The poster is misleading. There aint any scene where a woman is lying on a road n a snake nearby.
Very slow n boring movie.
Very slow n boring movie.
110 Reviews
Coming from an Aussie
greenhouse350510 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I know this is biased but as an Aussie, all the missus and I did was laugh. The lack of basic common sense in this adventure was flat out amusing. We Aussies have the awesome ability to laugh at ourselves. The cleches in this romp are hilarious if you can see the funny side of everything. He's just joined the Army and hasn't finished basic training. It wasn't made clear whether or not he started or is half way through. But as an ex servicemen, I've never heard of getting leave during basic. Not sure what y'all are taught over there but survival skills top the list over here. No forethought of supplies when heading to the desert (no matter what country) is where the laughs really started for us. The jelly fish, scorpian and tipan were cringe worthy. I mean seriously... Did anyone research the wildlife at all? The type of venom, species, characteristics and/or behaviour of these animals? Based on fact as a true story... no. An urban legend with a loose grip on free reign... absolutly.
Too long of a slow burn with lots of filler and little substance.
Top_Dawg_Critic5 June 2020
Novice director and writer Mike Green makes his full length feature film debut with Outback, his resume having preceded only a handful of short films - of which this one probably should've been.
It's an 86 minute long slow paced true story about some relationship arguments and tons of walking - I mean tons, in the constantly same barren setting of the Australian Outback, adding a few critters here and there. The two leads didn't help much in elevating any of the films suspense - of what little there was. Taylor Wiese as Wade was pretty much bland and monotonic, and unconvincing when the dramatics began, and Lauren Lofberg as Lisa was annoying right from the start. Any chemistry between them seemed forced and fake. It's not like they're inexperienced actors, but it sure seemed like this was their first ever role. I'm sure it was mostly Green's inexperience on how to direct his cast.
The cinematography was decent, and I really enjoyed the soundtrack, and although the score was fitting for the most part, it was obnoxious when the dramatics began. This story was very repetitive and uninteresting to be a full length film, unless some Hollywood dramatics were added. I respect Green's decision to keep it accurate, but it should've been a short film, or at best a 1 hour long TV film - considering the lack of available substance that needed lots of filler to reach its runtime.
It's an 86 minute long slow paced true story about some relationship arguments and tons of walking - I mean tons, in the constantly same barren setting of the Australian Outback, adding a few critters here and there. The two leads didn't help much in elevating any of the films suspense - of what little there was. Taylor Wiese as Wade was pretty much bland and monotonic, and unconvincing when the dramatics began, and Lauren Lofberg as Lisa was annoying right from the start. Any chemistry between them seemed forced and fake. It's not like they're inexperienced actors, but it sure seemed like this was their first ever role. I'm sure it was mostly Green's inexperience on how to direct his cast.
The cinematography was decent, and I really enjoyed the soundtrack, and although the score was fitting for the most part, it was obnoxious when the dramatics began. This story was very repetitive and uninteresting to be a full length film, unless some Hollywood dramatics were added. I respect Green's decision to keep it accurate, but it should've been a short film, or at best a 1 hour long TV film - considering the lack of available substance that needed lots of filler to reach its runtime.
Dumb & Dumber conquer the outback (AKA Urine the Outback)
zebedee-602656 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
2 imbeciles follow their sat nav off road into the middle of nowhere. They then leave their car, which still worked and had fuel, left the dirt road and walked into the bush and got completely lost. The rest of the film centres around drinking lots of urine. They also have a working smart phone and make silly emotional selfie videos but never think to check the GPS or Google maps. Dumber dies cause the idiot drank winshield wipper fluid thinking was water , and Dumb survives by drinking Dumbers urine, how sweet!!
Any place can be deadly, if you are not prepared. Or just behave stupidly.
TxMike25 May 2020
The movie wants to make us believe this really happened in 2015 to a young American couple, but from everything I can find out it appears to just be a fictional story, based on an urban legend.
The young 20-something couple travel to Australia for a "get away" trip, on the flight over he presents the ring, he asks her to marry him. But she doesn't appear ready, she says she loves him but hasn't decided yet what she wants to do with her life. That gives a bitter start to their trip but they try to make the best anyway.
Their troubles start when with inadequate preparation he relies on his phone GPS to guide them to a destination. However it seems to give them faulty guidance, they basically get lost and from there the poor decision just mount and mount.
I watched it on DVD at home and I must admit I skipped quickly through the scenes where he drank his urine.
I have watched a lot of movies, averaging roughly 200 to 250 new movies a year for the past 20 years. I can recognize a poor movie when I watch one and this is a poor movie. I find myself wondering "why was Outback made?" If I were to arrive at a summary it would be "preparation is everything when traveling to a strange place." They did not, they made stupid decisions, they suffered the consequences. It doesn't take 90 minutes to deliver that message.
I didn't find anything particularly interesting in the characters or their predicament. I could not recommend this movie to anyone.
The young 20-something couple travel to Australia for a "get away" trip, on the flight over he presents the ring, he asks her to marry him. But she doesn't appear ready, she says she loves him but hasn't decided yet what she wants to do with her life. That gives a bitter start to their trip but they try to make the best anyway.
Their troubles start when with inadequate preparation he relies on his phone GPS to guide them to a destination. However it seems to give them faulty guidance, they basically get lost and from there the poor decision just mount and mount.
I watched it on DVD at home and I must admit I skipped quickly through the scenes where he drank his urine.
I have watched a lot of movies, averaging roughly 200 to 250 new movies a year for the past 20 years. I can recognize a poor movie when I watch one and this is a poor movie. I find myself wondering "why was Outback made?" If I were to arrive at a summary it would be "preparation is everything when traveling to a strange place." They did not, they made stupid decisions, they suffered the consequences. It doesn't take 90 minutes to deliver that message.
I didn't find anything particularly interesting in the characters or their predicament. I could not recommend this movie to anyone.
Technically Well Made, but Underwhelming Survival Drama
TwistedContent9 June 2020
Australia is hot, so hot, and full of animals that won't hesitate to munch on you. We've seen all kinds of menacing outback stories, their villains include weather, snakes, crocodiles, psycho killers and even ghosts. In this one, for Wade and Lisa, two American tourists, the biggest villains might be their own decisions, before it's the outback. However, it does claim to be based on a true story, but, as you read the facts they present before the end titles, does it make the movie better in retrospect, justified?
Lisa Sachs and Wade Kelly are a young couple on a vacation in Australia and very much down for an adventure. Naturally, a string of shabby and a couple of real questionable decisions get made, before they find themselves in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but desert. the scorching sun and the smaller dangerous outback inhabitants. The latter of which there's a lack of, if we take into account what all the posters are selling. Speaking of which, one poster tells "based on a true story", and the other "based on an urban legend" - not knowing much more beforehand, the "urban legend" part originally intrigued me. Well - and I believe this is not a spoiler - in the very first minutes of "Outback", it tells us that the true story (that took place in 2015) is the urban legend, has become one. A little lame, if you ask me. Though I gave it all but 20 minutes, in my research I found lots of stories about missing persons, deaths and survival adventures in the outback, but not a single one that could be what "Outback" is based on - even though there's a fair amount of usable information presented in the movie itself, information that's passed as true in our non-fictional world.
Big part of the movie is also about the couple's relationship problems, the values of love and being with your loved ones. It's a slow melodrama and it pokes holes in the already not-so-stable grit of "Outback", but in return it prompts sympathies from the audience, as it is indeed quite human. Almost exclusively the only stars of "Outback", Taylor Wiese and Lauren Lofberg give good and grounded performances, helping "Outback" maintaining its level of engagement. The summary moving speed is still rather unhurried, and it's a drama before it's a thriller.
As it is no surprise for many indie films nowadays, what's lacking in substance is tried to make up for in the aesthetical side of things. Tim Nagle, cinematographer of the stylish zombie flick "Wyrmwood", has taken care of that and given us a consistently well-composed cinematography that really could not be described as lazy. As far as special effects and gore go, you're in for very little. We mostly survive heat, desert and dryness in this one.
I can say that despite the slow pacing, it didn't require much dedication to keep being in it, but there are plenty of questionable parts, plenty of underwhelming turns, and once again I must say it's a case of "it's lesser than the sum of it's good parts". It's a 4/10 from me. In some places I just wanted our favorite outback menace, Mick Taylor, to come out and save this trip.
Lisa Sachs and Wade Kelly are a young couple on a vacation in Australia and very much down for an adventure. Naturally, a string of shabby and a couple of real questionable decisions get made, before they find themselves in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but desert. the scorching sun and the smaller dangerous outback inhabitants. The latter of which there's a lack of, if we take into account what all the posters are selling. Speaking of which, one poster tells "based on a true story", and the other "based on an urban legend" - not knowing much more beforehand, the "urban legend" part originally intrigued me. Well - and I believe this is not a spoiler - in the very first minutes of "Outback", it tells us that the true story (that took place in 2015) is the urban legend, has become one. A little lame, if you ask me. Though I gave it all but 20 minutes, in my research I found lots of stories about missing persons, deaths and survival adventures in the outback, but not a single one that could be what "Outback" is based on - even though there's a fair amount of usable information presented in the movie itself, information that's passed as true in our non-fictional world.
Big part of the movie is also about the couple's relationship problems, the values of love and being with your loved ones. It's a slow melodrama and it pokes holes in the already not-so-stable grit of "Outback", but in return it prompts sympathies from the audience, as it is indeed quite human. Almost exclusively the only stars of "Outback", Taylor Wiese and Lauren Lofberg give good and grounded performances, helping "Outback" maintaining its level of engagement. The summary moving speed is still rather unhurried, and it's a drama before it's a thriller.
As it is no surprise for many indie films nowadays, what's lacking in substance is tried to make up for in the aesthetical side of things. Tim Nagle, cinematographer of the stylish zombie flick "Wyrmwood", has taken care of that and given us a consistently well-composed cinematography that really could not be described as lazy. As far as special effects and gore go, you're in for very little. We mostly survive heat, desert and dryness in this one.
I can say that despite the slow pacing, it didn't require much dedication to keep being in it, but there are plenty of questionable parts, plenty of underwhelming turns, and once again I must say it's a case of "it's lesser than the sum of it's good parts". It's a 4/10 from me. In some places I just wanted our favorite outback menace, Mick Taylor, to come out and save this trip.
two pints of urine and a packet of jerky
georgio-2649020 July 2020
Oh it was awful, just a boring yarn, like an elongated bear grylls episode but with the emphasis based on drinking pee!
hundreds of better stranded movies than this, infact i think this is the most tedious i have ever had the misfortune of coming across.
basically, a couple in australia decide to go to ayers rock,get lost, and walk away from their car leaving them in dire straits.
it really is that basic dont bother!
Decent enough movie
Kimmoviebuff13 June 2020
I'm an Aussie with a love for the outback & even I could make stupid mistakes like they did. Makes you think about what you would do in another country in their situation. A couple of face palm moments but all in all, I think it was worth a watch.
Do not waste time on idiots.
afeldtalexander14 June 2020
People make stupid decisions all the time
cbpzjpysf5 August 2023
People are WAY too harsh on this movie, it's not BAD. Idiot decisions are the reason why people get in these situations all the time. I've watched all of the I Shouldn't Be Alive episodes and two were in Outback Australia involving Australians making stupid decisions. I've gone for hikes and camping alone many times and it's easy to mess up if you're not prepared. I've been lost twice
The actors were great and I loved seeing my hometown Sydney. There's movies out there that are sooo much worse and people are giving this a 1 for some reason. It's a slow movie, not for all, but it was interestingly made.
The actors were great and I loved seeing my hometown Sydney. There's movies out there that are sooo much worse and people are giving this a 1 for some reason. It's a slow movie, not for all, but it was interestingly made.
Awful boring movie with a really bad storyline.
jamesadam-073388 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
An terrible cheap movie made for the American market (because Aussies will just laugh at it) and not because its funny! The script, if you can call it that, combined with very average acting and the fact they didn't even bother going to the real "outback". but instead filmed it on someones property in NSW. The real outback is stunning, with red earth and amazing blue skies. This looked like it cost about $20,000 to make, It's NOT a thriller or a love story. Just a boring story about two really dumb people. Don't waste your time watching it, you will never get that time back. Did they get a grant for this? If so they should return the money.
Unfair reviews...
mckeen-1363926 June 2020
Unfair criticism
charliegalloway27 November 2020
Some of the reviews are unfair , the film accurately portrays two ill-prepared , unlikeable idiots (especially the male lead ) setting off into the outback , their idiocy is not the film's fault .
If you are making a film about a week lost in the outback it will be slow and atmospheric , it will not be Speed 2.
I found it to be quietly effective and a good film
Wade was dumb and naive
mrmatrose19 September 2021
Hard to rate.
Nemesis4220 April 2021
This is difficult to rate, because on one hand the film-making craft, vision and sound, is fantastic, but on the other hand the characters are morons, thus difficult to connect with. The male twice as dumb as the female. The decisions they make in the story are so thoughtless and stupid one can have little empathy or sympathy for them. They are 100% responsible for their own downfall.
There's some truth in this with the GPS. In the countryside we once had similar issues using GPS around the town of Trentham. The thing was making us go up dirt roads, driveways and so, completely ridiculous. They don't perform well out there. There's heaps of country-side in USA. They should have known this. And why didn't they have a real map as backup? This is just one of dozens of things they stuffed up on. I had no urge to want them to survive they were so brainless.
Why waste time making a film where there is no real challenge except from their own badly functioning brains?
There's some truth in this with the GPS. In the countryside we once had similar issues using GPS around the town of Trentham. The thing was making us go up dirt roads, driveways and so, completely ridiculous. They don't perform well out there. There's heaps of country-side in USA. They should have known this. And why didn't they have a real map as backup? This is just one of dozens of things they stuffed up on. I had no urge to want them to survive they were so brainless.
Why waste time making a film where there is no real challenge except from their own badly functioning brains?
Is this a joke? What's with the high score?
awfulketchup6 June 2020
This got to be a joke, i was expecting a decent thriller, but instead I've witnessed a gradually degrading and nonsensical mess. If the couple were dropout students or written as mentally challenged then i would've suspended my disbelief, because they're both portrayed as complete morons, is that what the writers were going for? In that case it's still very poorly handled on their part. This film just drags on and every action becomes even more infuriating.
Can i say anything good about this movie? Visually it's alright, the actors did a believable portrayal of dumb people stereotypes, guess we wouldn't have a plot if they has common sense.
I know I'm sound unreasonable harsh, but there is no other way to for me to express how disappointing this movie was.
Verdict 3/10 - Should've stayed in quarantine.
Can i say anything good about this movie? Visually it's alright, the actors did a believable portrayal of dumb people stereotypes, guess we wouldn't have a plot if they has common sense.
I know I'm sound unreasonable harsh, but there is no other way to for me to express how disappointing this movie was.
Verdict 3/10 - Should've stayed in quarantine.
Wake up call.
collinsburns577 June 2020
When it comes down to travel into unforgiving regions, then find yourself stuck in that reality far away enough you can't reach civilization & you haven't fully prepared yourself for such a reality then you're an idiot. This flick shows you what reality is for idiots. Learn from this flick before embarking into a different reality. k?
Too slow and full of waffle
sabrinabazzan10 June 2020
The film is very slow pace, with lots of waffle.
It looks more like a homemade filme, like ones we use to do in school. They could have invested more time showing the beauty of Australia instead of showing the guys drinking urine.
Eh
redemptions_love3 August 2023
Rather than being classed as a Thriller, this movie is really a Drama, and a slow burn at that. I don't think it was a bad film, I can give it at most 6 stars out of ten. I even got emotional at one point. But in general this film way too slow paced for me, and could have definitely been shortened. It may have been more effective that way, but that's just me.
The morale of this story is to be careful travelling in any part of the world that's off road, off map. Stick to the main road and maps always. Plan ahead. Have emergency provisions always. Have back ups of everything. Use a clear, sensible head in all decision making, and of course tell someone not travelling with you, where you intend on going.
The main characters in this film made a series of very poor decisions, and were way in over their heads. This is what truly lead to their crisis.
As an Aussie, this film didn't cause me any suspense, and there was some inaccuracy regarding a route of locations mentioned. The cinematography was beautiful, though. That was probably the highlight of the film for me.
The morale of this story is to be careful travelling in any part of the world that's off road, off map. Stick to the main road and maps always. Plan ahead. Have emergency provisions always. Have back ups of everything. Use a clear, sensible head in all decision making, and of course tell someone not travelling with you, where you intend on going.
The main characters in this film made a series of very poor decisions, and were way in over their heads. This is what truly lead to their crisis.
As an Aussie, this film didn't cause me any suspense, and there was some inaccuracy regarding a route of locations mentioned. The cinematography was beautiful, though. That was probably the highlight of the film for me.
Really enjoyable watch!!
stephhhhh_11 June 2020
VIEWS ON FILM review of Outback
burlesonjesse526 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
"Crikey, blimey". "No worries, mate, she'll be right". 2019's Outback is my latest review. Shot on location in Sydney, Australia, it's a flick about a man and his annoying girlfriend who get lost in "the Land Down Under's" far off interior. Without food, sound judgement, water, or a sense of where they left their car, the couple drink their own urine and encounter some really poisonous varmints.
So yeah, I've seen perilous stuff like this before. I've just never seen it done without hand-held gimmicks or the pitfalls of pretentiousness. Just imagine 2002's Gerry but with a less arty approach and that's what you get with Outback. Also imagine Open Water but without I guess, water.
Outback's cinematography by Tim Nagle is panoramic and deft and the "why so serious?" musical score is all together pouncing. Rookie Mike Green's direction is stalling yet on the level. You ultimately wish Paul Hogan would just show up and help these torn lovebirds find their way back to civilization. You also wish an Aboriginal would come along and propel you to think your way through.
Outback is effective, hallucinatory, dour, well-acted, and has a slight sense of desolate agoraphobia. As a two-person show and a supposed true account, you roll your eyes at the characters for making such bad decisions but you also feel sorry for their unpalatable (and nasty) state of being.
Outback does have a happy ending but not a complete and fulfilling happy ending. The fact that one of these vacationers survived as long as they did with cell service after a few days, is beyond my comprehension. Alas, it's only a movie.
So OK, Outback is no masterpiece but as something that gives you a feeling of being demoralized and left out on the lurch, it gets the job done. Outback as Aussie swallowing beauty, doesn't "crack". Rating: 3 stars.
So yeah, I've seen perilous stuff like this before. I've just never seen it done without hand-held gimmicks or the pitfalls of pretentiousness. Just imagine 2002's Gerry but with a less arty approach and that's what you get with Outback. Also imagine Open Water but without I guess, water.
Outback's cinematography by Tim Nagle is panoramic and deft and the "why so serious?" musical score is all together pouncing. Rookie Mike Green's direction is stalling yet on the level. You ultimately wish Paul Hogan would just show up and help these torn lovebirds find their way back to civilization. You also wish an Aboriginal would come along and propel you to think your way through.
Outback is effective, hallucinatory, dour, well-acted, and has a slight sense of desolate agoraphobia. As a two-person show and a supposed true account, you roll your eyes at the characters for making such bad decisions but you also feel sorry for their unpalatable (and nasty) state of being.
Outback does have a happy ending but not a complete and fulfilling happy ending. The fact that one of these vacationers survived as long as they did with cell service after a few days, is beyond my comprehension. Alas, it's only a movie.
So OK, Outback is no masterpiece but as something that gives you a feeling of being demoralized and left out on the lurch, it gets the job done. Outback as Aussie swallowing beauty, doesn't "crack". Rating: 3 stars.
Abandoned after 15 minutes.
mdhugs19 November 2020
Apologies but the lead actress's voice is like nails being dragged down a blackboard. Just 15 minutes in of listening to the awful squeak meant I had to abandon it. Perhaps it would be better to watch with the volume muted and subtitled enabled...
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