Outcast Review

The comparison to Let the Right One In is unhelpful but at least promises something a little different.

With the newly reanimated Hammer films releasing movies on both sides of the Atlantic, and the noughties giving birth to committed British horror directors like Neil Marshall and Christopher Smith, there’s a sense that indigenous horror could return to something like its ’60s and ’70s heyday.

The latest effort is writer-director Colm McCarthy’s Outcast, which creeps into cinemas under the heavy burden of being marketed as the most original horror since Let the Right One In.

This heady mixture of kitchen sink drama, Celtic creepiness and ancient witchcraft transported to present day Scotland manages to be both refreshing and a little too familiar all at once.

The story centres on Mary (Kate Dickie) and her sullen teenage son Fergal (Niall Bruton) who are living a transient life on the run from someone or something. When they come to rest in an Edinburgh council estate Fergal catches the eye of local strumpet Petronella (Hanna Stanbridge).

Meanwhile, a remarkably hirsute James Nesbitt is introduced as Cathal, a brooding figure with magic powers assigned to track and kill the pair for reasons unknown. And so the scene is set as we essentially jump between Cathal’s ham-fisted hunt and Mary’s desperate attempts to keep her son safe from harm and the attentions of Petronella.

For all that Outcast takes itself very seriously, there are times when it slips into League of Gentlemen territory. It’s an uneven exercise in which the different story strands don’t always mesh and the film’s younger cast members are hard to connect with emotionally.

Nevertheless the atmospheric direction suggests McCarthy could be one to watch, while Nesbitt and in particular the wonderful Kate Dickie (Red Road) give strong, committed performances. The use of special effects is also extremely effective.