Low Budget Love: He's Out There
Film: He's Out There (2017)
Here we go, another interesting film I picked up at the dollar store. Just from looking down at the cover and reading the back, it was clear this was going to be a slasher. Being a big fan of slasher films, I was excited. But I never really remembered hearing about this one, so there had to be some sort of catch.
As it turns out, there was. It was a bit of a copycat film. And it was also very good.
Now, here is the thing, almost any slasher has some sort of copycat tendencies. From final girls to campgrounds, slashers have been recycling little nuances, each one trying to make their own stamp on the genre. This film is no different. However, the film that it mirrors was a film that in itself made a few waves with its take on the slasher genre.
The Strangers.
Despite a 9 year gap between The Strangers and this film, the influence is clear. A quiet secluded area, a masked and somewhat unexplained killer doing more stalking and terror than actual kills, and a slow build of a home invasion.
With that in mind, He's Out There does actually stand out in a few ways.
We have the quietly deranged man in the woods getting a little more back story, and we have some very unsettling and disturbing moments that really add tension to the story. The film lets you know early on that things are not going to go well, and then just keeps adding more and more terror to each detail as it is revealed.
Also, for our protagonists, we have a mother and her two young daughters. The truth being that the initial targets of the hidden villain are the children really strikes a chord, and with any other parents watching, adds just a little more of that unsettling vibe to the film.
What this movie also does well that is a nod to The Strangers is that it’s not a kill-fest. Very few kills, but an unyielding amount of tension and terror are what really makes this film rise above a generic slasher.
Moreover, the film is shot very well. The atmosphere is imposing, and the way the director was able to squeeze a little of terror out of each detail really adds to the films impact.
The final act of the film brings all the terror and tension to a fitting climax, where some of the gore and violence finally makes its appearance.
This movie surprised me. I thought I was getting into a generic, paint-by-numbers slasher. What I got was a detailed and well paced terror film, with the horror-filled climax a cherry on top. For as good as I thought this film was, I was even more surprised I hadn't heard more of it after watching it. Perhaps it is that strong resemblance to many of the key elements of The Strangers, but this movie should really be given a viewing if possible. It truly is a blast.
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