In his final published video, Gary Hinge claimed to have discovered a mysterious cabin in the desert. He was pressured by his followers to return to the location and prove that he wasn’t lying. Dutch Marich’s film employs the familiar pseudo-documentary format and found footage narrative style to great effect. The uncovered footage conveys an uneasy sense of impending doom, and the climax is absolutely terrifying.
Synopsis
Horror in the High Desert (2021) is a mockumentary style found footage mystery horror movie that revolves around the disappearance of outdoorsman Gary Hinge. The film focuses on recovered video footage from his last hike in the desert and takes full advantage of Nevada’s sinister reputation for conspiracies, crossbreeding it with its gloomy topographical characteristics to create an ominous atmosphere perfect for unnerving storytelling. The film begins with a police missing person report for Gary, an amateur hiking enthusiast who vanished while on an expedition in the desert near Ruth, Nevada. The report states that Gary walked to an unspecified area and was never seen again. His housemate alerts his sister Beverly and the police begin an investigation. They eventually receive information from a couple who say they had been camping nearby when Gary approached them. They claim that he seemed distressed and said that he was looking for “a cave.”
After receiving this information, the police contact Beverly to get more details. She explains that her brother had been hiking and was looking for a cave to explore. She also reveals that he had been recording his experience and was very excited about the discovery. The police then ask Beverly to come to the station and show her a copy of his video. When she watches the video, she notices that it doesn’t seem to be an ordinary hike. It seems that Gary is being stalked by a stranger in the desert and that he doesn’t feel safe. He is then attacked by a man with horrific physical deformities and his camera stops recording.
Beverly is shocked to hear this and she decides to help the authorities find the stranger. She begins to suspect that the stranger may have been a mutant who lives in the desert and doesn’t want to be found. She begins to investigate the matter and finds a local who has a connection to the case. The movie is a low-budget thriller that relies on the tension of its plot and the performances of its cast. Suziey Block, who plays Beverly, is excellent as a news reporter dedicated to solving the case and Tonya Williams Ogden is convincing as Gary’s sister. The movie’s slow burn and talking heads interview build up the mystery of what happened to Gary until the final reveals that are enough to make your hair stand on end.
Cast
Horror in the High Desert is a slow burn mockumentary that features a small, inexperienced cast and basic editing. Director Dutch Marich uses the pseudo-documentary format to tell the story of Gary Hinge’s disappearance, and the result is an incredibly creepy movie. The film’s commitment to the format robs it of some narrative momentum, but the final stretch delivers genuine edge-of-your-seat tension. The film follows survivalist and outdoor enthusiast Gary Hinge (Eric Mencis) after his mysterious disappearance in the Nevada desert. The independent film employs a combination of made-up talking heads, beautiful landscape footage, and the found footage narrative technique popularized by The Blair Witch Project to create unnerving suspense. The filmmakers also make use of the eerie sense of isolation that comes with not being able to see well in the dark.
Despite the efforts of a news reporter, private investigator, and the YouTuber’s sister, there are no leads on the whereabouts of the missing vlogger. However, a break in the case soon provides terrifying video evidence of what happened to Gary. The first video entry from Gary, recorded at night, indicates that he was able to find his way back to the mystery cabin. He describes the various markers he had left, stating that he was very close to the cabin and could smell smoke, just like the previous time. Subsequent recordings are bits of infrared video, starting with a frightened Gary saying that he can hear someone chanting.
Gary’s final video reveals his horrific fate. Amongst the many comments on his YouTube channel, he mentions that his attacker was an indigenous spirit, and that he has found artifacts from Native American culture in the area. He also references an abandoned mine, and claims to have contacted the local police. Unlike other disappearances of outdoors enthusiasts, Gary’s has not been linked to supernatural phenomena or government conspiracies. However, his story has inspired online speculation about Area 51 and other classified military information that might have been stored in the mystery cave. Marich has not indicated whether he is planning to explore this theme in a sequel, but the last title card suggests that his next film will be set in the desert.
Director
The mysterious disappearance of Gary Hinge serves as the basis for this 2021 thriller from writer/director Dutch Marich. Shot in a pseudo-documentary style, Horror in the High Desert utilizes recovered footage of Hinge’s hike to brilliant effect. The film, set in Nevada, eagerly enlists the state’s sinister reputation for conspiracies and combines it with its gloomy topographical attributes. This ominous mixture creates the perfect atmosphere for some truly unsettling storytelling. The film begins with black-and-white footage of clouds rolling through the Nevada desert, and a woman calling 911 about her missing brother. Soon, the camera transitions into color and Hinge is seen hiking through the desert barefoot, followed by skeletonized animals and a rattlesnake nest. His backpack is visible nearby, and he has a camcorder in his hand.
Gary is a survivalist who enjoys going on wilderness adventures, often with only the bare necessities. He is a thrill seeker and also likes to build model trains. He has a large following on YouTube where he posts video blogs of his adventure. His followers are intrigued by the stories he tells of a remote cabin he found while hiking. Despite the warnings of his family and friends, Gary decides to go back to this mysterious cabin. He records his trip, but once he gets there, he is attacked by a deformed monstrous stranger. This being severing Gary’s arm. Gary’s body is then dragged away into the darkness and the camera stops recording.
When the authorities searched Gary’s truck, they discovered a number of fingerprints that didn’t match any in their database. Additionally, they found a trail of barefoot footprints that did not belong to Gary. This lead them to his campsite where they found his backpack with a severed hand still grasping the camera. While Horror in the High Desert doesn’t necessarily take inspiration from a real event, it bears some similarities with the 2014 disappearance of another YouTube vlogger named Kenny Veach (Snakebitmgee). Like Gary Hinge, Veach was pressured by his followers to return to the site of his discovery and prove that he wasn’t lying. However, unlike Hinge, Veach never returned.
Rating
Gary Hinge is an outdoor enthusiast and survivalist who disappeared in the Nevada desert after posting video of his disappearance online. His friends and followers began to question his account of what happened when he never returned home. Then, his severed hand was found by campers, holding a camera with disturbing images on its memory card. Horror in the High Desert is a terrifying and unsettling movie that will leave you guessing until the very end. Its pseudo-documentary format allows the film to build a sense of trust with the audience and immerse them in the story. The film also utilizes the found footage technique to create a sense of immediacy and tension.
This indie horror film follows the mysterious disappearance of outdoorsman and survivalist Gary Hinge in the Nevada desert. It uses fictional talking head interviews, gorgeous landscape shots, and the found footage narrative style popularized by The Blair Witch Project to evoke uncontrollable anticipation and tap into our instinctive anxieties about not being able to see in the dark. Its commitment to the documentary format makes Horror in the High Desert a true nail-biter. Its characters are believable and relatable, and the story is terrifyingly compelling. It is also one of the few movies to successfully combine documentary elements with traditional horror techniques, which makes it a real gem.
While the movie is a thriller, it is not perfect. Some of the editing and camera work is sloppy, but overall it is a good film. It is a must-see for fans of found footage movies, and is sure to be a hit with the crowds at SXSW this year.
Conclusion
Dutch Marich, who directed the movie, has already scared up a lot of found footage fans with his first film, Horror in the High Desert. He is back with a sequel that expands the universe of what hides in the Nevada wilderness. The film follows Gary, a man who has become famous for his videos of extreme outdoor adventures. When he fails to return from a hiking expedition, his family begins to question his account of what happened and demand that he come home. Eventually, Gary is lured back into the desert by the promise of fame and fortune. But he is quickly killed by a deformed monster in this thrilling thriller.
