The Outing (1987)

There are a couple of cool death scenes and nice demon puppet towards the end but overall this is a really dull film. The acting is terrible and difficult to watch, the script is pathetic and there are too many daft sequences and poor character decisions to make this enjoyable.None of the characters were interesting or likable and I only kept watching because of a review that said it all gets good once they are inside the museum. Unfortunately it did not.It's not even a film I would put into the 'so bad it's good' category as it contains no genuine or accidental funny moments. In fact, for a crappy 80's horror film, it just isn't much fun at all. I did like the demon at the end though.

This movie sucks its not fun to watch. There are some funny parts but they are unintentional. Like when I saw the trailer for this movie as a kid back in the day, this movie seemed super scary and I was wary. Saw it as an adult and yeah it sucked. I guess they made movies in Texas back in the 80's like it was a real thing and I feel like this movie was filmed in the lone star state. Its has that 80's Texas feel. Also, as a kid I might have gone to the museum that is the location where this movie was filmed. If that is the case there is an awesome T-rex skull like right as you walk in. Its huge too, like a live T-rex would be killing motherf*ckers, so if you ever go to Huston check it out. Oh yeah acting was bad directing was bad lighting was sh*tty story was sh*tty you know the drill.

One thing I have noticed about B movies over the years that are made in Texas by Texan filmmakers - they aren't very good. "The Outing" is one of the better Texan efforts I have seen, though that's really not saying that much. It did have a higher budget than usual, which results in a slicker and more expensive look, and also results in a variety of locations as well as a fairly impressive (for the budget) monster revealed at the very end. But is it worth sitting through the 70 or so minutes before the monster is revealed? Unfortunately, no. The movie boasts a number of problems. The acting ranges from mediocre to hammy, but the real problems with the movie are that (1) the movie moves at an extremely slow pace, and (2) the moments of horror come across as "soft", lacking bite and impact. Making matters worse for home viewers is that the DVD transfer uses an old tape master, which doesn't make the movie visually impressive. Believe me, I wanted to like this movie - I love a lot of independent horror movies - but this just didn't do it for me.

Another overlooked horror from a period when horror was a not done. it's a strange flick because it was the director Tom Daley his first and last attempt to make a flick. On the other hand it doesn't contain big names it's even so that most of the actors only appeared in The Lamp. Only James Huston went further but not to mention as an actor and Red Mitchell who we can see in JFK (1991) sadly he died at the age of 33 in 1994 in a train/car collision. Was it bad, not really, it do has some good parts like a bath scene with snakes or a body been torn in two pieces in a swimming pool. The idea is okay with the Jinn and the mummy coming alive but it's the effect used that makes it out dated. It has the so typical cheap eighties effects that it sometimes is a bit ridiculous. But it also has a bit of nudity even some gratuitous by the first girl being killed running around with bouncing boobs. But I have also to say that I sometimes was a bit bored, the Jinn wasn't scary at all. It looked fine but when you work a Jinn and a magic lamp it becomes a bit Disney. Still, it has a proper release but is sold a bit pricey, still it's available on VHS. And don't be confused by it's second title The Outing which was also another flick from 1981 known as Scream. And not the Scream from Wes Craven. So watch out to hunt this that you have the correct flick. Gore 1/5 Nudity 1,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5