JP Nunez
When I first saw the trailer for Offseason, I knew I had to watch this movie. It teased a supernatural folk horror with an awesome Lovecraftian bent, so I was all in before the trailer even finished. And now that I’ve finally gotten a chance to see the film, I’m glad to say I was not disappointed.
Offseason was written and directed by Mickey Keating, and it stars Jocelin Donahue, Joe Swanberg, Richard Brake, and Melora Walters. It’s about a woman named Marie who learns that her mother’s grave has been vandalized, so she goes with a friend to the island where her mother was buried to check it out. Once there, the duo immediately begin to have some very strange encounters with the locals, and their visit soon becomes an absolute nightmare.
Going into Offseason, I was expecting a slow burn reminiscent of The Wicker Man, but that’s not at all what I got. Sure, like countless other folk horror films, this one is about people who visit a remote location and encounter a cult-like group with sinister intentions, but beyond that very general premise, this movie is very different from your typical folk horror fare.
Unlike most films in this subgenre, Offseason doesn’t spend any time teasing you with subtle hints that something isn’t quite right with these locals. Instead, it goes all in on the horror right from the get-go, so it’s surprisingly fast paced. It slows down a bit (but only a bit!) eventually, but for the first 30 or 40 minutes, it’s basically just one horror scene after another.
In fact, I actually found this part of the movie a little too fast. There are times when it feels more like a series of loosely connected scares than a smooth narrative, and even when it does slow down later on, it still focuses way more on the horror than on the story. So if you’re looking for a meaty narrative that will touch the deepest parts of your soul, you’re not going to find it here.
Instead, Offseason is basically all horror all the time, and as good as that horror is, I would’ve liked the film to spend a bit more time building up the story and letting us get acquainted with these characters and their world. This de-emphasis on narrative (especially in the first half hour) is the movie’s one big flaw, and it was almost enough to turn me off of the film entirely. But thankfully, it never went quite that far. I never felt like this problem outweighed everything the movie got right, and as the story progressed, it actually bothered me less and less.
So what does this film get right? For starters, we have the horror. Like I said, this is the real meat and potatoes of Offseason, so the film pretty much stands or falls with this one element. And thankfully, it totally works. Unlike a lot of genre movies these days, this one doesn’t have too many jump scares. Sure, there are a few here and there, but for the most part, the film is more about the atmosphere and the creepy imagery. It’s soaked in a feeling of dread from start to finish, and director Mickey Keating does a really good job of amping up the tension and suspense whenever Marie goes into a dark room or an abandoned building.
Admittedly, the scares here aren’t particularly original, but the film executes its time-honored tropes so well that I just didn’t care. I loved every fog-filled cemetery, every creepy room, and every demon-eyed villager, and I know I’m going to watch this movie again at some point just so I can see all those things one more time.
On top of the horror, the other big standout in Offseason is Jocelin Donahue’s performance as Marie. Most of the characters and performances in this film are quite good, but in my opinion, Marie stands head and shoulders above the rest. She’s the heart and soul of this movie, so she carries it and makes it work despite its thin narrative.
Even though she doesn’t have any memorable quirks or particularly charming traits, I totally bought into the character right from the beginning. It’s tough to put into words, but Donahue just makes Marie feel like a real person going through a real nightmare. She makes the entire story believable, so I found myself quickly rooting for her and wanting her to escape the clutches of these evil islanders.
Last but not least, I have to mention the cinematography. Offseason isn’t going to wow you with every single frame, but it definitely has more than its fair share of beautiful shots. It’s one of the better photographed genre films in recent memory, so on top of everything else it does well, it’s also a real treat to look at.
When you combine this beautiful cinematography with a believable lead character and a whole bunch of excellent horror, you get a worthy new addition to the folk horror subgenre. Sure, the scares in Offseason may not be super original, and the movie’s focus on narrative is pretty much just one step above a Dario Argento film, but at the end of the day, the pros here outweigh the cons by a pretty wide margin. It’s admittedly not going to be for everybody, but if you’re up for a scarefest that focuses more on atmosphere and imagery than jump scares, I think you’re really going to like this movie.
Offseason was released on VOD and in limited theaters on March 11.
