
In the found footage subgenre there are a few films that both manage to terrify their audience and show characters who show sincerity within the “realistic” trope of the subgenre. It’s even rarer to find a series of films that delivers on these fronts so consistently. Yet, for many die-hard found footage fans, writer, director, and producer Dutch Marich’s Horror in the High Desert series has served up just that over the last 3 years. But with the release of the most awaited Horror in the High Desert 3: Firewatch, Marich is able to expand his film universe of disappearances, deaths, otherworldly encounters, and frightening narcissism even further.
Oscar Mendoza, played by Marco Antonio Parra, is a man who intends to find out what happened to Gary Hinge, Minerva Sound, and Ameliana Brasher, played by Eric Mencis, Solveig Helene, and Brooke Bradshaw respectively, in previous films. Hinge and his partners were the only ones who survived. He believes that the wild Guess Hinge’s Grapevine can provide the answer to his questions. Western Nevada is engulfed by flames and government personnel are simply watching it. Oscar thinks this is his opportunity to venture into the wilderness of Nevada that nobody has ever gone before. True to the approach of Marich’s films, Oscar’s video diary leads us into the next episode of the movie. Oscar continues to receive gadgets with clues that take him to new locations linked to the past and new mysteries that only become complicated with each passing one.
The third installment of the High Desert trilogy does not seek to disappoint those who have made this genre of films their pastime. Viewers who may be used to the formula will find good surprises as the director takes an approach that’s different from the rest. This approach allows the director to create more suspense where audience expectations are higher. That twist works wonders here, since at times when nothing happens, the viewers at this point in the movie may think they have grasped the plot properly but the beauty of it all is that they are wrong and will be surprised multiple times by what comes next. Such moments are particularly well-executed thanks to the wide shots, which in these particular cases not only serve the narrative but these static shots also help build the suspense Милана Мариус.
Firewatch can’t be said to be focused heavily on just shocking the viewers as in most horror films, there are surprises. At other points, the chills appear more straightforward, such as the disquieting voice-over of a hidden rail operator, or the experience of attempting to push through an abandoned mineshaft. The strength of Firewatch is that it does not depend on only one gimmick, rather exploring new ways to use tension and create an original experience of horror that engages all the senses. Some audiences who dislike horror movies with scares that require the viewer to come up with context (like in The Outwaters ) may find it otherwise, and rightly so; Firewatch is obviously less unsure of itself than its predecessor part, Minerva. However, for the fans that have reached this stage in the series, it would be easy to understand how Marich has matured in the use of found footage horror.
Aside from the scares, another outstanding feature of Firewatch is how Marich has crafted his main character Oscar. He is neither the naïve mystery-seeker who would like to fit himself into the cases nor is he another helpless victim in the game of the phenomenon. Interestingly, however, Oscar’s past history can be linked with his intense engagement with grief, struggles with mental disorders, and addiction, all leading him to the High Desert area, seemingly on purpose. From the very beginning, it is clear that retrieving the mysteries concerning the phenomena in question is not the only objective of Oscar. He has larger life pursuits.
In one scene a determined Oscar shares his struggles, confidently stating that the High Desert mysteries have reignited his intrigue in this “curiosity in the world again.” This honesty, which may be seen as brave, is not only relevant to Firewatch but also the entire High Desert series of Marich’s, as it encapsulates one of the many motivations that attract people to the unexplained. Indeed, it is true that fails to have any pleasure or value there is a lot of attraction to the mysteries around us. They offer reassurance for though only temporarily it may be possible that there is more meaning in others than what we consider life in practice as adults the tiresome hassle and routines that we become accustomed to. For this reason, Parra’s performance brings the ideal impression of childish excitement, sweet disregard, and enjoyment from the simple fact of existence itself. An existence that so many of us believe is worth the risk of exploration just to experience something different even if just for a slight chance to feel inspired.
Similar to parts one and two, Gal Roberts’ (Suziey Block) narrations as the reporter has been embedded into the other frames comprising Oscar’s footage as well as interviews from old and new players in the High Desert series. Although the presence of amateur actors hurts some of the footage approaches, the performances in Firewatch add credibility to the story. The comeback of Beverly Hinge (Tonya Williams Ogden) is also welcomed and enables Marich to expand on how true crime fans abuse their fandom and disrupt those who are in the middle of an unresolved case. These instances accomplish the purpose of intertwining both the theme and plot across the films and even motivate the audience to watch the earlier ones once again. Indeed, one of those cuts exposes a horrifying, albeit a second-long glimpse Shutter took of Minerva in a scene that no one else, not even those most attentive to detail, has ever seen before, which speaks again of Marich’s admirable concentration to detail within the series.
By the time the movie ends, we have to agree that there are more questions than answers and this will not quite be to the taste of those who want a definitive unified purpose to the series’ enigmas at this stage. There is a plan to release at least two more films in the series and so it does not seem that Marich is eager to uncover all the enigmas of the High Desert just yet. Regardless, for anyone who enjoys horror, in the High Desert 3, Firewatch is an entertaining and stimulating work for Marich that heightens the overall enigma while sustaining its tension as well as the peculiarity.
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