Horror in the High Desert 3: Firewatch

Unlike a lot of other fans of this franchise, I quite liked Horror In The High Desert 2. I loved the fast pace, the scares, the constant atmospheric tension. I loved the ending of the first one but got bored sick before the final fifteen minutes saved the film.

This one, IMO, combined the atmospheric tension of HITHD 2 with the boring documentary bits of HITHD 1. Plus lots of b-roll footage of desert.

I enjoyed that this film expanded upon the lore and introduced some new places that built upon the suspense surrounding the desert and the creatures.

Besides that, though, it lacked sufficient scares. I was neutral to the main character, I didn't like or dislike him one way or another. I wasn't able to connect with his backstory like I did with Minerva's.

I think this movie series would have been fun as a tv series. It's easy to forget what happened in the previous films and how each is connected because of how far apart the releases have been.

Overall, it wasn't a memorable addition to the franchise and felt more like filler. 5 stars for solid atmospheric tension, especially as it nears the end.

Horrible!!!!!!! A guy walking around filming bushes,flashbacks of old movies,and a lotta talk about nothing......this was supposed to be about the guy who found cabin Gary found,and finding the DISFORMED guy........who cares about these invisible creatures and all this non relevant stuff ....it had NOTHING to do with Gary hinge .......YOU MADE ME WAIT OVER A YEAR FOR THIS LOUSY MOVIE,THAT WAS TECHNICALLY ONLY 1 HOUR LONG,IF U DONT INCLUDE FLASHBACKS AND NON RELAVANT TALK......IM DONE.... YOU WOULDA BEEN BETTER OFF LEAVING IT AT MOVIE 1.... CAUSE 2 AND 3 HUUUGE DISAPPOINTMENT ! SORRY TO SAY,BUT I WAITED AND WAITED ON PRETENSE OF A LIE ...IM Really UPSET .. BADLY DONE!

The most impressive thing to me about the Horror in the High Desert saga is the insane handle the creators have on the world building and lore. We've been blessed with the 3rd film in this series, Horror in the High Desert: Firewatch (2024) and I still don't understand what the hell is going on, but I am so fascinated and so spooked and so impossibly immersed in all of it. Horror in the High Desert really succeeds where a lot of found footage/faux documentary seem to struggle a bit, and that is giving you characters that don't appear to be the least bit fabricated. In fact, my own mom thought she was watching an actual true crime program before I broke the news to her.

While this film ends on a hell of a cliffhanger, it does make me more excited and continue to speculate where they might take this story next.

In a series that is quickly become one of the most unique found footage series (is it even found footage really? I believe it's "mockumentary" but that sounds like a comedy) this third installment is FANTASTIC! My absolute favorite thing about these movies is the way they take their time and slowly peel back layers as to whatever the heck is goin on out in the desert. We got some new information in this one that I won't leave here as a spoiler, but the tension I felt during the motorcycle scene and the ending of this one was off the charts! I want to know what the lady at the ranch found! Overall, this was my favorite of the series and I can't wait for the next!

This is a divisive series, even among found footage fans, who are already used to having this genre crapped on, even by other horror fans. Those people who crap on found footage will absolutely find some ammo here.

The typical complaints with this movie is that very little happens most of the time and then something very creepy happens at the end but by that point, most people have already tapped out. Even I, when I heard this was coming out, hoped the director would switch it up this time. Not only does the director follow the same exact format though, he actually DEcreases the already low amount of actual horror in the movie. There are a couple of genuinely tense scenes, hence the two stars, but those sequences go absolutely nowhere. The trademark "final" scene where we're finally supposed to get the payoff? It's laughable. Insulting, even. I don't know what the director was thinking with this but he's completely killed my enthusiasm for a part 4 and the positive reviews are obvious shills.

Another reviewer called this one of the biggest disappointments of 2024. I have to agree. Every hyped found footage this year, including Late Night, has been a disappointment, but none bigger than this one. I'm stunned.