The vacation is over. It's time to un-pact.
In a horror film, a journey into the unknown can take many different directions. From the haunted house right down the street to the uncharted depths of space and time, the genre's roadmap can lead viewers to bold new ideas or cliched old standbys. Either can be equally be effective in providing the thrills and chills expected by the audience. "Offseason," a new horror film written and directed by Mickey Keating ("Psychopaths"), aims for the middle road and winds up there, for better or for worse.
"Offseason" wastes no time in establishing fearful expectations, opening with a seemingly bedridden middle aged woman calmy conversing directly to the camera about her fears of death. She warns the audience to "accept their nightmares with open arms." Perhaps this is also a forewarning to accept the disjointed set-ups, unclear payoffs, and incomplete plot explanations that "Offseason" provides during its own mysterious journey.
After receiving a typewritten letter informing her that her mother's grave has been vandalized, Maria Aldrich (Jocelin Donahue, "Doctor Sleep") is obliged to travel to a summertime vacation spot to investigate the situation. As they head to the scenic island that looks to be off the coast of New England, Maria and her boyfriend (Joe Swanberg) are confronted by a creepy drawbridge operator (Richard Brake) who states that the island is closed for the off-season. But Maria's letter is her free pass onto the island, and after giving the visiting couple a long, threatening stare, the bridgekeeper lets them by.
Meanwhile, a threatening storm contributes to possible dangers ahead, and it's here that the fog sets in, both literally and figuratively, as the form of a reasonably coherent horror film takes shape in the distance but frustratingly disperses into a mist of disorganized and "spooky" happenings. Each event is well produced on all levels, and anchored by a strong performance by actress Jocelin Donahue, but the inventory of narrative explanations that follow each eerie experience diminishes the potential frights and tension that the film's premise initially promised.
Zombie-esque creatures wander around the woods. The island's year-long residents - predictably rude to the new strangers - end up frozen in time for no apparent reason. Backstory about Maria's mother suggests her successful Hollywood career came from a Faustian bargain with the island's occultish overlord. Vague references are made to a debt that must be repaid to the "island." Is there an evil entity that feeds on the summer tourists? Is the bridge master upset because his years of toil protecting the island's creepy secrets may not result in the promised eternal life and salvation? (Note: There is a rumor of another religion available that promises eternal life and salvation after death, but the missionaries may have skipped this remote island.)
The haphazard events and justifications continue, working up to a conclusion that provides more of a cliché than a resolution. While it's hardly the job of every genre film to present something new, a little bit of cause and effect can go a long way. "Offseason" sets expectations with its well-developed tone, atmosphere, and premise, but its best to keep in mind if you choose to watch that much of the unknown here will remain unknown.
Offseason Movie Review By Les Baird
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