AFM 09: OUTCAST Impresses.

If Colm McCarthy's dark Irish fantasy Outcast comes even close to living up to the strength of its sales promo then this may very well end up being the discovery of this year's AFM. 

Beautifully shot by Darran Tiernan Outcast is an entirely unique, very dark, and very realistic treatment of the sidhe - Ireland's fabled fairy people. 

When Mary and her teenage son, Fergal, move to yet another new home, it soon becomes clear that they live their lives on the run, hiding from someone or something, terrified of being found.  Trying to avoid making new friends or connections wherever they go, Fergal finds himself caught between the affections of his beautiful and feisty neighbour and his fiercely protective mother who will stop at nothing to protect her precious son.  Mary has strict rules which govern Fergal's life without which chaos and terror threaten to ensue.  Their hunter is Cathal, a dangerous and terrifying man, intent on tracking down and killing Mary and Fergal.  What's more, he is using a form of dark magic to find them.  Mary's only defense is to use the same ancient form of magic to protect her son.  But how long will it be before Cathal manages to outsmart her?  When the local residents begin to be brutally murdered by an unknown life force, the sense of fear escalates.  Is Cathal the beast responsible for the killings?  Or is it the beast that he is trying to destroy?

Irish folk lore is a rich and visceral tradition, one that's never really been done justice on the screen but this looks to do it and do it well enough that Let The Right One In crossed my mind more than once while watching, though this looks darker by far.