Irish mother and son Mary (Kate Dickie) and Fergal (Niall Bruton) are on the run from monster hunters Cathal (James Nesbitt, MATCH POINT) and Liam (Ciarán McMenamin). They settle in the anonymity of an Edinburgh council flat tenement. Mary uses Runic incantations to protect them from the monster hunters (and social workers) but just as dangerous as the hunters is Fergal's budding relationship with Scottish/Romany neighbor girl Petronella (Hanna Stanbridge), who lives next door with her alcoholic mother and mentally-challenged brother. The monster hunters may have a valid reason for targeting Fergal since a mutilated bodies start turning up in the area, but Cathal may not be all he seems either when the moon rises. Lauded by the cover as the most original horror film since LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (which seems to be the current standard for arthouse horror, as the press for the lesser LINKEROVER [LEFT BANK] also makes a comparison to the Swedish pic) and in press materials as the best British horror film since THE DESCENT (seemingly the current standard for British horror films), OUTCAST is the feature debut of TV director Colm McCarthy (MURPHY'S LAW, THE TUDORS, MI-5). Like the aforementioned films, OUTCAST situates its supernatural world in the urban and suburban gloom of anonymous flats, trailer parks, and the grungy back alleys (some scenes take place in an impressively gothic Edinburgh). The pacing is a little uneven; the action moves at a good pace at the expense of the "tragic" love story (although some other unexpected diversions are thrown in). The teenage characters actually look the part, Nesbitt is effortlessly sinister, and Dickie is good at restrained rage. The distinctive look of the film's cinematography quickly becomes monotonous (although there are some nice, warm-toned close-ups of the actors), but the shakey-cam effects is used here with restraint. The digital effects early on are quite subtle but the anatomically-correct beast is a bit of a let-down, but the plotting is able to keep us in doubt as to which of the characters it is. The ambiguity of the ending is also more irritating than thought-provoking; that said, fans of THE DESCENT and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN probably will find it worthwhile.