"The Outing" follows a teenaged girl who plans to spend the night in a local science museum where her father is a curator. Unfortunately, the museum has recently acquired an ancient Arabian lamp among their artifacts, which contains a malevolent genie. Mayhem, unsurprisingly, ensues.
The cover art for this film (and even the title) might lead one to believe they're in for a backwoods slasher flick, but "The Outing" is much more along the lines of "Night at the Museum" than it is any slice-and-dice flick. The film opens with an Arabian woman being murdered in her house by a gang of robbers, which is the catalyst for the lamp making its way to the museum (and wreaking havoc on our teen characters).
The premise is silly, but the film offers enough thrills and spills in great late-'80s fashion that it may be worth a watch. The acting is ho-hum and the characters here are pretty disposable, though the murder sequences are at times grisly. The film is also shot through with a number of bizarre moments, including a scene in which the protagonist's racist ex-boyfriend starts hurling epithets at a black classmate; and later, a rape scene that materializes almost out of nowhere. These moments may have been intended for some sort of social commentary, but in the context of the film, they feel utterly out of place.
Things kick into high gear about midway through, when the teens arrive at the museum, and ramps up for an insane and absurd finale in which the monstrous genie is stalking the protagonist through the halls. The special effects here are admittedly ridiculous, and the film ends in a rather abrupt manner, though it's hardly surprising. All in all, "The Outing" gets points for creativity, as there are few films remotely like it. Where it fails is that it lacks any real suspense, and it is structured in a way that leaves the midsection only chugging along. For a low-budget effort, however, it is a moderately amusing, cheesy '80s supernatural romp. 6/10.
The cover art for this film (and even the title) might lead one to believe they're in for a backwoods slasher flick, but "The Outing" is much more along the lines of "Night at the Museum" than it is any slice-and-dice flick. The film opens with an Arabian woman being murdered in her house by a gang of robbers, which is the catalyst for the lamp making its way to the museum (and wreaking havoc on our teen characters).
The premise is silly, but the film offers enough thrills and spills in great late-'80s fashion that it may be worth a watch. The acting is ho-hum and the characters here are pretty disposable, though the murder sequences are at times grisly. The film is also shot through with a number of bizarre moments, including a scene in which the protagonist's racist ex-boyfriend starts hurling epithets at a black classmate; and later, a rape scene that materializes almost out of nowhere. These moments may have been intended for some sort of social commentary, but in the context of the film, they feel utterly out of place.
Things kick into high gear about midway through, when the teens arrive at the museum, and ramps up for an insane and absurd finale in which the monstrous genie is stalking the protagonist through the halls. The special effects here are admittedly ridiculous, and the film ends in a rather abrupt manner, though it's hardly surprising. All in all, "The Outing" gets points for creativity, as there are few films remotely like it. Where it fails is that it lacks any real suspense, and it is structured in a way that leaves the midsection only chugging along. For a low-budget effort, however, it is a moderately amusing, cheesy '80s supernatural romp. 6/10.