THE OUTCASTS (1982)
Label: Deaf Crocodile
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 105 Minutes 50 Seconds
Audio: English PCM 1.0 Mono with Optional Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: Robert Wynne-Simmons
Cast: Cyril Cusack, Mary Ryan, Mick Lally, Don Foley, Tom Jordan, Brenda Scallon, Bairbre Ní Chaoimh, Máirtín Jaimsie, Brendan Ellis, Gillian Hackett, Hilary Reynolds, Donal O'Kelly, James Shanahan, Paul Bennett
The Irish folk-fantasy The Outcasts (1982), directed by Robert Wynne-Simmons, the screenwriter of seminal folk-horror The Blood On Satan's Claw, is set in pre-famine 19th century Ireland, and centers on the introverted Maura (Mary Ryan, Rawhead Rex), a young woman who is not well-liked by her peers, often bullied, made fun of, and picked-on rather harshly. Her standing in the community is not helped when she is seen cavorting with a mysterious fiddle-playing shaman who inhabits the nearby hills, a man named Scarf Michael (Mick Lally). Afterward when crops start failing and the livestock fall ill the locals and even some of her own family suspect her of being a witch, though her loving but harsh father Hugh (Don Foley) and the local priest do attempt to shelter her from the threat of scared locals.
This richly told folk-fantasy is shot on location in the rural Ireland with fog-shrouded forests and damp moors littered with mud-holes, it just captures the gloomy 10th century vibes so well. The film is very subtle in it's examination of the uncanny, keeping things naturalistic with very grounded dark fairytale flourishes that hint at the hidden supernatural world. Even a scene of the mischievous shaman Scarf Michael playing his fiddle and seemingly summoning bad-tidings to be visited upon Maura's horny tormentors is very subtle, when it seems like his fiddle-playing is causing some disturbance, like drinking a bottle of slug-slime and having sex with goat, but it could also just be drunken debauchery gone awry, too.
Maura's introduction into a world of new possibility through Scarf Michael is quite interesting, as she swells with the newfound feelings of empowerment for the first time in her life, able to envision a life for herself off her father's mud-hole of a farm. The flick is oozing with gloomy atmosphere, evocative sound design, a terrific cast, plus a wonderfully eerie Celtic folk soundtrack, all of which feeds into the deepfelt authenticity of it all. I would say it's a measured, slow-burn flick for sure, don't come into it expecting dazzling special effects, pagan orgies, or witch burnings, but as a slice of period folk-fantasy it just nails everything; the locations, the characters, the politics and religion of the area, as well as local superstitions, and Irish myths, it feels so authentically dialed-in. I was just wrapped up in all of it, feeling the cold, gloomy mists of it wash over me I thought the while affair was quite poignant and potent. .
If you're a fan of folk horror along the lines of The Witch, The Blood on Satan's Claw, Eyes of Fire or Severin Films' All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror box sets this is simply a must-own folk-horror entry, one not to be missed!
Audio/Video: The Outcasts (1982) makes it's North American home video debut via a Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile, presented in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen, having been recently restored by the Irish Film Institute, with screen text as follows:
"The Outcasts was shot on 16mm film stock and enlarged to 35mm for its original release. This digital restoration was created from 35mm sound and picture negatives preserved at the IFI Irish Film Archive. This 2K restoration has been created by the IFI Irish Film Archive through IFI's Digital Restoration Project funded by Screen Ireland/Fís Éireann with support from the Association des Cinémathèques Européennes (ACE) and the EU Creative Europe MEDIA programme."
The 35mm blow-up of the 16mm showcases course grain, inherent to the original 16mm lensing, it looks wonderful with plenty of texture, capturing the sodden gloom of the rural Irish landscape, The source looks excellent, the muted by design color palate showcasing earthy browns mud-caked environs and the cold greys of fog-shrouded woodlands and moors, which look terrific and convey the chilly and damp looking locations terrifically.
Audio comes by way of English language PCM 1.0 Mono with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well-preserved, atmospherics sound terrific, gusts of wind, cracks of thunder, and the squishy sucking sounds of feet through mud all add a venerer of authenticity tot he folk horror fantasy. The score by Stephen Cooney (The Clash of the Ash) offers eerie Celtic folk music that sounds wonderful, as does the the sounds of the fiddle-playing by character Scarf Michael featured in the film.
The Deaf Crocodile disc is well-stocked with extras, starting off with the 83-min New Video Interview with director/writer Robert Wynne-Simmons moderated by Deaf Crocodile's Dennis Bartok. He's a Brit, who is probably best remembered as the screenwriter of the seminal folk-horror film The Blood on Satan's Claw. Here he speaks about his early college life, shooting many short films, and his multi-media artistic endeavor which include film, theater, radio plays, composing music, writing novels, and board games.
This interview is prefaced with a title card indicating "Unfortunately there were problems with Robert's mic and his audio can be difficult to understand at times. It's a wonderful conversation though and we still wanted to share it with you. Thank you for understanding.", and sure enough some passages are a chore to decipher, but the interview itself is quite interesting and worth a watch.
Also new is another 48-min New Video Interview with composer Steve Cooney, also conducted by Deaf Crocodile's Bartok via video conferencing. The Australian-Irish composer speaks about his history making music and the role of music in The Outsiders.
We also get the 28-min Visual Essay by producer and professor Rod Stoneman, former head of Bord Scannán na hÉireann/ the Irish Film Board, in it he talks about the improtance of teh film, adding production notes, as well as some history about the various incarnation of teh Irish Film Board, as well as an academic perspective of the film and Irish folk tales.
Th disc is nicely rounded out with a selection of five Ultra-rare early 8mm short films by Robert Wynne-Simmons, these include the 15-min “L’Eredita di Diavolo” (1962), an ghost story shot in a mansion once owned by Percy and Mary Shelley (Frankenstein); the madcap 2-min short “The Greatest All-Star Advertial Of All Time” (1963) which features Charlton Heston, Michael Redgrave and a young Peter O'Toole; the 4-min “Bomb Disposal” (1963) featuring a cameo by Sammy Davis Jr.; the 25-min “The Scrolls” (1964), and the 26-min “The Judgement Of Albion – Prophecies of William Blake” (1968) which is a tribute to the visionary poet and artist William Blake.
The single-disc standard release version arrives in a clear full-height keepcase with a two-sided, non-reversible sleeve of artwork. Inside there is a scannable QR code that gives you access to transcribed version of the Visual Essay by producer and professor Rod Stoneman.
Special Features:
- New video interview with director/writer Robert Wynne-Simmons (83:11)
- New video interview with composer Steve Cooney (48:14)
- Visual Essay by producer and professor Rod Stoneman, former head of Bord Scannán na hÉireann/ the Irish Film Board (28:40)
- Ultra-rare early 8mm short films by Robert Wynne-Simmons:
- “L’Eredita di Diavolo” (1962) (14:24) – eerie ghost story shot in a derelict mansion once owned by Percy and Mary Shelley (Frankenstein),
- “The Greatest All-Star Advertial Of All Time” (1963) (1:27) – this madcap comic short features (incredibly) Charlton Heston, Michael Redgrave and a young Peter O'Toole!
- “Bomb Disposal” (1963) (4:29) featuring a cameo by Sammy Davis Jr.
- “The Scrolls” (1964) (25:19) – Wynne-Simmons’ most ambitious early film has surreal overtones of 1960s series such as “The Prisoner” and “The Avengers”
- “The Judgement Of Albion – Prophecies of William Blake” (1968) (26:20) Wynne-Simmons’ tribute to the visionary poet and artist William Blake. (Courtesy of Robert Wynne-Simmons and the British Film Institute.)
Screenshots from the Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray:
Extras:
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