Offseason

Nice atmosphere, a few good shots to give a bit of dread here and there. This is kind of a horror-lite movie with modern film making sensibilities. No blood / gore nor anything that qualifies as a jump scare. Light on plot. I give it a 5/10 because I like the style, and +1 star because it was apparently filmed in New Smyrna Beach, which is pretty cool because I've been there many, many times. This is the kind of horror film you might show someone who's squeamish. The film has some vaguely Cthulu-esque references but I wouldn't characterize it as a film in that mythos per se.

Also, when did IMBD start requiring 600 characters minimum in reviews?!

As I sat down to watch the 2021 fantasy horror movie "Offseason" from writer and director Mickey Keating, I must admit that I knew nothing, absolutely nothing, about the movie. It being a horror movie was essentially all that was sufficient for me to sit down and watch it.

And I will say that the storyline told in "Offseason" is a slow burn type of storyline and narrative. So if you're hoping for a horror movie with an abundance of jump scares and spooky scenes, then "Offseason" is not your type of movie. Nay, "Offseason" is more of a Lovecraftian type of horror movie. Writer and director Mickey Keating takes his sweet time to set up the stage, but ultimately the long wait didn't really bear fruit in a fulfilling and satisfying manner.

The narrative told in "Offseason" was definitely inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, as it was a coastal community that apparently had struck some kind of bargain with a person that had emerged from the sea, and the town residents were bearing an old secret. And then the entire scene at the beach was just full-blown Lovecraft, no doubt about it. And I will say that it actually was the highlight of the movie, if you enjoy the cosmic dread of Lovecraftian stories. But if you watch "Offseason" hoping for a regular horror movie, then you will probably be lulled to sleep by the pacing and the lack of scary things.

"Offseason" is a movie with a small cast ensemble, and you essentially just following Jocelin Donahue (playing Marie Aldrich) around as she unveils the secrets of her past and the secrets of the secluded island. But I will say that she actually carried the movie quite well. I was pleasantly surprised to see Richard Brake (playing the Bridge Man) in the movie, just a shame that he wasn't given a lot more screen time.

Visually then you should not be expecting a whole lot from "Offseason", because it is a movie that is driven by the story and narrative of said story, not focusing on throwing an abundance of visual effects at the audience.

I will say that "Offseason" is definitely something of an acquired taste. Because if you are not a fan of the Lovecraftian tales, then you will not enjoy "Offseason" one bit. But if you are a fan of the classic H. P. Lovecraft tales, then you will definitely enjoy "Offseason".

My rating of "Offseason" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Premise is a standard horror trope. Someone called back to a remote town or village by what seems to be circumstance, but ultimately is a plot by a mysterious evil peril. And in this case, we seem to be borrowing the milieu from Lovecraft.

This film is anchored by a protagonist who has to carry the entire enterprise on her shoulders. Jocelin Donahue pulls it off. She is lovely, tired, scared, confused and is a solid actress that makes it work. No other character has that much screen time or relevance, but nobody really does a bad job. Melora Walters is solid in her role as Marie's mom.

The little town filled with weird people who don't ever answer questions when you ask. The plot device of a townie who pulls you aside to let you know something isn't right and they will help. There is nothing new here. And we have a low budget, and no grand affects. So we need pacing, music, flashbacks, quick cuts to keep us engaged and for the most part the director, Mickey Keating does a good job.

The story is about impending inevitable doom. So this is just a ride watching Donahue's Marie character react as she is led further and further into the trap being set by evil.

We start, carry on, and end in fairly standard horror movie fashion. There is nothing new or wild here. But overall, it is engaging and fairly well-done. This type of horror maybe lacks the cheap scares that certain movie-goers require, but as a fan of horror, I can appreciate it for what it is. A well executed small budget horror movie.

This was okay, the plot is unique, the scenery reminds me of silent hill. I liked the mystery going around the movie but it somewhat got boring because all we saw was a woman running around the island searching. I wish there was more to the plot and the ending didn't do the movie any favors to be honest.

During my whole watch through of this film I had one singular thought coursing through my mind, "This would have made a hell of a survivor horror game". For those uninitiated, it's a genre of games where your primary objective is to escape the horrifying goings-on around you. People lost in a strange town they can't escape from, people being chased in a forest by unknown assailants, that sort of thing. This movie is right up the alley of that genre and I swear that even the soundtrack was reminiscent of the first Silent Hill (the game, not so much the film of the same name although it can also be argued that that it could be an inspiration for this movie).

There's a weird island/town, a distinct sound (the raising of the bridge), weird townspeople that act absolutely crazy, and a lot of fog. As a fan of Silent Hill, I immediately drew the comparisons and think I enjoyed this movie that much more because of it. Not because the movie was bad on its own, per se, it was just that I really liked how things transpired throughout the film, in a way that clearly reminded me of one of my favorite gaming franchises.

That being said, the acting in this movie is really well done (even the townspeople play there roles perfectly), and while the movie is light on actual scares, I was effectively creeped out at certain points, especially by the town florist. The music was effective and really put you in the mood, and the movie looked good (in that there was obvious care put into the cinematography, set pieces and framing of each shot). The only sour note in the whole movie were the special effects. They were sparse, and when they did show it, it looked cheap and obviously home made. There are more effective ways to use practical effects than this, so it kind of ruined a movie that had a lot of good thing going for it.

Overall, if you are a gamer and enjoy survival horror, you'll like this movie. Everyone else will find it very hit or miss.