THE OUTING

Natalie, her husband Maxim, her daughter Flora and her sister Stella drive out of the big city for a picnic in the “wilderness”. On the way, Flora keeps talking about all the disappearances in the woods she’s heard about on the radio, but nobody pays much attention. After a while they find the perfect picnic spot. Someone has even left a carton of fruit juice. After the meal, they all take a nap. The wake up is a very unpleasant experience. The two women and the girl find themselves in different places with torn clothes and bleeding wounds. There’s not a trace of Maxim to be found. After they have wandered for a while, they find a house with the stove still burning. Bit there’s nobody home. The Outing, by Swiss director Mathieu Seiler, is a grim and dark fairytale for adults, the kind of film that shreds the borders between dream and reality, where a sinister atmosphere constantly lurks beneath the surface. Seiler brings many influences to The Outing, ranging from the Brothers Grimm to slasher and Giallo. This is the kind of fairy tale that will keep your eyes open till dawn because you’ll be too afraid to close them.