HORROR MOVIE REVIEW: OUT OF THIS WORLD (2020)

if slow burn, psychological thrillers are your thing, give it a whirl, there is a lot on offer in Out of this World, even if it didn’t push all my buttons.

Out of this World (2020)

A shy man who works as a taxi driver because he can't afford to live as a musician, meets a deaf girl dancer who is attracted to him despite his trouble communicating. (IMDB)

Written and directed by Marc Fouchard

A Horror Movie Review by Mark Walker 

Léo (Kévin Mischel) is a struggling musician, working as a taxi driver and living out of his car as he composes music in-between driving fares and slaughtering innocent women. The killing soothes his inner anger and frustration at the world, silencing the turmoil that threatens his creativity. The killing allows him to create, and he is compelled to keep repeating his crimes as he is compelled to compose.


When he drives deaf dancer Amélie (Aurélia Poirier) to a practice, Léo becomes obsessed, returning to her studio to watch her and eventually pluck up the courage to talk to her; and so begins an awkward relationship which you can only imagine is going to end badly; doomed lovers indeed.


The central conceit of Out of this World is intriguing and the pairing of a deaf dancer, with a serial-killing musician is an interesting one. Both Léo and Amélie struggle with communication, but for vastly different reasons. Léo’s music and Amélie’s dancing threaten to bring out the best of them both, only Amélie is dealing with the emotions of falling for a withdrawn, potential violent man, while Léo is fighting his animal urges. Both characters are outsiders, looking for a place in the world and Amélie might just be the connection Léo needs to save him.


it’s a bit like a darker version of Silver Linings Playbook just without any of the laughs, and as if someone had planted a ticking bomb under the dancefloor at the end.

Out of this World sets itself up as a slow burn psychological thriller and it really does take its time with little dialogue, especially in the first half of the movie. Mischel and Poirier are brilliant in their roles, very believable and they work together to create a palpable air of tension whenever they are on screen. However, for me, the slow pace and lingering scenes of Léo struggling with his inner demons, strayed dangerously close to labouring a point, rather than moving the story forward.

Having said that, Mischel, does a particularly good job of portraying a tortured artist with homicidal tendencies. Scenes with him going through his daily routing as he builds towards another murder are awkward and disturbing, making for uncomfortable viewing. His performance hints at a desire to be saved, to be rescued from his cycle of violence but, sadly, the film doesn’t quite manage to make him sympathetic. There are a couple of scenes that hint at abuse when he was younger and a difficult relationship with his mother but, otherwise, we get little glimpse into his reasons for killing, other than the need to create. While this gives us some motivation, it makes it hard to develop any sympathy or empathy with Léo and, while I wanted to see him saved (and to some extent, perhaps he is) his behaviour from the start of the film, makes it hard to see him as anything other than a monster.
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Poirier does just as good a job beside him, a quiet, but emotional anchor for Léo and someone who can appreciate his music even though she can’t hear it, only feel it; its beat and tempo as a metaphor for Léo’s inner demons.


Pulling both of those performances together is Fouchard’s direction and Pascal Boudet’s cinematography which combine to deliver a solid, stylistic thriller that looks great. It just fell a little short for me for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on.
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That is, of course, my own interpretation of the film and other’s will see things differently. I just didn’t quite gel with it and, ultimately, didn’t feel enough empathy with the characters to be able to fully engage in their exploration of being on outcast in your own world and not knowing quite where you belong.

The 5.9 on IMDB feels about right for Out of this World (so very much NOT a bad film) and I wouldn’t want to put anyone off watching it as the performances are impressive and the film looks fantastic, it just wasn’t quite my cup of tea. However, if slow burn, psychological thrillers are your thing, give it a whirl, there is a lot on offer in Out of this World, even if it didn’t push all my buttons.

Out Of This World is on digital HD 5 December from Bulldog Film Distribution

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