let’s take a look.

Isolation Horror But Not…

I am quite a big fan of isolation horror. And when I say isolation horror, I am not really referring to a specific sub-genre. I’m, simply, referring to movies that feature protagonists stuck in the middle of nowhere, away from civilisation, or isolated from their peers.

“Kate speaks to more people and has more human contact in one week than a lot of people do in months… Kate never really feels all that alone.”

Take The Interior, for example. So when I read the synopsis of Outpost, I was pretty intrigued. After all, the story follows a woman who decides to take on a solitary job manning a remote fire watch station to help her overcome the trauma of recent domestic violence. How much more isolated can you get?

And, yes, things do start out with the promise of lots of lonely encounters with scary things in the middle of nowhere. But it all begins to unravel pretty quickly. Our protagonist, Kate (Beth Dover), speaks to more people and has more human contact in one week than a lot of people do in months.

Whether it’s the manager of the local fire watch, Earl (Ato Essandoh), quirky neighbour Reggie (Dylan Baker), Ranger Dan (Dallas Roberts), or any of the other denizens of this remote town, Kate never really feels all that alone.

There’s very few scares

That very specific element of tension, and atmosphere, that comes from isolation is completely missing. I mean, sure, we can assume that Kate spends a lot of time on her own, but director Joe Lo Truglio never goes to any special effort to emphasise that point. So when the obvious effects of this solitude begin to impact Kate, it never feels all that authentic or significant.

The impact is dulled even further when you consider the fact that the viewer has already been bombarded with Kate’s hallucinations and flashbacks for the past half an hour, emphasising the fact that she was already in a pretty bad place, mentally, before taking this job. It’s easy to feel quite numb to what Outpost has to offer.

And when I say Kate was in a bad place, I mean that the only suitable location for her would be in an environment that can offer her specific mental health treatment, not stuck up a mountain, somewhere. A fact which severely undermines the character’s motivations and the plot, as a whole. Horror is really not the most accommodating of genres when it comes to careful, considered depictions of PTSD, and Outpost is no different.

Kate is extremely paranoid and frequently hallucinates, a fact which the movie chooses to portray with cutaways to situations that may or may not actually be taking place. This happens over and over again, getting to the point where it severely disrupts the flow of the movie and the storytelling. These scenes add little and begin to get frustrating very quickly as you never quite know what is real and what isn’t.

It’s an incredibly predictable movie

It doesn’t help that Outpost is ruthlessly predictable. Thanks to its unsympathetic portrayal of a person suffering from trauma, you will, likely, see where the plot is going very early on. It’s not even that the events are heavily projected; the movie, as a whole, is just not that inventive and it follows a very familiar path to other similar films. The predictability further dulls what is, already, a rather low-energy story with few surprises.

“The whiplash comes on strong in the final twenty minutes. The slow, deliberate pacing is replaced with what is, essentially, a 70s Grindhouse-style action movie.”

The whiplash comes on strong in the final twenty minutes, or so. The once slow, deliberate pacing is suddenly pushed to one side, quickly replaced with what is, essentially, a 70s Grindhouse-style action movie. Complete with quick zoom-ins to characters’ faces and over-the-top chase scenes, it’s very strange and feels extremely out of place given the drama focus that preceded it. On top of that, the movie just ends in the most abrupt, inconsequential manner ever. It’s extremely jarring.

On the plus side, acting is pretty solid. Ato Essandoh is excellent as Earl. Beth Dover is decent, as Kate. I enjoyed Becky Ann Baker as Kate’s hiker friend Bertha and Dylan Baker, while a bit awkward as Reggie, is quite good, as well. The location is undeniably great. The fire watch station is a brilliant setting with its entirely glass walls and has the potential for a ton of scares.

There are plenty of nice shots of the scenery and Outpost is a good-looking film, as a whole. The location was, however, never used to its potential. There are few night-time scenes, Kate never feels truly alone, and the natural aspect was never at the centre stage of the character’s troubles or fears. This is human drama through and through.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

Support the Site Knockout Horror is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Basically, if you click a link to rent or buy a movie, we may earn a tiny commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This helps keep the lights on and the nightmares coming. Don't worry, we will never recommend a movie purely to generate clicks. If it's bad, we will tell you.

Disclaimer: Images, posters, and video stills used in this review are the property of their respective copyright holders. They are included here for the purposes of commentary, criticism, and review under fair use. Knockout Horror makes no claim of ownership and encourages readers to support the official release of all films discussed.