Netflix: He’s Out There is a bloody good time

Looking for a good, intense home-invasion horror movie? Tune in to Netflix and watch He’s Out There, starring The Handmaid’s Tale’s Yvonne Strahovski.

I heard some positive buzz generated by He’s Out There, a new horror flick available on Netflix. Now, I love a good home invasion/slasher movie (The Strangers is one of my favorites), so I waited until my husband was home with me one night and gave it a watch.

Screen Gems originally owned the distribution rights to He’s Out There, but later dropped them and they were acquired by Vertical Entertainment. It was released on Sept.14 of last year with very little fanfare…which is a shame, because it’s a pretty solid horror movie. The good news is, you can now catch it on Netflix.

Yvonne Strahovski, who gives an amazing, devastating performance as Serena Joy on Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, plays Laura, a wife and mother who takes her two young daughters to an isolated lake house for a little vacation. Husband Shawn will be arriving later that evening, so, we have our set up: a woman and two little girls are alone in the woods.

When Laura and the girls arrive at the lake house, she unpacks while the kids play and goof around, and it isn’t too long before the first weird thing happens. Kayla and Maddie see a long piece of red yarn, winding around the trees and leading them into the woods, and, being curious children, they are delighted to follow it. We will find out later in the movie what exactly the girls discovered at the end of that trail of yarn.

Netflix—He’s Out There—Courtesy Screen Gems

As the sun goes down, things start to get weird. Laura and the girls hear strange sounds (including some creepy giggling), Maddie becomes violently ill, and it soon becomes apparent that they are being stalked by someone outside. The phone doesn’t work, Laura has left her cell phone in the car and running out to get it seems like a dangerous idea at this point.

Laura and the girls are comforting themselves with faith that Daddy is on his way, and will save them. All they have to do (so they think) is stay out of sight and wait.

Throughout the violent events that follow, we catch glimpses of the killer, who is wearing a super-scary mask. It is so creepy, in fact, that I am kind of disappointed photos of Mr. Crazy in his mask were released, thereby taking away the surprise horror element.

He’s Out There is not as good as The Strangers, but I did find it to be suspenseful, and I liked the story book elements. In addition to the red yarn gimmick, Maddie and Kayla are fond of a scary children’s book used at various times throughout the movie, and Mr. Crazy has made some life-sized dolls that he uses to scare people.

Netflix—He’s Out There—Courtesy Screen Gem

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Yvonne Strahovski gives a strong performance as Laura, I truly believed that she was a terrified mother trying to keep it together for her kids. Sisters Abigail and Anna Pniowsky play Maddie and Kayla, and I am happy to say that they do a great job. One of my pet peeves is movies with bad child actors, but these two are very natural and their fear seems real. I really cared about this little family and I was rooting for them to survive.

There are some plot contrivances that made me roll my eyes (such as the cell phone conveniently left in the car), and the adults do a few things that they probably would not really do in real life. And, even though we find out a bit about Mr. Crazy’s back story, we don’t get the full skinny, which is frustrating. Either leave his motives completely unknown or tell us why he does these things, but don’t go halfway with it.

The gore level was not excessive but there was definitely an ample amount of blood and plenty of axe-versus-flesh and bone action. A high level of tension is present through almost the entire movie, so I was on the edge of my seat most of the time.

Look, all true horror lovers know that there are more bad horror movies out there than good. So, if you are tired of the standard gore-splattered movies with characters you don’t give a damn about, queue up He’s Out There. Pop some popcorn, turn out the lights, and spend 90 minutes with Laura, her two little girls and an axe-wielding maniac. Enjoy!

Netflix subscriber? See or planning to check out He’s Out There? Let the other movie maniacs know what you think in the comment section below.