User reviews

Unlike a lot of other fans of this franchise, I quite liked Horror In The High Desert 2. I loved the fast pace, the scares, the constant atmospheric tension. I loved the ending of the first one but got bored sick before the final fifteen minutes saved the film.

This one, IMO, combined the atmospheric tension of HITHD 2 with the boring documentary bits of HITHD 1. Plus lots of b-roll footage of desert.

I enjoyed that this film expanded upon the lore and introduced some new places that built upon the suspense surrounding the desert and the creatures.

Besides that, though, it lacked sufficient scares. I was neutral to the main character, I didn't like or dislike him one way or another. I wasn't able to connect with his backstory like I did with Minerva's.

I think this movie series would have been fun as a tv series. It's easy to forget what happened in the previous films and how each is connected because of how far apart the releases have been.

Overall, it wasn't a memorable addition to the franchise and felt more like filler. 5 stars for solid atmospheric tension, especially as it nears the end.

I wouldn't call this sequel a waste of time, but that's probably because I'm too invested in this franchise by now, so this felt like watching a filler episode of a TV series: you find it forgettable, but if you enjoy the series as a whole, it's no big deal. That's pretty much how I felt about this sequel: I'll probably never watch it again, but it was acceptable for a single watch. However, if you see "High Desert 3" as a standalone flick, without any knowledge of the previous films, chances are you're going to dislike it a lot and maybe rightfully so.

One of the things I praise about the "Horror in the High Desert" movies is that they don't rely on annoying jump scares and the fact that the horror imagery is subtle, but effective. However, upon reaching the third installment, I'd like to have some more action, maybe answers and a better look at the humanoid creatures that lurk around the forest. I understand building mystery and lore, but at this point, we sort of need to get more in contact with something slightly more explicit. Slightly! I'm not asking for gore and kills, but one can settle for off-screen horror only to a certain extent. "Horror in the High Desert 3: Firewatch" is somewhat of a taxing experience, as it is shockingly uneventful. At one point, we read a warning message that says: "Viewers descretion is advised". Why?? There's nothing to see, what discretion could be advised here? At this point, I feel that this is basically a rehash of the previous films, but done in a dull way. However, I can be patient and I'll wait for the two upcoming sequels. But seriously, at this point they need to reveal something a little bit less vague.

Leaving aside the uneventfulness of the movie, my real problem with this sequel is that if focuses way too much on the main character's personal drama. The main character, a Mexican vlogger named Oscar Mendoza, is incredibly annoying and even though I can understand character development, there is such a thing as overexposure and this is a clear example of that. Yes, we get it: Oscar is a former alcoholic and junkie, but do we really care enough about him to go on and on about this issue?

Oscar claims that he's going to the forest looking for answers about what happened to Gary Hingle, another outdoors enthusiast who went missing (wow, what a smart thing to do, Oscar). Throughout the film, Oscar appears talking to his camera and explaining that he's not doing what he does to get followers, but at the same time, it's clear that he does: he exploits his own personal drama, because he is attention-seeking. He's also very loud, overenthusiastic and, at some point, he jokingly mentions that he's going to light a fire and "hopes he won't burn himself or the forest". That seems particularly disgusting to me, because it makes me think of those idiots who don't have a problem in doing something stupid and dangerous, as long as they get attention from strangers on the internet. Basically, Oscar is the definition of an entitled teenager, who only does things for attention and validation, however... he's not even a teenager, he appears to be in his thirties. I understand that main characters are supposed to be flawed and not role models, but when you're rooting for the main character to die, that's not a good thing. Maybe that's what Dutch Marich intended? Hard to say, but the movie is difficult to digest, because the main character is an idiot.

Regardless, I like this franchise, I respect the director and I hope the upcoming sequels are a lot better than this. For some reason, I'm really rooting for these movies, I'm just not a fan of Oscar (nothing against the actor, of course).

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!

This is a divisive series, even among found footage fans, who are already used to having this genre crapped on, even by other horror fans. Those people who crap on found footage will absolutely find some ammo here.

The typical complaints with this movie is that very little happens most of the time and then something very creepy happens at the end but by that point, most people have already tapped out. Even I, when I heard this was coming out, hoped the director would switch it up this time. Not only does the director follow the same exact format though, he actually DEcreases the already low amount of actual horror in the movie. There are a couple of genuinely tense scenes, hence the two stars, but those sequences go absolutely nowhere. The trademark "final" scene where we're finally supposed to get the payoff? It's laughable. Insulting, even. I don't know what the director was thinking with this but he's completely killed my enthusiasm for a part 4 and the positive reviews are obvious shills.

Another reviewer called this one of the biggest disappointments of 2024. I have to agree. Every hyped found footage this year, including Late Night, has been a disappointment, but none bigger than this one. I'm stunned.

My previous IMDB ratings for this franchise :

HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT : 6/10

HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT : MINERVA 6,4/10.

First of all, i am a big fan of FOUND FOOTAGE movies, so there is a chance i overestimate them. I have watched many of them, i consider 80% of them as watchable at least. I don't think this genre has created a lot of masterpieces, even myself think that most of FF movies are mediocre to just good. But i truly enjoyed them, and that's enough for me.

FIREWATCH is the best movie of this franchise. There are some intense scenes, but the best part of it is that it expands the lore (Of course, don't expect many answers). Furthermore, it's not confusing and messy like the previous one. And it doesn't take forever until viewer watches some "action". Therefore, it's the best and it's definitely recommendable for a horror fan.

I respect the creators because they try to do something different. It was easy to repeat just the same old tropes over and over again. I am not saying it's a very good movie neither brilliant. And i am not betting that the endgame here will be something creative, it's possible that the last movie will be even laughable. It tries to be original but it's not that creative.

Overall though, just for the fact that it made me invest, i think this is interesting at least. After all, it's just a matter of taste. If you like FF movies and you prefer it to be more mysterious/enigmatic/eerie than scary and constant action/jump scares, then you 'll like it as well.

My wife and I were really looking forward to part 3 as we enjoyed the first one and especially Minerva, but Firewatch is 88 minutes with MAYBE about 5 minutes of creepy, half of which are scenes from part 2, Minerva. It's mostly talk and when it finally gets to footage, there's nothing (and believe me we're the kind that take pleasure in straining our eyes looking for the hidden in found footage) and I mean NOTHING, just an occasional creepy sound. The main character makes a remark a few times about "They don't like the light!" and apparently that's true because no monsters show up AT ALL. There is a scene with a motorcyclist that I thought might payoff but apparently had nothing to do with anything and when it gets to the finale and has "Viewer Discretion Advised", it should have instead an epilepsy warning with a final reveal that is such a stupid "What the?" it just makes me mad. The director should really be ashamed for this movie because Horror In The High Desert 2: Minerva was very good, but this one feels like no effort was made at all-nothing that adds to the story, barely any scares, just a quick cash grab to string you along until the next one. I rented it for $4.99 on Amazon and that was truly money wasted. Wait for it to show up on Tubi. Try harder next time Dutch Marich.

"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.

I've watched all three of the movies in this series and each one gets progressively worse. I'd like to be able to point out specifics, but there aren't any. It's just that each one is more boring and pointless than the last.

I seriously feel as though I've been grifted. There is nothing of any value in the way of cinematography, acting, writing or any other generic trait that one would use to judge a film. I understand this is a found footage style of film. That doesn't, nor should it, allow for such a lack of ambition as demonstrated in this "production".

I'll do whoever is reading this a favor and not give away any spoilers. Alas, there are no spoilers. There's nothing to spoil. It's a guy walking around in the dark. If you haven't figured that out after three films, the joke is definitely on you.

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.

The first film was one of the best FF films released in years, the second wasn't as well done but was still engaging and entertaining, so how could it all go wrong with this third installment? For a low budget FF film, I commended what they did with their limited funds, which actually helped the end product look more authentic. But by the third film, the budget should be increased by at least 3X's to give people a film that they won't soon forget. It seems like the people responsible for this movie forgot about the fans and just made a documentary instead of a film that is worthy of following up on the story from the first film, and it is a completely and total disappointment in every possible way.

The first film in this franchise was one of my favorite FF films release that year, and it was primarily due to the lead actor. He was such a likable, charismatic person that I immediately felt compassion for, and what transpired in the film was rendered more effective due to him alone. The second film veered down another path, with a new mystery, but you didn't connect with any of it the way you did with the first story. This third story, you have a protagonist looking for answers, and while he is likable in his own right, way too much time is spent on him and not enough time is actually spent looking for those answers.

A lot of the movie seems more like a documentary or even a promotional video for Nevada. We see rolling hills, wildlife, caves. We get interviews with people yapping non-stop, instead of showing us what they're discussing, and to me it just seemed like the creative team wanted to make a movie without actually having to spend any real money on it. Again, this is the THIRD film. It's the one that really cements your franchise and either brings in more people to watch, or where people drop out and no longer care. I am in the latter camp. After this third film, I just don't care anymore. The story is becoming hokey, and there is just not enough meat in the pot to call it a stew anymore.

I really hope they pull out all the stops for part 4. The largest budget, better actors, and more scenes of actual terror and not just people hearing noises and walking in empty derelict structures. Although I won't be watching part 4, I hope that the team really considers upping the ante by a considerable amount if they think that this series is going to continue to be successful.

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.

So I like the first movie, thought the second one was even better and scarier, and therefore was excited about this one. All I can say is what a letdown! The only good part of the movie was the black haired woman interviewer who's actually a really good actress and bring some Interest to the story. But the rest of the movie is flat out terrible, the biggest problem being Oscar is such a bad actor and is such a bad character that you literally do not care what happens to him. And they inexplicably brought back Gary's God-awful sister for some reason. Honestly, I don't even know why they bother to mention the name Gary Hinge at all in this movie. They barely showed him in flashback for maybe two or three sequences and even that was short-lived. Instead, what we get is long never-ending tracking shots of a guy walking over rocks and seeing...literally NOTHING. There was no tension and nothing even remotely scary. Oh, and the actor who played the missing Oscar's brother? Just WOW was he bad. Avoid at all costs.

Such a sad disappointment after I'd been excitedly waiting for this release since binging the first two movies when the 2nd one came out.

The first one only really came alive at the end, but had a very likeable main character and good pay off.

The 2nd connected loosely, but expanded the story in interesting ways and ramped up the tension and creep factor to a 10. This got me firmly on board and looking for answers and some degree of resolution, or at least having some light shed on who was out there and what they were doing.

This entry, however, goes nowhere. It features a main character that I didn't care for at all, and who frankly came across as a bit of douche. That may be unfair, but I just didn't care about this character.

As for the tension that made the second film so effective, that was gone for me. That trick only works for a short while... Once an audience knows that it's all tease, with no pay off, and nothing to be nervous of as a viewer, then the tension disappears. The way to cause unease and to do this tease and stretch it to uncomfortable lengths, but you also have to play with expectations and occasionally hit the viewer with an actual scare and impending threat. I knew full well while I was watching that nothing was going to happen, despite whatever noises were going on in the background, so there was no tension. I'm genuinely sorry to say it, but I was actually a little bored at times, and I'd really enjoyed the first two movies.

On top of this though, there were hardly any scenes even attempting to show some tense found footage. I could only sincerely call one part of a single scene in the entire movie a legitimately suspenseful scene - at that was right at the very end of the movie, and ended with a frankly absurd reveal that doesn't fit with anything that was seen or referenced in the earlier movies, or even reports from other characters in this movie.

I actually wish the director well, and really hope that the next movie brings things together in a satisfying way, but we're 3 movies in at this point and if you continue in this way, there'll be nobody left watching by the 5th movie.

I thought the first two were pretty creepy found footage/mockumentary movies, but this one was a complete snooze-fest. Granted, the first two had their share of pointless walking but there was always a payoff eventually. Not this one!!! 88% of this film is just shaky cam footage of a guy walking on rocks and gravel and 12% talking heads style docu. Seriously, I'm not joking or exaggerating.

I was so excited for this too! I don't underastand the scores of 8, 9, and 10. Are they members of the filmmakers' family and/or friends?

An absolute, utter failure and letdown. I hope the director does a better job with the 4th entry...

I absolutely fell in love with part 1 of this series. It met its hype and it was the first horror to scare me like that in a long time. Part 2 came along and didn't hit those same heights but still knew how to dial the tension to 11. The long awaited part 3 demonstrates that the filmmakers, clearly with a lot of skill, are still able to create an atmosphere of dread. The story is moved forward somewhat and some dots are now definitely connecting which is good. Again it looks good with the setting perfect to create that atmosphere. Sound production again is solid with you questioning every small noise.

It's not perfect. I think the biggest issue it suffers is that with the story, with what is known has happened to others in previous installments ,is it really plausible the main character would do all the things he does without backup etc? I seriously doubt that. Most of the cast are still very good and so well to make you believe this could be real. Only one takes away the believability, and I found this part quite distracting but as it's relative unknowns and this character was only a brief feature, Ill let it slide. I also predict that some will find the less is more approach to scares somewhat frustrating with little more in the way of reveal of who or what this is in part 3, but for me this isn't too much of an issue.

There is a big job at hand for the filmmakers to start really bringing this together in the next two parts, but I can honestly say, after another nerve shredding entry, I'm definitely in for that journey.

I don't think I've ever been so annoyed by the sound of feet scuffing through a rocky path, but this film seems to delight in it. I think the writer/director has major talent as the first 2 entries are superb. I really hope to see that talent again in the 4th film should it come about. Sadly, it was completely absent in firewatch. I don't know if it was because the film was rushed but the entire production is bare bones minimal effort. As another reviewer noted, it's actually dismaying the massive step down from the previous 2 films. I really hope this series gets its mojo back because the pace was really moving forward and this installment brought it all to a screeching halt. Of course, I would pay to rent it again because I support indie filmmaking and support this production team. Take a breath and let's get back on track guys.

One of my favorite things to do is to have people watch these movies and not tell them they aren't true. Did it with my husband on the 2nd one and my mother in law on this one lol. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and the series so far. The last 20 minutes had me on the edge of my seat and I'm not proud to say I screamed at the top of my lungs. Scared everyone in the house including the dogs haha.

I love the ride these films are taking us on. Such creative story telling. Creating an eerie feeling without special effects and all that stuff. Just good old spooky story telling.

Can't wait for the next one!

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.

Horrible!!!!!!! A guy walking around filming bushes,flashbacks of old movies,and a lotta talk about nothing......this was supposed to be about the guy who found cabin Gary found,and finding the DISFORMED guy........who cares about these invisible creatures and all this non relevant stuff ....it had NOTHING to do with Gary hinge .......YOU MADE ME WAIT OVER A YEAR FOR THIS LOUSY MOVIE,THAT WAS TECHNICALLY ONLY 1 HOUR LONG,IF U DONT INCLUDE FLASHBACKS AND NON RELAVANT TALK......IM DONE.... YOU WOULDA BEEN BETTER OFF LEAVING IT AT MOVIE 1.... CAUSE 2 AND 3 HUUUGE DISAPPOINTMENT ! SORRY TO SAY,BUT I WAITED AND WAITED ON PRETENSE OF A LIE ...IM Really UPSET .. BADLY DONE!