72
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90SlashfilmLex BriscusoSlashfilmLex BriscusoThe Outwaters is an immersive hellmouth waiting to, quite literally, swallow us up and spit us back out into the landscape more horrified of what the universe is capable of than ever before — and trust me, you don't stand a chance against what it has in store for you.
- 88Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenWith The Outwaters, the found-footage horror film has unexpectedly found its trippy, unmooring, ultraviolent answer to the cosmic horror of H.P. Lovecraft and the free-associative barbarity of A Page of Madness.
- 83ColliderChase HutchinsonColliderChase HutchinsonA stunning embrace of abject horror that peels back the layers of skin just as it does those of the mind, The Outwaters stumbles upon a brutal brilliance in the desolation of the desert.
- 80The Daily BeastNick SchagerThe Daily BeastNick SchagerA cannier, and more effective, slice of shaky-cam insanity than most of its brethren, right down to a finale that’s akin to 2001: A Space Odyssey as processed through a meat grinder.
- 80The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe Outwaters conjures a swoony, dreamlike atmosphere that heightens the shocks to come.
- 75RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoRogerEbert.comBrian TallericoThis film takes no prisoners, offers no explanations, and forces you to go on its twisted journey that blends found footage structure with something that H.P. Lovecraft might have dreamed up. It’s a ride.
- The Outwaters is a movie that rewards patience and gives your mind the freedom to run away with its setup and follow it to the bitter end. There is certainly a lot happening here, and it doesn’t all make sense or have an explanation, but that’s the (terrifying) point.
- 70Rolling StoneK. Austin CollinsRolling StoneK. Austin CollinsEven when it seems at risk of spinning its wheels into oblivion, there’s an urgent pleasure in watching it spin.
- 60IGNMatt DonatoIGNMatt DonatoThe Outwaters is found-footage fearlessness that needs to be seen to be believed, but will be met by only the most divisive of reactions.
- 50Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerAustin ChronicleRichard WhittakerThe Outwaters stumbles because it fails to clear the second hurdle of any found footage movie: not simply answering why would the camera stay on (that's the easy part), but why would anyone edit what's been recovered in this way?