Outpost (2008 film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Outpost |
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Theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Steve Barker |
| Produced by | Arabella Croft Kieran Parker |
| Written by | Rae Brunton |
| Starring | Ray Stevenson Julian Wadham Richard Brake Michael Smiley Enoch Frost Paul Blair Julian Rivett Brett Fancy Johnny Meres |
| Music by | James Seymour Brett |
| Cinematography | Gavin Struthers |
| Editing by | Alastair Reid |
| Distributed by | ContentFilm |
| Release date(s) | 11 March 2008 (United States) 16 May 2008 (United Kingdom) |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Money made | $ 463 377 |
Outpost is a 2008 British war horror film. It was directed by Steve Barker and written by Rae Brunton. The movie is about a tough group of mercenaries, who are soldiers for hire. They find themselves fighting for their lives. They were hired by a mysterious businessman to find a old military bunker from World War II.
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What Happens in the Movie
Somewhere in Eastern Europe, a businessman named Hunt hires D.C., a former Royal Marine who is now a mercenary. D.C. puts together a skilled team of ex-soldiers. Their mission is to protect Hunt on a dangerous trip. They need to go into a dangerous area to check out some "real estate." One of the team members, Voyteche, thinks there is nothing out there.
The team travels mostly by truck. They go through a forest and hear sounds of fighting far away. Their radios suddenly stop working. When they reach their destination, they find an old, empty bunker complex. Jordan and Tak stay outside. The rest of the team explores the bunker. Jordan sees a flash of light from the trees. Tak shoots, thinking it's an enemy. Another burst of static is heard, and McKay is shot in the arm. Tak checks the trees but finds no one.
Inside, D.C. and Hunt work to turn on the bunker's power. Cotter and McKay find a very scared survivor named Götz. When the lights come on, Prior finds a room with a projector screen. Behind it, he sees a flag of the Nazi Party.
Strange Discoveries in the Bunker
The mercenaries try to question Götz, but he doesn't respond. They think local groups might have used the bunker to hide bad things. Jordan suggests there might be hidden Nazi gold. D.C. orders them to place landmines around the area. He thinks other enemies might also be looking for something.
Hunt looks through some papers. He finds a secret room with a large machine. He secretly tells his company about it. McKay briefly sees two men in old military boots standing near Götz, but they disappear. Hunt also sees a disappearing Nazi SS soldier behind him. He gets locked in the room, but thinks it's a joke. He then vaguely explains the machine to D.C. He says it can change physics and has "limitless" power.
McKay tries to fix the bunker's radio. At first, it makes screaming sounds, then loud classical music. It won't stop, even when unplugged, until it suddenly explodes. That night, a strange mist appears outside. Mysterious lights shine from the trees. They see shadowy figures that are not affected by gunfire. A sudden, strong windstorm forces the team to hide. Afterwards, Tak is missing, and an Iron Cross is left where he was.
Back in the bunker, Jordan shows D.C. the bullet he took from McKay. It's a German rifle round, not used since World War II. The bullet is bent and deformed. It's very unlikely it could have been fired from a rifle. D.C. gets angry and threatens Götz with a pistol. Götz's eyes move slightly.
The Truth About the Bunker
Hunt explains that his company wants him to get the machine. He says the SS used it for strange experiments. They tried to change reality, become invisible, and bring people back to life. They wanted to make an army of unstoppable soldiers. Hunt reveals that his company has a way to make sure the team follows orders. If the team tries to leave, people will go after their families.
Outside, Tak is killed. Voyteche, who is alone, is also killed. Despite Hunt's threats, D.C. orders the team to leave. Cotter goes to get Hunt but is attacked by an SS soldier and gets hurt. Hunt shows the remaining mercenaries a video of the experiments. They realize Götz is an SS Brigadeführer, a high-ranking officer, who was in charge of these experiments. Prior gets angry and attacks Götz. Götz comes back to life and kills McKay, leaving him outside.
With no other choice, D.C., Prior, Jordan, and Hunt decide to restart the machine. They hope it will stop the SS soldiers and trap them in the bunker.
The Final Battle
That night, the undead SS soldiers, now led by Götz, attack strongly. The mercenaries fight to give Hunt time to power up the machine. Prior is defeated before Hunt manages to create a shockwave. This wave disables the undead soldiers. However, the unstable machine breaks down, and the attack starts again. Jordan is pulled into a side hallway and brutally killed. A wounded D.C. tries to buy time for Hunt to escape through the vents. But D.C. is also overwhelmed by the soldiers. Hunt finds himself in the test chamber. Götz and his men corner him before he is pulled away from behind.
Three days later, a second team from the same company arrives to do the same job. Outside, the clearing lights up again. Götz nods to the SS soldiers, telling them to start their attack on the new team.
Who is in the Movie
- Julian Wadham as Hunt, the "Company" agent
- Ray Stevenson as DC, a British Royal Marine officer
- Richard Brake as Prior, from the United States Marine Corps
- Paul Blair as Jordan, a French Foreign Legionnaire
- Brett Fancy as Taktarov ("Tak"), from the Russian Alpha Group
- Enoch Frost as Cotter, a Belgian Peacekeeper
- Julian Rivett as Voyteche, from the Yugoslav military
- Michael Smiley as McKay ("Mac"), from the British Army Parachute Regiment
- Johnny Meres as Brigadeführer Götz, a German SS officer ("The Breather")
How the Movie Was Made
The film was made by a Scottish couple, Arabella Croft and Kieran Parker. They used their own production company, Black Camel Pictures. They put their own money into making the movie, raising £200,000. The story was written by Rae Brunton. It was based on Kieran Parker's idea. He described it as "Platoon meets The Sixth Sense." This means it mixes war action with a spooky, mysterious feel.
Even though the movie is set in Eastern Europe, it was filmed in Scotland. They used an old World War II factory near Dalbeattie. They also filmed in a forest near Castle Douglas. Some scenes were shot at the Glasgow Film City studio complex in Govan, Glasgow. Filming started in January 2007.
Sony Pictures bought the rights to distribute the film for £1.2 million. Sony released it directly to DVD in the USA on March 11, 2008. After getting good reviews, the film was shown in cinemas across Europe. The movie's first showing in Europe was at the Dumfries Film Festival on May 3. After that, it was shown in 130 cinemas in the UK.
Other Movies in the Series
Outpost has two more films in its series. The first is a sequel called Outpost: Black Sun, released in 2012. The second is a prequel called Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz, released in 2013.
Steve Barker directed Black Sun in 2012. However, he did not direct Rise of the Spetsnaz. That movie was directed by Kieran Parker, who was one of the producers for Outpost and Black Sun. Many critics did not like either of these follow-up films.
