My Dad is a massive fan of werewolf movies . My own opinion is that you've seen one werewolf movie you've seen them all and they're very formulaic . So when my Dad gave me this DVD it could only mean one thing - a werewolf movie so bad my Dad had no inclination to watch it again . Never a gift horse in the mouth I did console myself looking on the DVD backcover to find it was directed by Colm McCarthy who made the recent hit THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS and who is in my mind a director to keep an eye on Certainly McCarthy knows how to bring a bleak and brutal background to a visual story . OUTCAST is set on the council schemes of Edinburgh and filmed in such a way this Edinburgh is the anti-thesis seen in the festival brochures . It doesn't feel like the Edinburgh I know and love and this is in no way a criticism . Mood is everything and compared to this film TRAINSPOTTING is LA LA LAND The underlying problem is that there's little beyond OUTCAST apart from its oppressive atmosphere . The story itself is often confusing and the narrative feels better suited to a Western where two tough gringos ride in to town looking for a runaway . When James Nesbitt character walks in to a bar I kept expecting someone to ask for soda-pop . There's not a lot in the way of werewolves either and the belated effects are faintly ridiculous which tend to bring the entire film down and makes for a painfully uneven movie

Some people reviewing this film have been complaining everything from the script to the actual film itself but I wonder how many films they have seen that live to their high expectations? This lowbudget supernatural horror film was a big surprise for me because I never heard about it before nor have I met anyone who have seen it.The story about demon hunter Cathal(James Nesbitt) using irish "Pikey" or traveller/gypsy magic in order to snare a demon beast is slightly different from similar stories in the same genre. The hunt is not as easy as its seems and some people have a hidden agenda....Using very ordinary locations, in this case, a rundown apartment complex in Edinburgh poses it challenges. A type of location used in many other films like Fish Tank (2009), All or Nothing (2002), or A Taste of Honey (1961)etc.How to make such usual, cliché ridden location into something more menacing, chilling, more resembling the Gothic horror environment in an old abandoned castle for example? Director Colm McCarthy has the answer by using very little lighting, editing and very sparse use of CGI, makeup etc he creates a most chilling atmosphere out of a normal housing project.However, being a lowbudget means that whatever SFX is used is not as good as bigger budget movie but Colm McCarthy does a very good job with it.Story itself is reminiscent of some of Clive Barkers films, such as Lord of Illusions (1995), Hellraiser (1987), Nightbreed (1990). Mix this with irish traveller/gypsy magic and that type of culture (watch Ian Palmers doc Knuckle)and add some HP Lovecraft, especially themes from The Dunwich Horror and you will get what Outcast (2010)is about.The acting is very good, James Nesbitts obsessed demonhunter Cathal, Kate Dickies Mary who has done a lot great performances in films like Red Road (2006) now mostly famous from Game of Thrones is just excellent.The new faces for me are Hanna Stanbridge, Niall Bruton who are very good playing two teenagers thrust into a problematic situation that none of them seem to understand.So, future viewers that like supernatural horror films, and don't mind lowbudget flaws, watch this film with a different approach to witchcraft, demons and sorcery.

The tale is outlined at first, then fleshed out. There is skillful employment of ambiguity. There is no formulaic plot here, although you know at the end there is going to be a showdown of one sort or another. Outcast has a dual meaning. There are disturbing elements of graphic violence, although they are strategic and never gratuitous. The review is dubbed as it is as the practices of the characters would appear to be those used in the fundamentals used in real witchcraft.The acting is solid. As others who have reviewed "Outcast" have noted, the film is not only about supernatural practices; there are cultural and age aspects to it as well. Cultural includes capturing the feel of the high rise projects (i.e. estates) and the busybody social workers that come with them. There are the tensions connected with melting pot clashes. Age aspects have young adults trying to find resonance with other young adults. A subject also breached is that of adults with developmental and cognitive impairments and differing views of where they fit into a culture.Aside from plot attributes, "Outcast" is a spell-binding (no pun intended) story that I felt compelled to watch until the end. Hoping to see more by this director soon!

I don't tend to be a huge fan of modern day British horror, so it's refreshing to see something this smart, original and entertaining. Writer/director Colm McCarthey has crafted here a supernatural kitchen sink horror that entwines both aspects with skill, unobtrusive social comment and psychological intensity. The film follows Fergal and his mother Mary, set up in a flat on a run down estate, though mysterious hunters are after them and both Mary and Fergal have things to hide, brooding concerns that unfold during the course of the film. I've kept this summary vague because a lot of the fun here comes in watching things unfold, but let's just say that spell-casting strangeness, mythology and violent death are involved. Beyond the plot mechanics lie the real interests of the film, brought out partly in setting and characters and as strongly in the assortment of fine acting turns at hand. The film is concerned with family and culture and their tensions, characters have an assortment of backgrounds, Irish, Scottish, Polish and less defined varieties of "other". Conflicts mount, based not on easy illustrations of racism but family ties, sexual fears and adolescence, the film has even its minor characters picking through a minefield and an ever present feel that its gritty locales could erupt. Speaking of gritty locales, the cinematography of Darran Teirnan does a great job of grounding everything in recognisable reality, with palpable run-down atmosphere. The character seeth as much as the setting, Kate Dickie is most powerful as Mary, high strung, unsettling in the clammy closeness of her concerns for Fergal and convincingly, even erotically pagan during her supernatural scenes. Niall Bruton is effective as Fergal, a quiet and haunted fellow with a certain inner grace, yearning and sympathetic edge. Hanna Stanbridge stands out as an earthy and foul mouthed but irresistibly attractive fellow tenant with the hots for Fergal, good contrast to the wilder goings on, while James Nesbitt is great as a grimly determined, ambitious and shifty hunter. Outcast moves at a quick pace, though horror junkies should note that the film is as driven by drama of the more conventional kind as it is horror hi-jinks. Gore and effects are used sparingly but to good effect, with the distinct advantage of being fairly unusual in their use. The only significant problem here is some of the shaky camera work used, though once or twice it is good at conveying an impression without showing too much, it detracts from the climax where a better view of proceedings would have been much appreciated. Altogether, I thought this one rather ace, it takes a little getting into and the contrast of setting and shenanigans will undoubtedly jar for a fair few viewers, but for me pretty well everything worked great. A solid recommendation from me then, 8/10.