WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the newly released HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT 3: FIREWATCH (2024 / Amazon Prime).
On November 10th, 2014, amateur hiker Kenny Lee Veach was on a mission to re-discover a cave he’d previously stumbled across in the Nevada Desert, which he called the “M Cave”, due to the fact that it was in the shape of an M.
He reported that he’d found the cave a few months before and through several online forums, under the name “Snakebitmgee”, stated that while near the cave he’d had a very strange experience.
One of his posts revealed that: “The closer I got to the cave entrance, the worse the vibrating became. Suddenly, I became very scared and high-tailed it out of there. That was one of the strangest things that ever happened to me.”
To be noted, the cave was specified as being in the Sheep Mountains, 40 miles north of Las Vegas, and just south of the notorious and secretive Area 51 military base. While his cell phone was later discovered in the desert near the entrance of an abandoned mine, to this day, Kenny Lee Veach remains a missing person.
And thus begins the real life inspiration behind the completely fictional found footage film, HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT (2021), written and directed by Dutch Marich. This first entry is centered around the mysterious disappearance of “missing person” Gary Hinge, and unfolds as a pseudo-documentary using convincingly crafted interviews with friends and family, police reports, and faux local news pieces.
Like the true incident of Kenny Lee Veach, the character of Gary Hinge states that he discovered a very strange structure out in the desert while hiking, and due to online bullying and disbelief towards his account, he’s determined to once again find the building, and this time get proof of the deeply secluded and mysterious location.
HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT is a very well made entry into the found footage genre, and a well produced mockumentary. The performances are all believable, and the secluded landscape of the vast Nevada Desert is both beautiful, and a little bit terrifying as the tension builds towards a confrontational climax.
The film was well received enough through video on demand to validate a sequel with HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT 2: MINERVA (2023). Continuing in the found footage/mocumentary style, the sequel is centered around the strange death of a woman named Minerva, and the mysterious disappearance of another woman, Ameliana Brasher, one the same night along a desolate stretch of highway.
Part 2 steps up the creepy dread, and further expands on the mythos of Gary Hinge, and the weird, shambling beings which seem to have a long history of abductions and murders in the area, going back several generations.
With enough momentum to now push towards “franchise” status, HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT 3: FIREWATCH was recently released through VOD on Amazon Prime. I personally enjoyed the first two entries, so went into the latest addition with some hopeful expectations that it would continue on the mythos building and reveal new insight into who, or what, these beings are.
Unfortunately, the third part of this series offers nothing new, utilizing the exact same tricks (far less successfully), provides no scares, and ends on a cliffhanger that is almost worthy of a “LOL”. Not to ruin the movie for those who haven’t watched it yet, but let’s just say that you have to go back and use the pause button to even see what’s happening, and according to the lead character, Oscar Mendoza, “No one is safe there, outside or inside, and the creatures don’t always appear as human.”
And with that, we end on both a LOL and WTF? It seems the only thing FIREWATCH is here for is to set up parts 4 and 5 (which are already in development), and throw a curve-ball at fan’s expectations of what’s in store. While I’m still curious as to where writer/director Dutch Marich is going with all this, one can’t help but to view the latest entry with disappointment and apprehension towards further installments.
There are no scares to be had here, nor real progress, and FIREWATCH simply does not burn brightly.
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Michael A. Dyer is the host of the HORROR TO CULTURE podcast and website.
