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Kate (Beth Dover) has just come out of an abusive relationship that
ended with her ex Mike (Tim Neff) raping her, then disappearing from the
face of the earth, and she figures to get a clear head she needs to be on
her own for a while - and what better way to do that than become a
volunteer fire watcher at a national park, which basically requires her to
sit up on a high seat big enough to also serve as her home for the three
months she has signed up for this. And she also does good the first week
at the job already, taking out an illegal campfire somebody has left
burning. Of course though she still suffers from PTSD and has visions of
Mike attacking her, and the loneliness is taking to her a bit, but on the
other hand she makes friends with her "neighbour" Reggie (Dylan
Baker), a widower who lives on his own in the woods ever since the death
of his wife, even if Reggie's a bit of a weirdo and at times even utterly
rude to her. Kate also meets a nice hiker, Bertha (Becky Ann Baker), who
eventually even moves in with her temporarily. But that's when Kate's
friend, boss and mentor Earl (Ato Essandoh) finds her work has become more
and more erratic, and actually thinks about removing her from her post.
But that's when Bertha reveals her true identity, which opens Kate's eyes
to a web of deceit - and now she decides to take the fight to those
according to Bertha have lied to her ...
Outpost is a very tense piece of horror, especially
since on one hand its set-up is perfectly relatable, from the lead
character's escape from society to her feeling of isolation, but in a
narratively logical way the movie eventually drifts off into very
unexpected territory that ultimately leads to a pretty explosive finale
that nobody saw coming - but it works not only due to a clever screenplay,
but also a suspense heavy directorial effort and strong cast playing well
fleshed out characters. And the very impressive forest locations only add
to making this a top drawer genre entry.
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