Horror In The High Desert (Movie Review)
After Gary Hinge disappears on a hiking expedition, his housemate and sister alert the police. They discover that he was hiking to an unspecified area in the Great Basin Desert, near Ruth, Nevada. Using made-up talking heads, gorgeous landscape footage, and the found-footage narrative style made famous by The Blair Witch Project, this independent film aims to incite unbearable anticipation and tap into our instinctive anxieties.
What Happened To Gary Hinge?
Three years ago outdoors and survival enthusiast Gary Hinge disappeared in the Nevada desert after he ventured into the wilderness to look at a little cabin he had discovered. He never came back. The local authorities and his friends and followers searched for him, but they were unable to find any trace of him. Now a documentary crew is trying to uncover the truth behind his disappearance. It seems that Gary decided to take a shortcut in order to get to his destination faster, but this was actually a fatal mistake. This decision caused him to lose the trail and end up lost in the middle of the desert. He was then attacked and killed by a mysterious creature.
Gary’s last recorded video entry starts off with him sounding very frightened and telling his followers that he is very close to the cabin where he has been before. He also mentions that he can smell smoke and hears chanting.
When his sister calls the police she is told that Gary’s truck has been found nearby but no sign of him has been located. The detective working on the case, Bill Salerno, decides to examine the truck for clues and quickly discovers some alarming information. Several fingerprints, especially on the steering wheel, did not match Gary’s and there were also a trail of barefoot footprints that did not belong to him. Additionally, a photo of Gary’s ring was found on the windshield of his truck but it did not match any of the photos that he had uploaded to his social media accounts.
Salerno then contacted Gary’s girlfriend and was informed that she did not talk to him the day he went missing or anytime during his excursion. She was not happy to hear this but assured him that she did not know where he was headed. The police then contact his family and friends and are informed that Gary had a dog named Scorpion Sam that did not go on this trip with him. They are also told that he did not have any camping gear or supplies and that he had left a cell phone charger in the truck.
The Real-Life Disappearance Of Kenny Veach
This documentary horror film is based on the real-life disappearance of hiker Kenny Veach. Like the character of Gary Hinge in this movie, Veach was a YouTube vlogger and hiking enthusiast from Nevada who went on frequent excursions into the wilderness. On one of his trips, he stumbled upon a mysterious cave that seemed to have an “M” shaped entrance. He recorded a video of his discovery, explaining that it had a horrifying atmosphere and felt like it was alive. In the video, he also mentioned that the walls of the cave were vibrating and sending strange sensations through his body. After a while, Veach’s phone stopped working and he never returned home. His family reported him missing and authorities began searching for him. His rucksack was later found in the desert, but it only contained his mutilated camera clutching hand. No other body has ever been found and to this day, no one knows what happened to him.
The case of Kenny Veach became a legend in Nevada and was the subject of numerous conspiracy theories. Some speculated that he was murdered by a secret government agency and that the M cave was actually an entry point into Area 51, given its proximity to Nellis Air Force Base and other top-secret military facilities. Others believe that he simply fell victim to heat exhaustion or dehydration while out in the desert. The film’s use of shaky, blurry, and burnt footage, along with creepy background sounds, does a great job at building tension and creating a sense of unease throughout the movie. Towards the end, it reaches a truly terrifying climax that manages to send chills down the spine. Despite the fact that the film is a pseudo-documentary, it does an excellent job at delivering an incredibly unsettling story that will stay with you long after the credits roll. It’s definitely worth checking out for any fans of documentaries or horror movies. Just remember to keep your eyes peeled for the M cave!
The Film’s Ending Explained
Horror in the High Desert is an eerie pseudo-documentary that centers around outdoor enthusiast and survivalist Gary Hinge (Eric Mencis). The real-life disappearance of hiker Kenny Veach fueled the film’s plot and served as a major inspiration. The movie’s nonlinear narrative, fictional talking head interviews, and found footage techniques all work together to evoke unbearable anticipation and tap into the primal fear of being lost in the dark. Gary is an explorer who frequently ventures into the desert on survival quests, documenting his trips on YouTube. One of his videos mentions a mysterious cabin that he encountered during a previous excursion and describes a feeling of impending doom that permeated the place. The following day, he went to investigate and returned empty-handed. Eventually, his roommate Simon and sister Beverly report him missing, and the police start an investigation.
As the movie progresses, it becomes clear that the mystery is a lot more complicated than the police might be letting on. Several of Gary’s followers are convinced that he was murdered by an unknown entity. Others theorize that he was eaten by a cannibal or that aliens are to blame. The truth is far more disturbing than anyone could have imagined. After a long period of revealing only Gary’s endearing personality and his enthralling anecdotes, the film finally begins to reveal his true story. It turns out that Gary was an unlucky man with a very dark past who ended up being killed by a deformed monster in the Nevada desert.
This isn’t just a film about a disappearance; it’s a cautionary tale about the dangers of social media and the perils of believing in conspiracies that you can’t prove. The film’s implication is that Gary was a person who wasn’t able to live his own life without the influence of his subscribers and he was pushed to the brink of destruction by this nefarious force. The movie’s final title card reveals that another film is in the works, which likely means that we will learn more about what happened to Gary and his attacker.
What’s The Connection?
Gary Hinge was an outdoorsy survival enthusiast who had a passion for the desert and a keen interest in exploring its wilderness. He often recorded his hiking trips and shared them on his online blog, which had over fifty thousand followers. One day during a hike, Hinge came across an uncanny cabin in the middle of nowhere that gave him a sense of impending dread. He decided to share this story on his blog, which triggered a large number of comments from his followers discrediting his claim or demanding proof of it.
The plot of Horror in the High Desert takes an interesting turn when it becomes apparent that Gary is gay and feels like a social pariah in his community. This is a major aspect of his personality that the film takes the time to explore and it is a significant part of what drives him to seek out solace through his blogging. He often goes out on survivalist trips with a bare minimum of supplies and relies on the wilderness to provide him with everything that he needs.
Conclusion
The film also hints at the fact that Gary is hiding something from his family. His sister and roommate do not know that he is gay, which suggests that they feel that being queer makes him an outsider in their household as well. He also has a close relationship with his pupper and does not like being gone from home for too long, which is why it seems odd that he would leave to go out on this expedition without telling anyone that he was going. This ultimately leads to his gruesome death at the hands of the man who was in the creepy cabin.