Horror Movie Review: He’s Out There (2018)

I’ve seen a lot of horror movies and because of that I’m always looking for something innovative. I’ll always give a film extra credit if it can at least provide me with that. Unfortunately, He’s Out There doesn’t quite manage it. Releasing in 2018, it was directed by Quinn Lasher and written by Mike Scannell.

Laura takes her two young daughters, Kayla and Maddie, to a remote lake house for their annual family getaway. It is explained earlier that her husband Shawn will be arriving at a later time. When they arrive, area resident Owen mentions that the family who previously lived in the house had a son named John who went missing.

While playing outside, Kayla and Maddie follow a long red string. It leads to a tea party set up in the middle of the forest, where there are two cupcakes on the table. Maddie eats one, but Kayla saves hers to give to Shawn. In the night, Maddie gets sick and vomits up a small piece of ribbon with the word “hello” written on it. Kayla tells Laura about the cupcakes. She finds another ribbon inside the other cake with the word “goodbye” on it.

Laura tries to call for help but the landline is down. Laura goes out to her car to search for her cell phone and finds a strange doll in the backseat. She leaves the house with the girls but as she drives away, two wheels fall off the car and crashes.

Back in the house, Laura finds a family photo with the faces scratched out. However, her face is the only one that isn’t. Also, they see a masked man standing outside, just as Shawn arrives. Shawn then follows a red string into the forest where mannequins are positioned like a family in effigy around the tea party. John appears and kills Shawn with an axe.

Afterwards, John continues to stalk and psychologically play with the family. Will they survive?

He’s Out There has a couple of unique aspects that I enjoyed. However, on the whole it is nothing more than a generic slasher/home invasion horror film. It just delivers very little that I haven’t seen before and is packed with cliches. If you don’t watch too many of these types of movies then you’ll likely find some enjoyment. It is by no means bad, I’d even go as far to call it a solid effort. There just isn’t that much too really say, it’s just generic.

My biggest complaint surrounds the stupidity of the characters throughout. I can let the child eating the cupcake go, she’s a child after all. However, Laura is a grown woman so what’s her excuse? I understand the situation they find themselves in is stressful. A crazy person is outside and intends to kill you and your family. Still, it just doesn’t excuse her making mistake after mistake, dumb choice after dumb choice. By the end it didn’t feel like they had at all earned their survival.  Sadly, it saves the most brainless move for last as well.

This film sort of reminded me of The Strangers, it has a similar vibe. I hate how defenceless people act in these situations. John isn’t Jason Voorhees, he’s just a man. Later in the movie, Laura fights him and wins which says it all really.

To its credit, the performances in He’s Out There are good. The two girls are convincing and John is an imposing figure with a freaky mask.

He’s Out There is alright, which is quite the compliment all things considered.