Outpost - Nazi ghosts, not zombies...

Introduction

There have been plenty of gore fest films over the last few years, but relatively few scary films, films that attempt to build up the suspense without having the desire to make people vomit into their popcorn with gruesome special effects in place of a plot. Fear not though, an unlikely duo from North of the Border re-mortgaged their home to bring a new low budget contender to the table, and it's not half bad either.

Somewhere in war ravaged Eastern Europe, engineer Hunt (Julian Wadham) recruits war weary mercenary and ex-Royal Marine DC (Ray Stephenson) and his compatriot Prior (Richard Brake) to escort him into the middle of nowhere to a deserted bunker. DC puts together a small team of mercs that are filled by Cotter (Enoch Frost), Jordan (Paul Blair), McKay (Michael Smiley), Taktarov (Brett Fancy), and local guide Voyteche (Julian Rivett).



Cotter is a grown up version of the African boy soldiers from war ravaged countries of the dark continent, a man who has known war all his life. Jordan is the team's medic, a man with a past that may not be all it seems. McKay is an Irish enigma, wearing the red beret of the Parachute Regiment but has IRA tattoo's on his arms. Tak is a veteran of the Russian aborted invasion of Afghanistan. And Prior is a moody ex-US marine who is the only team member that DC has worked with before.

Arriving at the bunker, the team make a couple of stunning discoveries; firstly, they find the survivor of what looks like ethnic cleansing in the Breather (Johnny Meres), a man who is breathing but looks dead as he doesn't move at all. Secondly, a huge swastika on the wall behind a film projection screen reveals the chequered past of this abandoned bunker. Before they really have a chance to take both of these discoveries in, the team are attacked by mysterious unseen assailants from the nearby woods.



Some of the team speculate that Hunt has come hunting for Nazi gold, but the truth is much more sinister. The SS were conducting experiments in reality shifting and reanimation in an attempt to make super soldiers. And the arrival of the mercenaries has woken something from its slumber.

Visual

Picture is bleached à la Band of Brothers, war torn Eastern Europe (albeit in bonnie Scotland) looking decidedly grimy and grim. The lighting in this film is superb, the initial bunker clearance very well done and the reveal of the Nazi soldiers in the wood is superbly spooky. The archive film clips are also superbly put together, very Goebbels-like.

Audio

Suitably spooky and quite loud in place surround soundtrack. James Seymour Brett's soundtrack is nicely low key rather than overpowering and adds to the atmostphere immensely.

Extras

Deleted Scenes - also includes alternate scenes. These can be played separately or together, with or without Director's Commentary. Most of the deleted scenes were dropped for pacing, although the alternate ending was actually dropped because they just couldn't get it to work within their schedule - which is a shame as it would have been a better ending if they'd managed to pull it off.

Theatrical Trailer

Behind The Scenes - this is subtitled and there are a couple of minor glitches in the sound design of this featurette. This is one of the more interesting Making Of featurettes I've seen recently, admittedly it's a little luvvie in place, but this is not your usual gushing EPK.



Director's Commentary with Kieron Parker and Steve Barker - for a first time effort from both, this is really quite an enjoyable track with plenty of pop-culture references, neither afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves. It's a little dry in places, and they realise that, but there really should be more commentaries like this.

Overall

Despite critical slatings, I quite enjoyed both The Bunker and Deathwatch. Outpost is a combination of both of these films and also has similarities with that other British gem, Dog Soldiers. Admittedly there is certainly a logic deficit in the lot to this film, but that is also something addressed within the commentary as something the director and producer realised but couldn't really do anything about due to time and budget. I just put the logic out of mind and enjoyed the film for what it is. A bloody good scary romp.



Ray Stephenson exudes authority as the ex-Royal Marine, looking and acting the part of Warrant Officer, effortlessly leading and commanding his rough and ready team of hard-bitten mercenaries. What is quite nice about this film is the way that we don't have fresh freshed male models with machine guns. The mercs in this film are old and rather ravaged, exactly how you would imagine mercenaries. They're also not innocents and have few morals, therefore you actually sympathise with the characters despite yourself, although you're also not unhappy to see a couple go. The initial characterisation is sketchy, but you're really rooting for the team once it becomes clear what they're up against. The script helps, but the performances are spot on. Julian Wadham is also rather good as the mysterious engineer who knows more than he's letting on, and may also be the only one who can save the team he hired to protect him.

This is a corker of a film, certainly superb as an after the pub with pizza kind of film (which was the stated intention), and it will certainly stand up to repeat viewings. Superb stuff. Recommended.