’Outpost’ review: Dir. Joe Lo Truglio [FrightFest 2022]

Joe Lo Truglio is best known as a comedy actor. Over the course of his career he has starred in a variety of films and television shows including Paul, Bob’s Burgers, American Dad, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. In addition to acting, Truglio is a burgeoning director having directed episodes of both Wainy Days and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Truglio is also an avid horror fan and has most recently been seen helping Shudder count down the scariest movies in The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time. Now Truglio has combined these two passions to create his feature debut, Outpost. 

The plot of Outpost falls somewhere between the Angelina Jolie movie Those Who Wish Me Dead, and The Shining. It stars Beth Dover as Kate, a woman fleeing a bad relationship. After a brutal assault by her partner, Kate is left shaken. She is further unnerved by his disappearance. Unable to relax at home, Kate makes a drastic decision. In a bid to put distance between herself and her tormentor, she volunteers to spend the summer in the remote recesses of the Idaho forests. Kate signs up to live in a woodland watchtower, her job to keep an eye on the weather and alert the local authorities at the first sign of forest fires. Her isolation isn’t as healing as she had hoped for however, and quickly finds herself battling demons from her past. 

Outpost opens cold, with Kate’s savage attack. It immediately grabs the viewer’s attention and thrusts them into Kate’s perspective. She is clearly not coping in the aftermath of the assault, Truglio orchestrating a number of scenes which highlight the paranoia and panic experienced by some survivors. Even something as simple as having a coffee sees Kate breakdown as all the other patrons become conduits for her abuser. It’s a clever trick and one that will be called upon several more times during the story. The sequences work as they cast doubt on the validity of Kate’s reality. A key component of the viewer experience is, like Kate, never knowing what around them they can believe as truth. 

Truglio’s love for the horror genre is apparent from the outset. As Kate journeys cross country, the screen is awash with rural vistas straight out of a Stephen King story. There’s an early nod to Final Destination 2, and as Outpost continues, there’s an outpouring of subtle references to a plethora of classics. Infused with a great amount of tension, Truglio never forgets his comedy roots and sneaks in the odd moment of humour. Dover does great work as Kate, holding a film alone is always a tough feat, but she handles the challenge well. The strong performance and construction combine to create the perfect setting for this psychological horror. Towards the end Outpost stretches a little over its reach, though not enough to detract from its solid opening and middle. A showcase of Truglio’s genre adoration and talent, Outpost is a great first step into directing for the actor. 

Outpost was reviewed at FrightFest Halloween 2022.