The film opens with a police “missing person” report for amateur hiker Gary Hinge. In late July 2017, Hinge set out to explore an unspecified area of the Great Basin Desert in Nevada. His housemate and sister called the police after he failed to return.
Although Marich does not explicitly reference the 2014 disappearance of YouTuber Kenny Veach (known online as snakebitmgee), the similarities are too striking to be a coincidence.
Theme
Gary Hinge is an outdoor and survival enthusiast who went missing in the high desert of Nevada. He left a detailed trail of his whereabouts on social media, but never returned. His roommate Simon and sister Beverly grew concerned and called the police. They interviewed his family and friends, but could not find any clues about what happened to him. Finally, they stumbled across a video revealing what really happened to him.
The film uses a pseudo-documentary style to present its story. It combines made-up talking heads and gorgeous landscape shots with the found footage narrative technique popularized by The Blair Witch Project. The resulting movie is both engaging and effective, building up to a shocking conclusion.
It is not clear whether Horror in the High Desert was inspired by a real-life case, but the parallels are uncanny. The disappearance of the hiker Kenny Veach in 2014 is one such example. Veach, who went by the online name snakebitmgee, was an active member of hiking content communities and forums. He also disappeared after posting about a mysterious cave that he claimed to have found. Like Hinge, Veach was pressured by his followers to return to the site of his puzzling discovery and prove that he was telling the truth.
Although he was not explicitly linked to either of these incidents, it is possible that his disappearance was related to the recent spate of strange events in the area. The fact that he was recording videos at the time of his disappearance makes it even more likely that this was the case.
Ultimately, Gary Hinge was killed by a disfigured monstrous stranger. The film shows a scene in which the killer severs Gary’s arm, leaving only his camera clutching hand. He then vanishes into the desert, presumably forever.
The film’s eerie atmosphere, the sense of doom, and the use of disturbing imagery are what truly make it scary. Its ending, however, did not resonate with many viewers. It seemed to take away from the film’s underlying violence and was viewed as an insult to the dead hiker’s family.
Characters
A cheerful outdoor survival enthusiast and Youtuber, Gary Hinge goes missing on one of his multi-day hiking excursions. He does not return home, and when his roommate Simon and sister Beverly call the police, they are told that Gary is nowhere to be found. The authorities begin a search for him and narrow their area by pinging his phone, but they are unsuccessful in finding him.
The movie’s pseudo-documentary style is bolstered by interviews with his family and friends, including his sister Beverly, roommate Simon, Private Investigator Bill, and reporter Roberts. The filmmakers work to establish Gary’s character and personality through these recordings, focusing on his fondness for long stretches of intimidating emptiness, his fear of being alone, and his trauma from witnessing the death of his parents when he was young.
While Marich does not explicitly mention it, Horror in the High Desert is almost certainly inspired by the 2014 disappearance of another hiking Youtuber, Kenny Veach (also known as snakebitmgee). Like Gary Hinge, Veach regularly participated in online hiking content communities, and he too disappeared while searching for a mysterious cave that he had previously discovered on an excursion. Although no foul play was involved in Veach’s disappearance, it has not stopped his devoted fanbase from speculating that the cave may contain information about Area 51, military secrets, or something much more sinister.
After a month or so of not hearing from Gary, his family and friends become increasingly concerned. They try to contact him through his Youtube channel, but they are unable to reach him. They report him missing to the authorities, and the officers begin a search for him in the remote desert terrain where he was last seen.
Social media influencers and hikers start to converge on the area in which Gary disappeared, bringing with them camera crews and equipment in an attempt to find him and film his whereabouts. This influx of people also stokes the flames of conspiracy theories, with many viewers speculating that aliens, witches, or something more sinister are to blame for his disappearance.
Plot
Three years ago outdoor enthusiast Gary Hinge disappeared in the Nevada desert. Despite a months-long police search, no trace of him was ever found. His family and friends have now joined forces with a journalist and a private investigator to uncover the truth behind his disappearance. They soon discover that Gary was murdered by a deformed, monstrous stranger.
The movie primarily uses recordings of interviews with Gary’s sister Beverly and roommate Simon to introduce the audience to the missing man. A reporter and a private investigator are then added to the cast, each serving as a symbol of the public’s interest in the case and their own personal anxiety over the matter. This helps to elevate the tone of the film and deepen its sense of dread.
When the film shifts to actual footage of Gary’s last hike, it begins to show the gruesome details of his death. Using shaky camera work, burnt and blurry infrared footage, and eerie background music, the movie manages to build tension and create a sense of unease in the viewer.
It is revealed that Gary was a YouTuber who often hiked and recorded his journeys. He was an avid outdoorsman who had a huge following of people who looked up to him as an expert in the wilderness. The film also suggests that Gary was a gay man who was afraid to come out to his family and friends.
During the final sequence of the movie, we see that Gary was attacked by a creature with horrific physical deformities. The movie then fades to black, and the audience is left with a sense of unease.
Horror in the High Desert is an effective little horror film that straddles the line between hyper-realistic found footage films and the modern fears of influencer-fan relationships. The indie film is a slow burn, but it eventually delivers on its promise of real-world terror. The movie is a worthy addition to the pandemic genre, and it will surely have some fans who are already eager to see what happens next in the series.
Conclusion
A hiker named Gary Hinge disappeared in the Nevada high desert and was reported missing by his sister, Beverly. He left his home in Ruth to take a hike to a cabin he had found on previous trips. But when he did not return, his roommate Simon alerted police, who began searching for him.
Initially, it seemed that Gary had simply abandoned his trip and was nowhere to be found. However, as the investigation progressed, several clues emerged. First, several fingerprints were found on the truck, including on the steering wheel, that did not match Gary’s. Then a trail of barefoot footprints was discovered, also not matching Gary’s. In addition, no database contained a match for the John Doe fingerprints. Meanwhile, Private Investigator Bill Salerno and Reporter Gal Roberts started examining Gary’s social media.
They soon discover that he had been posting about his hiking and survival adventures online, under the name Scorpion Sam. They also find a video blog of his last hike. The movie then begins to take on a documentary tone, as Gary’s family and friends talk about their concerns and the investigation of his disappearance.
The movie does a good job of establishing a sense of mystery and concern for the audience. Within the first 10 minutes, viewers are drawn into Gary’s story, and we begin to care about what happened to him. We want to know what’s behind his disappearance and if it is related to the mysterious cave he was exploring.
A final twist in the story comes when Gary’s cleanly severed hand is found by campers in White Pine County. Despite the fact that his body was never located, this discovery has sparked speculation that he was killed by aliens, witches, or another supernatural force.
Horror in the High Desert is a well-made pseudo-documentary that successfully blends the genres of found footage, thriller, and horror. The film’s commitment to its fake documentary format makes it incredibly creepy and unnerving. It also employs long stretches of intimidatingly empty desert to create a feeling of impending doom and dread in the viewer.
