Gary Hinge, a survivalist/hiker who blogs about backcountry hikes, disappeared while trying to locate a remote cabin he spoke of in his YouTube videos. His roommate and sister alerted authorities.
Dutch Marich’s mockumentary takes all the tics of this presentation style, but the retrieved footage reveals some incredibly unsettling details.
What Happened to Gary Hinge?
In the film, Gary Hinge is a survivalist who disappears while exploring the desert in Nevada. He leaves behind a YouTube video in which he says that he discovered a cabin in the wilderness, but when he goes back to check it out, he never returns. His sister calls the police and they begin to investigate his disappearance. They narrow down the search area by pinging his phone, but are unable to find any trace of him. The police then turn their attention to the survivalist’s YouTube channel, where they find a video in which he claims that he is in the wilderness and has spotted a cabin.
The police then contact the person who filmed the video and ask to meet with him, but they refuse. The video then cuts to a desert with a mountain in the background, where a man wearing a camouflage hat stands alone. He then begins to speak, and the movie shifts into a found footage style. The man tells the police that he is investigating a mysterious cave that contains valuable artifacts, but he has noticed that something strange is happening around him.
He claims that a strange creature is haunting him, and that it is stalking and killing people in the area. The man then shows a series of photographs, and then begins to talk about the strange event that has been happening to him. The police then ask him to show them the supposedly disturbing video of the creature, but he refuses.
A mutilated camera clutching hand is then found in the desert by campers. It is clear that the campers saw what happened to Gary, but their gruesome discovery is not shown in the film. The police then call in a detective, William Salerno (David Morales), to look into the case.
Horror in the High Desert is an effective film that relies on the familiar tropes of the genre to frighten its audience. The shaky camera work, the burning and blurred infrared imagery, and the use of creepy music all combine to create a terrifying climax that sends shivers down the spine.
What Happened to Gary Hinge’s Body?
Dutch Marich terrified found footage fans in 2021 with Horror in the High Desert, a pseudo-documentary about an outdoorsy survivalist who disappears while exploring the Nevada wilderness. Based on real events, the film leverages the state’s ominous reputation for conspiracies and menacing geographical attributes to produce an exceptionally unnerving narrative.
The film centers around Gary Hinge, a man who is very knowledgeable about the outdoors and who often ventures into the Nevada wilderness on survivalist trips. During one of these trips, he discovers an uncanny cabin in the middle of the desert and decides to share his find on his online blog. This quickly generates a swarm of comments that either discredit his claim or demand further proof. In order to legitimize his assertion, Gary vows to return to the area and document it with his camera.
When he does not return, his sister and roommate report him missing and authorities begin to investigate. They narrow their search area by pinging his phone, but Gary’s signal is nowhere to be found. Eventually, they begin to uncover evidence that suggests something sinister may have happened to Gary.
As the investigation continues, it becomes clear that Gary had not been alone on his hike. His journal indicates he was accompanied by a friend named Simon, and his camera’s memory chip contains footage of them together. As a result, the police believe that Simon may have been responsible for Gary’s disappearance.
During the search, they also discover that Gary’s rucksack contained his severed hand and a bloody knife. The hand had been cut cleanly and was holding his camera when it was found. It was not buried as is typically the case with people who die in the wilderness.
It is later revealed that Gary was gay and was in a relationship with another man. Although the film never explicitly mentions his sexuality, Private Investigator Bill implies that he was murdered by a deformed monster who was upset that Gary would expose him on the internet. This is the only explanation that makes sense for why such a violent act would be committed against Gary.
What Happened to Gary Hinge’s Truck?
In a YouTube video, Gary Hinge claims that he came across a mysterious cabin in the desert during his last hike. He said that the site gave him a feeling of impending danger and that he was unable to stay there. He warned his viewers not to visit the area for fear of losing their lives, but he refused to reveal the location of the cabin. He also promised to return to the location with his camera for further investigation.
The film is a pseudo-documentary that utilizes talking heads, drone footage, and fictional found footage to tell its story. Its use of found footage in particular is a nod to the real-life disappearance of YouTuber Kenny Veach, whose case inspired the movie.
Dutch Marich, who also directed the bone-chilling 2021 film Reaptown, makes good use of the found footage style to build suspense and create an uncomfortable feeling of dread in the audience. The fact that Hinge’s truck is discovered in the desert adds to this dread, as the viewer knows there is no escape from the area and that any attempt to leave may lead to certain death.
The truck’s discovery leads to the police reopening the case, but they still have no clues about what happened to Gary Hinge. However, when they examine his vehicle for clues, two things stand out. First, the fingerprints on the truck do not match Gary’s, particularly those on the steering wheel. Moreover, a set of barefoot footprints were found near the truck but do not match anyone in the database. Detective Bill Salerno starts digging into Gary’s social media and discovers a promising lead.
Gary’s final videos show him preparing to return to the desert for further exploration. In the last video he posts before his disappearance, he promises to bring his camera and a gun with him this time. He is clearly traumatized by the experiences that led up to his disappearance and is determined not to let it happen again. His sister, Beverly, hires private investigator Bill Salerno to investigate the case.
What Happened to Gary Hinge’s Camera?
Gary Hinge was an outdoorsman and survivalist who was obsessed with recording his adventures. He often traveled to the desert to explore and document its beauty. But one day, Gary disappeared in the Nevada high desert. His family and friends searched for him but were unable to find any sign of him. However, campers found his cleanly severed hand. They believe that he was attacked by a demon or by an alien creature.
A pseudo-documentary, Horror in the High Desert uses the popular found footage narrative technique made famous by The Blair Witch Project to arouse uncontrollable anticipation in its viewers. The movie combines made-up talking heads and beautiful landscape shots to build up the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Gary Hinge.
It also features spooky sound effects like weird ululating cries and a first-person perspective that Gary’s camera provides, adding to the tense verisimilitude. The film’s pacing is a bit slow but it is well-crafted and manages to keep the audience’s attention.
The film begins by interviewing people who knew Gary, such as his roommate Simon and sister Beverly. They describe how Gary was a quiet man who liked to spend his free time hiking and blogging about his experiences in the desert. They also mention that he often ventured into the wilderness for days at a time on survival quests.
During his last excursion, Gary reported that he was exploring an unknown area of the desert when he smelled smoke. He then discovered a dilapidated cabin with a chimney that still emitted smoke. He said he was shaken by the experience and felt as though he was being watched. He then fled to his truck, but was unable to locate it.
After a few weeks, Gary did not return home. His family and friend became concerned and filed a missing person report with the police. The authorities began searching the area where he had disappeared. A few weeks later, campers discovered his severed hand. The authorities are now conducting a massive investigation to determine what happened to Gary.
Despite the ambiguity of the ending, many viewers believe that Gary was attacked by a supernatural being that wanted to protect a sacred space. The fact that he had been mapping the desert and making references to abandoned mining shafts and Native American artifacts may have led his attacker to believe that he was an intruder who needed to be stopped.
