There can be only one? Nope that’s Highlander.

Machine for eroding wood? Nope that’s a belt sander.

Lady with fruity hat? Nope, that’s Carmen Miranda.

What we’re looking at today, is Outlander, an independent Sci-Fi flick from 2008; not to be confused with the modern TV series on US network Starz. Yessir its the first proper post in far too long! And so without further ado, here are my thoughts on Outlander. Spoilers ahead!

Outlander stars Jim Caviezel as Kainan, a man from another world who crash lands his spacecraft in Viking-era Europe. With him, he unwittingly brings a ‘Moorwen’; a monstrous beast capable of tearing people to pieces and hunting almost silently. Whilst looking for the Moorwen, Kainan is found by a group of Vikings who- though initially suspicious of him- take him in only to find themselves at the mercy of the Moorwen. The film follows the tribe’s ‘war’ with the Moorwen, as they seek to kill it before it kills them. The Moorwen is a sort of cross between a Xenomorph (from Alien, reviewed here a few weeks back) and a ‘Displacer Beast’ from Dungeons and Dragons; and the CGI is good enough that it does look like a genuine threat.

I’ll be honest with you reader, I liked this film a lot more than I thought I was going to! My research led me to expect a slightly-better-than-most B-Movie or forgettable and schlocky attempt at blockbuster fare. What I got was a pretty decent film; cliche, yes- and with large debts to older, better films (Alien, Predator, Braveheart etc)- but competent and even compelling. And while it wears additional B-Movie influences on its sleeve, the film delivers moments of genuine tension, pathos and excitement.

Its not perfect by any means. It’s a little too long, some plot points feel unnecessary, some of the accents wander and some of the action is not terribly well shot. But the film is elevated by a half-decent script and a cast who almost all bring their A-game. I’ve not seen Caviezel in anything else before, but he makes good in the role of strong, silent soldier type crossed with man-who-fell-to-earth.* Sophia Myles -again new to me but a seemingly talented genre actress with a number of roles to her name- plays the love interest/ King’s-daughter-who-also-fights-good well even when her scripting is a little flimsy. Stand-outs though come from a couple of veterans- John Hurt as King Rothgar and Ron Perlman as Gunnar, leader of an opposing tribe. John Hurt lifts every scene he’s in, giving gravitas to pretty run-of-the-mill fantasy dialogue. Perlman on the other hand only really matters in one scene, the first in which he appears, but makes one hell of an impact as the fearsome Gunnar- all rage and violence. Another performance worth mentioning is Cliff Saunders as Boromir**, the frequently drunk blacksmith of the town who provides 90% of the films’ humour.

All in all then, this film is pretty decent! Definitely watchable and punching above its weight, file this one under ‘minor cult classic’. I might even watch it again someday.

3 stars!: ***

-Tom

*His most famous role, surprisingly (at least to me) was as Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson’s passion project (geddit!?) Passion of the Christ- the film that finally answers the question: ‘what if we filmed the Easter story, but made it weirdly violent and let an anti-semite film it?’

**One thing the film does not excel at is originality in the name department.