Offseason

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.

The movie looks good, and the idea is good and the whole thing could have been creepy, but there are just so many weird inconsistencies.

A character will go from "I am not leaving because X!" to "No we have to go now!" within the span of 20s. The characters also seem to teleport around the island, going from cemetary, to beach to djungle within 10 steps. The exposition is delivered clumsily and either to early or too late in the movie.

Theres so much footage of the main character walking slowly through fog with nothing happening that it really felt like they didn't have enough movie to fill the run time.

Just a huge letdown.

I should say right off that many people probably will not care for this movie. It has TONS of mood and atmosphere, and the soundtrack is powerfully effective in creating this suspense. But, for those looking for a straight forward, linear film, with lots of Horror Action, this is definitely not it.

The director even uses title cards for each section, and each section is like its own little vignette with its own strange, unique mood. Each sequence does indeed fill you in somewhat on the story with some flashbacks worked in, but overall this movie is ALL about oddness and atmosphere. Almost everything is mood generated as the couple begin to search around the island. So, first and foremost, this is more of a throwback to an old Gothic style story with great storms, foggy forests, and some nicely worked in visuals here and there. This movie is a little bit 'DAGON', with little bit 'THE FOG', mixed with The Supernatural, and with a bit of Lovecraft thrown in (which I guess IS being a bit redundant 😊)

But, if you are looking for a lot of Action, this is not it. Trust me, it is ALL mood and atmosphere, so if that is something that you can appreciate and enjoy, then yes, just like me you might really enjoy it and find that it is made very well and creates a real Creepy vibe. But, remember, it is very slow paced with more 'Weird' than over the top 'Horror' The camerawork is very effective. The director consistently uses this close-field focus effect where you can't quite make out anything just beyond what is presented immediately in front of you. This creates a lot of suspense, because you keep wondering what is in the background until it comes into focus. It can be a TAD annoying at times, but I felt that overall it was fairly effective.

The acting is pretty good, with the main woman lead having to carry the majority of the movie. I personally thought the beginning and ending 'wraparounds' with the mom could have been done better. And, without giving anything away, I would have ended the film just a little earlier, dispensing with the last 'Coda' at the end. I think that would have carried a bit more of a 'Punch'.

So, no, this movie is NOT for everyone and many might even find it very slow and uneventful, as some have said here. BUT... if you really get into super Moody and Atmospheric, kind of throwback Gothic flavoured films rather than tons of action, there is a good chance you also might like this one.

I had high hopes for this movie- starring proven actors Jocelyn Donahue and Joe Swanberg with RJLE involved in distribution- but it fell short.

The main story was interesting (albeit unoriginal) and well acted, but the flow of movie felt scattered and unfocused. So much so, that I kept checking how much was left in the movie. Also, the scares were little to none, and I didn't feel an interest to see what happened next. Even good acting couldn't save my attention span

Add a little more coherence between scenes and more effective scares, and this would have been above average.

A mediocre movie at best [5/10]

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.