Mickey Keating is no stranger to homage. You can feel the impact of The X-Files and Invasion of the Body Snatchers in Pod (review). Roman Polanski’s Repulsion was an obvious influence on Darling (review). Carnage Park (review) features elements of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and the films of Quentin Tarantino and Sam Peckinpah. With Psychopaths, as Brad Miska wrote in his review, Keating pulled from Paul Schrader and other colorful and vibrant psychedelic films from the 1970s. His latest feature, Offseason, chooses to go a somewhat unexpected route.
Marie (Jocelin Donahue, The House of the Devil) has just suffered the death of her mother (Melora Walters, appearing in flashbacks). After receiving a mysterious letter informing her that her mother’s grave has been vandalized, she and her partner George (Joe Swanberg, V/H/S, You’re Next) travel to the site of her mother’s grave: a desolate island town completely shrouded in fog, only to discover that the locals are quite hostile and an evil presence lurks somewhere on the island. Marie must then traverse the foggy locale, unlocking the mystery of why she was brought there in the first place. Sound familiar?
Keating has made a sort of calling card out of homaging (or imitating?) other directors in his films, so that will be the main hurdle you’ll have to jump over before you can watch Offseason on its own terms. If you’re able to do that, then there’s a lot that the film has to offer. Shot through the bluest of blue filters, Offseason boasts an impressive visual style. Keating can get a little showy with his camerawork, but he keeps the camera moving, staying glued on Donahue at all times as her situation becomes more and more dire.
Budgetary constraints are an issue here, and they’re fairly obvious, given the amount of screen time devoted to Marie walking around a fog-shrouded island and reacting to things. There are two standout sequences that tease what Keating could do with a larger budget if he was afforded it, but sadly they are just that: teases. Maybe one day Keating will be given a budget that can accommodate his vision, because he’s displayed enough talent over his nearly 10-year career to merit it.
Keating has also gathered a plethora of recognizable character actors to bring some conflict to Marie’s journey. Richard Brake and Jeremy Gardner cameo in brief roles, each adding their own bit of menace to the proceedings, but this is Donahue’s film. A welcome presence in any horror film ever since her breakout debut in Ti West’s The House of the Devil, Offseason would be nothing without her. Due to the aforementioned limited budget, there aren’t many chances for special effects work so it falls on Donahue to make the audience feel the terror that she is feeling, and she knocks it out of the park.
Narratively speaking, there aren’t too many surprises in Offseason and the plot doesn’t have enough meat on its bones to justify its already scant 80-minute runtime. The scares are limited, but it’s all about the atmosphere here; and Offseason has that in spades. The fog is the film’s trademark, but it’s more than just a gimmick, adding a certain mystique to the island settings (a forest, a desolate town, a deserted beach). If nothing else, the film is gorgeous to look at.
Offseason too often treads familiar territory and there’s not really enough plot here to merit a full-length feature, but Keating’s strong visual style and Donahue’s endearing presence make it a film worth checking out. It’s not going to blow you away, but as an exercise in technique it’s certainly watchable.
