Outpost
Written and Directed by Joe Lo Truglio
Starring Ato Essandoh, Dallas Roberts, Dylan Baker, Beth Dover
Unrated
Runtime: 97 minutes
In Theaters, On Demand, and Digital Platforms May 19

by Tori Potenza, Staff Writer

Content Warning: Depictions of assault and domestic abuse towards women

Horror has always been fertile ground for stories about trauma and home to stories that use the genre to explore societal ills. It has also been a place where more outlandishly violent or comedic stories can be told. Finding a happy medium between them can be tricky, and runs the risk of making the story disingenuous to its themes and making them less impactful. This is unfortunately the uncomfortable middle ground where Outpost finds itself. In the end, Outpost is a messy and tonally confusing movie that has a hard time finding a balance between its serious themes and desire to have fun with its horror elements.

Outpost focuses on the traumas of mental and physical abuse at the hands of men. Kate (Beth Dover) is a woman recovering from domestic abuse at the hands of a former partner. Feeling that the traditional routes of therapy and group sessions are not helping her in her recovery, she decides to volunteer to be a fire lookout at a remote outpost. Her belief that isolation and the solitude of her surroundings will help the healing process are tested however. While she might be alone in the outpost there are men around her she does not trust, making it difficult to enjoy her three months of peace. As terrors begin to creep into her world, she realizes that she has nowhere to run.

Many great comedic actors, writers, and directors have brought their talents over to the horror genre; David Gordon Green being a great recent example with his work on the recent Halloween reboot. So it was interesting to see that Joe Lo Truglio, who has such a strong comedic energy on screen, wanted to make his directorial film debut with a horror film. Lo Truglio is certainly a talented director, it is a great looking movie considering it is his first. He also uses Kate’s trauma as a way to implement some truly terrifying horror moments. If you’re a woman who has ever felt unsafe or insecure surrounded by men then some of these moments are sure to resonate and feel empathetic to.

While the horror elements work, the overarching story is not as effective. It tries to toe the line between grounding the movie in real world issues while also being fun and emulating grindhouse/exploitation movies. Because it tries so hard to do both, it fails to fully do either successfully. It begs the question, would this have been more successful if it was written by or directed by a woman who could potentially find the balance. Ultimately, as a white man, Lo Truglio, while well meaning, can never fully understand the abuse and trauma women experience at the hands of men. There are elements to Kate that do feel relatable but ultimately there is something about her character that makes it hard to fully understand her actions and empathize with her overall. It is an example of how representation is important behind the camera as well as in front of it.

Much of the issues revolve around the ending of the movie which tries to pull off a fun comedic blood bath with a twist ending. This undermines much of the work that went into establishing and leaning on the realities of abuse. Ultimately, this makes it feel like they did not put much thought into the tone of the finale. It ends with no real arc for most of its characters and a lingering feeling of discontent. While there might be larger conversations to have as to why they make the story choices they do, unfortunately the movie is not interesting enough to want to have those discussions.

Lo Truglio does an admirable job with the horror elements so if he finds a story that aligns he has plenty of potential as a genre director. It has its problems, but ones that are not necessarily uncommon for a first time director. It is unfortunate that they did not find a way to make a slightly more serious and tense thriller or a more fun gore fueled splatter movie. If it had this may have been more of a memorable debut for Lo Truglio.