Gary Hinge (Eric Mencis) is the main character of the 2021 horror movie, Horror in the High Desert and some viewers may be wondering how much of his story is based on real events. A found footage horror movie, Horror in the High Desert, is a pseudo-documentary from director Dutch Merich, who has been making horror films since 2010. Horror in the High Desert is just the first film in a trilogy that was followed by HITHD 2: Minerva in 2023 and HITHD 3: Firewatch in 2024. The film details the disappearance of a hiker in the deserts of Nevada.
Horror in the High Desert combines the loneliness and mystery of the desert with a documentary filmmaking style that makes it feel like Gary Hinge and his journey really happened. The story is broken up into two parts. The first focuses on the police search for Gary Hinge, an amateur hiker only seen in archival footage. He recently went into the Great Basin Desert claiming he was looking for a cabin, but he’s since disappeared. The second part of Horror in the High Desert involves a private search for Gary. The film is based on a similarly unnerving true story.
Gary Hinge In Horror In The High Desert Shares Similarities With Kenny Veach
Veach Also Went Searching For Something Mysterious In The Desert
The story in Horror in the High Desert and Gary Hinge shares a lot of similarities with the tragic and mysterious events that befell Kenny Veach in October 2014 (via NevadaMagazine). Kenny Veach was an amateur hiker and Las Vegas resident who commented on a since-deleted YouTube video titled, “Son of an Area 51 Technician”, under the screen name snakebitmgee. In the comments of the video he wrote,
“That aint nothing. I am a long distance hiker. One time during one of my hikes out by Nellis Air Force Base, I found a hidden cave. The entrance to the cave was shaped like a perfect capital M. I always enter every cave I find, but as I began to enter this particular cave, my whole body began to vibrate. The closer I got to the cave entrance, the worse the vibrating became. Suddenly I became very scared and high-tailed it out of there. That was one of the strangest things that ever happened to me.”
That comment ignited interest in Veach’s story and many YouTubers soon began demanding Veach return to the location with a camera and document what he found there. Veach obliged and returned to the location. When he came back he posted his video on his own YouTube channel titled, “M Cave Hike”.
In the video, Veach arms himself with a 9-millimeter handgun and sets off to investigate the cave; however, he isn’t able to find it, much to everyone’s disappointment. Naturally, commenters were angry, with many accusing Veach of lying. Some tried to bully Veach into searching again while others tried cajoling him. It’s not known why Veach decided to try again, but perhaps he didn’t read every comment because at least one signaled a warning. @Lemi Killmister wrote,
“No! Do not go back there. If you find that cave entrance, don’t go in, you won’t get out.”
Veach seemingly ignored the ominous warning and on November 10, he set off on his last hike. He told his family that he would be going on a “short, overnight trip.” Veach never came back and a few days later, his phone was found in a canyon near a deep vertical mine shaft that had been abandoned years before (via News3lv). His body has never been found.
Kenny Veach Is Still Missing
Only Veach’s Cellphone Has Ever Been Found
All these years later, Veach remains missing and there are videos all over YouTube with comments speculating about what horror could have possibly befallen Veach. While it’s possible that Veach encountered something otherworldly, as Gary Hinge does in Horror in the High Desert, it’s more likely that after a life of exploring dangerous areas of the desert, Veach’s luck ran out. Veach frequently commented about his expeditions, making it perfectly clear that he often took risks on his hikes. He posted things like,
“I solo hike across mountain tops that most people wouldn’t dare go. I have been in more caves than I can count. I play with rattlesnakes for fun. But this one particular cave was beyond anything I had ever encountered.”
In another comment, Veach said,
“I have been doing this sort of thing for over 20 years. I go where no one goes, and I never take anyone with me. I find skulls of all shapes and sizes, and occasionally I find really old animal traps. I hike over mountain top after mountain top and sleep on peaks under the stars. Sometimes I have to scale giant cliffs to get myself out of a jam, but I always make it back. I’m beat up and tired, and my pack is almost always heavier than when I left. I had to be rescued only one time by a helicopter. I had blown out my left leg at the top of the mountain, and I only had a cup of water left to get me 20 miles back to my truck. It was also over 100 degrees out. So I have a very good safety record.”
Veach clearly enjoyed hiking adventures and wasn’t afraid to test himself to see more and experience more. He didn’t have much fear when it came to exploring and his travels had nearly gotten him in trouble a few times before. If there’s one issue with what Veach wrote in his comments, it’s the last bit: “So I have a very good safety record.” By his own admission, Veach has a very poor safety record. Hiking to exhaustion, hiking alone, not bringing enough supplies, and not avoiding dangerous weather are the opposite of good safety practices.
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Veach’s death is certainly tragic, but it’s not that mysterious. He’s someone who took risks, and eventually, those risks caught up with him. It’s more than possible he slipped, fell, or passed out from the heat. The Sheep Mountains, where his cellphone was found, encompass a huge area, so it’s not all that strange that his body hasn’t been found. None of this is a condemnation of Veach either. As far as it can be understood, Veach was aware of the dangers he faced while going into the desert. If anyone was aware of the price it could cost, it would be him.
How Horror In The High Desert Differs From The True Story
Gary Hinge Is More Of A Victim Than Kenny Veach
Horror in the High Desert has a lot of similarities to Kenny Veach’s story, also pointing to online comments as the cause of Gary Hinge returning to the mysterious cabin. Gary is painted as much more of a loner than Veach appears to have been. In one scene, Gary is clearly affected by the online vitriol he receives for his videos and feels pressured into returning to the cabin to prove his “haters” wrong. In Veach’s case, it seems like he would have used any excuse to return to the cave.
Veach may not have felt bullied, but it’s very possible that the attention he received from his videos and comments drove him to take more risks.
Some fans may have mistaken Horror in the High Desert for a documentary, but in reality, Veach was a more self-possessed person than Gary ever appeared to be. However, Horror in the High Desert does get something right about the true story, and that’s the effect of the internet on people’s psyches. Gary was spurred on by internet commenters. He felt bullied and embarrassed by the hate he received. Veach may not have felt bullied, but it’s very possible that the attention he received from his videos and comments drove him to take more risks.
In both Horror in the High Desert and the true story of Kenny Veach, a man is pressured to do something against conventional wisdom. For Gary, the pressure is apparent and active, but for Veach, it was passive, and perhaps a pressure he welcomed and maybe even cultivated, as many content creators do. Both stories end in tragedy and serve as warnings about being beholden to the whims of something as ephemeral as the internet.
Horror in the High Desert, directed by Dutch Marich, follows the chilling events surrounding the 2017 disappearance of an experienced outdoor enthusiast in Northern Nevada. Three years later, friends and loved ones provide insights into his vanishing and reveal the appalling truth behind his fate.
- Release Date
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March 27, 2021
- Runtime
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82 Minutes
- Cast
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Suziey Block
, Eric Mencis
, David Morales
, Tony Williams Ogden
, Errol Porter - Director
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Dutch Marich