Horror in the High Desert 3: Firewatch

The story of this movie series keeps developing. I have to point out the new character-Oscar, since I saw myself in this character,his smiles,words and tones just lit me up. Also, I love the way how the director unveiled the core of this story, which made me keep track of every detail in this movie. Director aimed to make me feel unsettling in every creepy clip of the new footage in this third one as the first one did. The story from the night-shift conductor, which only shows a big pale moon in that scene, gave me goosebumps. Dutch Marich held the weird vibe and the suspense effectively til the end. Let us wait for the fourth one to come in the near future.

The way in which this series has transcended from a horror to thriller to mystery and back again while weaving its own distinct style, full of rich characters, has my full attention. I will be seated for every entry to come. I have just come from reddit where the theories on what is taking placing within the narrative are rampant and it's difficult to not rack my brain coming up with my own. The wait for this one to come out had people in a fervor, the kind of attention and following that money can't buy these days so I hope Merich and his team don't sell out to Hollywood execs and make the franchise paint-by-numbers schlock. Eagerly awaiting Part 4.

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!

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.

"Viewer Discretion Advised"

For what?!?!

This is more like the first movie than the second. I wish I liked these movies as much as the people on here. It doesn't help that I'm not the biggest fan of found footage horror. The only one in this series that I've liked so far is the second because it wasn't nearly as boring. This one goes back to the format of the first where there's very little scares until the very end.

Much of the movie is a retread of old material. The acting is hit-or-miss with a lot of overexplanatory dialogue, including segments where the interviewees spell out the moral takaways for us. Although the ending of the first movie does not make the rest of it worth watching, at least it had a somewhat unnerving reveal. The reveal at the end of Firewatch is hilarious. I get that they're building the world and the mystery of it all, but it's simply silly as the final scare. I felt robbed.

I'm sure most of my friends on here will enjoy this more than I did but I was severely disappointed.