They’re Outside
Year: 2020
Runtime: 83 mins
Language: English
Directors: Sam Casserly, Airell Anthony Hayles
A YouTube psychologist, Max Spencer, attempts to help an intensely agoraphobic woman overcome her fear and leave her home within ten days. As he works with her, a local legend about sinister, magic-practicing entities known as Green Eyes begins to seem increasingly real, threatening to engulf the town in a dark and terrifying reality. Combining found footage elements with pagan visuals, the film explores a chilling fairytale for adults, starring Emily Booth and Nicholas Vince.
They’re Outside (2020) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview
Get a spoiler-free look at They’re Outside (2020) with a clear plot overview that covers the setting, main characters, and story premise—without revealing key twists or the ending. Perfect for deciding if this film is your next watch.
In a world where digital confession meets raw documentary, Max Spencer—a charismatic YouTube psychologist—sets out to film an unaired episode of his series “Psychology‑Inside/Out.” With a camera crew led by his partner, he promises to tackle one of the most stubborn forms of anxiety: severe agoraphobia. The project is framed as a ten‑day experiment, a blend of therapeutic challenge and on‑screen spectacle that blurs the line between professional rigor and viral intrigue.
The focus of the episode is Sarah, a reclusive woman living on the outskirts of Hastings whose life has been reshaped by an unspeakable fear. After a personal tragedy, she hasn’t stepped beyond her front door, and she clings to a local legend whispered in the surrounding woods—a mysterious entity known as Green Eyes, said to practice an ancient, uncanny magic. As Max’s confident methodology meets Sarah’s deep‑rooted dread, the contrast between modern psychology and old‑world folklore becomes the film’s quiet tension.
Visually, the movie leans into a found‑footage aesthetic, letting handheld lenses capture the uneasy intimacy of a therapist’s office that is simultaneously a living room, a bedroom, and a sanctuary of shadows. Interspersed with pagan‑inspired imagery—twisting trees, faint glows, and symbols etched into the landscape—the atmosphere feels like a dark fairytale retold for adults. The sound design is deliberately sparse, allowing every creak and whispered wind to amplify the sense that something unseen is watching, just beyond the frame.
The dynamic between Max’s self‑assured, almost performative approach and Sarah’s fragile, belief‑laden world creates a compelling emotional core. Their interactions hint at both genuine compassion and an undercurrent of skepticism, inviting viewers to question where professional expertise ends and the mysteries of the local myth begin. The film promises an unsettling journey that teeters between therapeutic hope and the haunting pull of ancient dread, leaving the audience eager to discover how far the line between mind and myth can truly be drawn.
Last Updated: October 11, 2025 at 19:37
Explore Movie Threads
Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.
Found footage horror movies with dread like They’re Outside
First-person horror where the camera's lens traps you in escalating terror.If you liked the documentary-style terror and immersive fear in They’re Outside, explore more movies that use found footage to build claustrophobic dread. These films put you directly in the characters' shoes, making the horror feel immediate and disturbingly real.
Burnt Offerings
1976
The Big House
1930
Bad Things
2023
Fear X
2005
The Seeding
2024
Lovely, Dark, and Deep
2024
You'll Never Find Me
2024
The Borderlands
2013
The Hideout
2007
Relics
2017
They’re Outside
2020
Ghost Story
1974
Dark Waters
1993
A Reflection of Fear
1972
A Quiet Place in the Country
1968
Narrative Summary
These narratives often follow a character or crew attempting to document a situation—be it an investigation, a personal project, or an experiment—that spirals horrifically out of control. The story unfolds through the limited perspective of the camera, revealing information as the characters themselves discover it, leading to a slow, paranoid unraveling.
Why These Movies?
They are grouped by their shared commitment to a first-person visual style, which intensifies the feeling of being trapped and creates a uniquely unsettling, authentic-feeling horror experience.
Psychological horror movies about trauma like They’re Outside
Where supernatural terrors are manifestations of deep-seated grief and psychological wounds.For viewers who appreciated how They’re Outside intertwined supernatural folklore with themes of grief and mental crisis, this thread highlights movies where horror emerges directly from psychological trauma. These films explore how personal demons can manifest into terrifying realities.
Narrative Summary
The story typically centers on a protagonist grappling with a significant psychological wound, such as the loss of a loved one. An external horror—a legend, a monster, or a haunting—emerges that directly exploits or mirrors this inner pain, blurring the lines between psychological breakdown and supernatural encounter, often leading to a bleak resolution.
Why These Movies?
They share a core narrative structure where horror is not random, but a direct consequence or reflection of profound human suffering, making the fear more intimate and the emotional impact far heavier.
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They’re Outside Summary
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They’re Outside Timeline
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