Offseason

We all remember with nostalgia the original Twilight Zone series in which each episode allowed us to discover a new story and immerse ourselves in disturbing environments. In the same way, several films of John Carpenter in the 80's like The Fog (1980), The Thing (1982) succeeded in making us find again this zone of discomfort in which mixed by interposed layers our reality and fantastic or horrific elements. The new film written and directed by Mickey Keating after Ultra Violence (2011), Ritual (2013), Pod (2015), Carnage park (2016) and Psychopaths (2017), Offseason is definitely one of the best horror thrillers seen recently.

After receiving a mysterious letter, Marie Aldrich (Jocelin Donahue) and George Darrow (Joe Swanberg) travel to a desolate island town and soon find themselves trapped in a waking nightmare. The atmosphere of the film reminds us of one of the best episodes of Twilight Zone but also of John Carpenter's Fog in which people were plunged into a waking nightmare. One will also think of the Cthulhu myth by the American writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft, especially through a scene on the beach.

After first films more or less successful, the director Mickey Keating delivers here simply his best to this day so much he succeeds in making palpable this zone of discomfort in which Marie Aldrich is going to be plunged in an island which seems marked by an ancestral curse and in which it is impossible to escape. The numerous jump scares of the film work wonderfully and plunge us into a real fright. We can never remind enough that the success of a horrific thriller is not to pour liters of blood, to inflict to the spectators numerous scenes of torture but on the contrary to succeed in creating a real worrying atmosphere and Offseason is really frightening, a guarantee of its success.

While some may see in this film a universe close to that of Silent Hill, it would be clearly more towards the influence of John Carpenter towards which we must direct the origins of this film. One will think in particular of the apocalyptic atmosphere of In the Mouth of Madness (1994) for one of the scenes of this immersive and successful film.

Offseason
Written and directed by Mickey Keating
Produced by Eric B. Fleischman, Maurice Fadida
Executive Producer: Jan McAdoo, Mickey Gooch, Jr, Sylvain Gehler, Peter Bevan, Victor Shapiro
Starring Joe Swanberg, Jocelin Donahue, Melora Walters, Richard Brake, Jeremy Gardner
Music by Shayfer James
Cinematography : Mac Fisken,Editor: Valerie Krulfeifer
Edited by Valerie Krulfeifer
Release date : March 17, 2021 (SXSW)
Running time : 83 minutes

Seen on March 20, 2021 (SXSW)

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