They’re Outside Is Worth a Watch for the Ending Alone

One of the cool things about horror is that filmmakers have free rein to make up new monsters and mythologies for their movies. As much as I love the more traditional creatures like vampires, werewolves, and ghosts, I don’t want to keep seeing the same handful of monsters all the time. Variety is the spice of life, and that’s just as true in horror as it is anywhere else. It’s also one of the main reasons why I was intrigued by the trailer for They’re Outside. It promised a new monster that nobody had ever seen before, so I was really curious to see what new frights this film could bring us.

Directed by the duo of Sam Casserly and Airell Anthony Hayles, They’re Outside stars Emily Booth, Chrissy Randall, Tom Wheatley, and Nicole Miners. It’s a found footage movie, and it follows a popular psychologist named Max who goes to the home of an agoraphobic woman named Sarah for the next episode of his YouTube show. Sarah’s condition is so bad she can’t even step foot outside her house, but Max thinks he can cure it in just 10 days.

While there, he learns that Sarah believes her condition is connected to the local legend of Green Eyes—a ghost who whisks people away in the forest—after which they’re never seen or heard from again. At first, Max is completely dismissive of the story, but it soon becomes clear that Green Eyes is more than just a myth.

On the whole, I found They’re Outside to be a very mixed bag, with some elements that I really liked and some that just didn’t work for me. Let’s begin with the negatives. My biggest problem with the film is hands down the main characters, Max and Sarah. There are a couple of side characters I didn’t mind, but that main duo was very hit or miss.

For example, I found the acting to be pretty inconsistent. There are some scenes where the performances are quite good, but there are others where I just didn’t buy them. On top of that, I didn’t find these two characters all that likable. In particular, I had a really hard time caring about Max. He’s not a very good person, so I just couldn’t get emotionally attached to him.

In contrast, Sarah isn’t terrible, but she’s quite bland for much of the movie’s runtime. You’re supposed to feel sympathy for the way her agoraphobia has taken over her life and pretty much destroyed it, but for some reason, I just couldn’t connect with her. I’m having trouble pinpointing why exactly her character didn’t work for me, but I think it has to do with Chrissy Randall’s performance.

Like I said before, there are times when she’s really good in the role, but other times she plays the part with a wide-eyed aloofness that kept me at arm’s length emotionally. It often feels like there’s just nothing to the character other than her agoraphobia, so I found it really tough to become invested in her.

On the flip side, the best thing about They’re Outside is definitely the Green Eyes mythology and the way it plays out in the final act. I really enjoyed the lore behind this new monster, and while I think the film could’ve benefited from exploring it a bit more, we get just enough of it that my horror “sweet tooth” was satisfied.

Unfortunately, though, this mythology largely lies in the background for most of the story. The majority of it is more of a drama than anything else, and since the main characters didn’t hook me in, these more dramatic parts didn’t work for me. Every once in a while, They’re Outside does try to throw in a bit of horror, but I didn’t find those scenes all that effective. They do pay off in the end, but in the moment, they feel pretty tame.

Then, in the third act, that all changes. I obviously don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m going to be pretty vague here. The last 10 or 15 minutes go all-in on the horror, and I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised by it. When I first noticed the change, I thought it was going to be too little too late. Since I wasn’t invested in the characters, I thought the finale wasn’t going to be all that effective for me, but I was wrong.

After just a few minutes, I was hooked. This final part is super creepy, and it uses the Green Eyes mythology really effectively. It favors slowly growing dread over cheap jump scares, so it gets under your skin and gives you no respite until the credits roll. Even when it does make you jump, it never lets the scariness wane, much like the final scene of Paranormal Activity. In that sense, it’s the best of both worlds, and it uses them both to their full effect.

So at the end of the day, would I recommend They’re Outside? On the whole, I have to say yes. Admittedly, I wasn’t a huge fan of most of the story, as the characters just didn’t work for me, but those final moments outweighed all the negatives. When the film was over, I was happy I had watched it, and the way I see it, that’s really the only thing that matters. So if you’re looking for some good new horror, give They’re Outside a shot. The last 10 to 15 minutes alone make it worth a watch.

They’re Outside hits VOD on October 29.

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