Starring: Jenna Kenall, Hannah Alline and Natasha Halevi
Directed by: Zeshaan Younus
Rated: NR
Running Time: 71 minutes
Ethos Releasing
Our Score: 1.5 out of 5 Stars
It took me a while to figure out why “The Buildout” wasn’t clicking with me. On paper, it has a lot going for it: two strong lead performances, a mysterious cult with bonus UFO potential, and a vast desert setting filled with existential emptiness—a playground for a horror fan’s imagination. But it’s not that I dislike character studies. It’s that for me to enjoy one, the characters need to actually be interesting.
This low-budget indie follows Dylan (Hannah Alline) and Cameron (Jenna Kenall) on a sort of re-bonding trip into the Southern California desert. Dylan is set on joining a cult, while Cameron tags along as emotional support for the motorcycle-bound pilgrimage into the unknown. The extra bizarre caveat? Despite embarking on this trip together, the two haven’t spoken in years—ever since the death of Cameron’s sister. With a setup like that, “The Buildout” has plenty of backstory to sink its teeth into. But it never really does.
From a setting perspective, we should feel a creeping sense of isolation, of impending doom. Instead, the desert ends up as little more than a silent backdrop, lacking presence or atmosphere. The cult, which may or may not have some otherworldly connection, never feels as ominous as the word “cult” would imply. In fact, when we finally meet them, they’re about as forgettable as the latest conspiracy theory making rounds on social media. And while Dylan and Cameron’s personal revelations feel genuine, they’re overshadowed by the film’s disjointed execution. The result is two stories—one about fractured friendships, one about a shadowy belief system—that feel fundamentally incompatible.
As much as I wanted to enjoy it—especially since it touches on universal anxieties about friendship and how it evolves over time—I just never felt invested. Not because the themes weren’t compelling, but because the film itself didn’t seem invested in telling a fully realized story. The subject matter is fascinating, but “The Buildout” only engages with it on a surface level. And while complex questions don’t always require answers, it’s frustrating when a film doesn’t seem to answer any of the ones it presents. Which makes me wonder if we’ve been handed a sandwich with nothing between the bread.