Review: Outlander (Howard McCain, 2008)

Sci-fi, monsters, and medieval vikings- what's not to like?

This really wasn't bad at all! Chronicles of Riddick vs Predator vs Beowulf/Vikings is the simplest way to describe it, and what an entertaining film it was- this is pure B movie hokum executed with panache and surprisingly much better than I thought it would be, and a lot better than the usual nonsense which normally plague our screens. Medieval fantasy, monsters, brutal carnage, explosive action and blood and guts with a sci-fi twist- I had a great time with this film.

The story revolves around Kainen (Jim Caveziel), whose space ship crash lands from a distant planet into medieval Norway- and he's accidentally bought an evil creature along with him. He must gain the trust of vikings and their leader, King Rothgar (played by John Hurt), in order to defeat this monster who destroyed his land and is now threatening theirs. Using brains, wits and, swords and old fashioned brute force, Kainen is also forced to unite warring viking tribes to defeat their common enemy- this monstrous creature known as the "Moorwen".

Acting is solid all round from Caveziel and Hurt, with a small role by Ron Perlman, as well as a cast of unknowns. Production may be cheap but the CGI effects look decent and the visuals giving a good scope of epic medieval Norway. It's not without it's flaws of course (acting and dialogue occasionally leave a lot to be desired and sometimes it's cliché as hell) but sit back and turn your brain off and enjoy it as it's a very entertaining and well made low budget action/fantasy flick which harks back to the time when we fell in love with films like this in the first place.

It's shameful that this is one of the best films of it's type iv'e seen in a long time (since at least Pitch Black) in a time crowded with films like it- films like AVP and AVPR have a lot to answer for when a film like this comes out of nowhere and manages to be better than both films combined- considering both have nearly the same budgets and ridiculous premise, Outlander blows both out of the water. My expectations were low here but I was surprised- Outlander is also at times generic as hell too but it is still far superior to a lot of films today in terms of directing, design, effects and action, and some of the ideas and sequences are also very inspired. It's also got some surprisingly good CGI, art and design as well! The "Moorwen" creature itself was actually well done too and they thought about it's origins well, and even put effort into making us understand it's actual perspective in the fight instead of it just being a random monster out to kill. The characterisation is not deep or anything but the little touches of effort were much appreciated.

It's not perfect by any means but it's definitely of a high class despite it's low calibre production, definitely recommended for those who love a a bit of old-skool monster/sci-fi and medieval action. The execution may be generic and cliché at times but the story is fantastic and the film is just entertaining as a whole, a true classic B monster movie. I wouldn't have minded if it was sci-fi/futuristic action with monsters anyway but the whole old Norse viking/Beowulf aspect sold it for me completely (I love epic myths and barbarians and whatnot) and what a cool mix it was.

This is one of those films that will become a cult classic over time just as Pitch Black did, though it already seems to be garnering positive attention already.

7/10