Few things are more eerie than an isolated, deserted small town heavily glossed over with fog and silence. Such is the environment that Marie, played by Jocelin Donahue, finds herself in when she makes an unplanned trip to a tourist island in Offseason. Directed by Mickey Keating, this horror excursion through a mysterious island makes the most of its premise with a menacing aura and great performances. And while the premise itself may have benefited from a little more development, terror and anxiety abound in abundance throughout the course of the film in a standout indie thriller experience.

In Offseason, a letter notifying Marie that her mother’s grave had been vandalized motivates her to make a hasty unplanned trip to the island of Lone Palm where the cemetery is located. Upon arrival, her and her travel companion, George (Joe Swanberg, writer/producer of The Rental, and writer/director of Drinking Buddies) are alerted that the island is nearing its time to close for the off season, at which point the bridge serving as the island’s only access point will be raised until Spring. The two spend the evening attempting to learn more about the graveyard crime while recognizing that something is off about the residents of this island. When they miss their deadline and are stranded on this island, Marie begins to realize what is really going on and why she’s actually here.

Broken up into six grimmly titled chapters, Offseason makes a number of cinematic choices that elevates this horror experience above other low-budget films - the use of chapters, of course, being one of those choices. In addition to the strange behavior of the film's characters, Offseason plays out its plot points in ways that are not as predictable as you might expect.

But it’s the striking audio/visual nature of the film that helps breed that sense of unease while watching it; dense fog cloaks nighttime scenes, silhouettes loom ominously, and scenes in empty spaces are often more unnerving than scenes with clear and present threats. All of which is bolstered by a chilling score. The result captures Silent Hill-type vibes in all of the right ways.

Though Offseason lives on the dread this sinister scenario curates, it doesn’t come without its jump scares. And while many horror films use jump scares as a cheap and easy way to attempt to keep audiences interested, Offseason uses them at a pace that keeps the jump scare valuable and avoids cheapening the experience.

Some suspension of disbelief is required to fully appreciate the film however. Marie’s gung ho attitude for reaching this cemetery is curious. She knows she doesn’t have enough time to rectify the vandalism before the island becomes inaccessible. She also has no leads as to who may have perpetrated the crime on an island that is frequented by comers and goers. From a practical perspective, this makes what she chooses to do with her time on the island before the bridge closure seem futile, and may elicit yell-at-the-screen reactions.

But, despite whatever holes one might poke in the premise, Marie still manages to be quite the formidable protagonist in this story with a strong performance from Donahue. Her flashback interactions with her mentally unstable mother (with a striking performance from Melora Walters) explain her dedication to caring for her mother, and thus, having unconditional concern for resolving the issue with her mother’s grave. Her determined demeanor when engaging with passively hostile residents before the island closes is firm and unwavering. And her resourcefulness and aptitude for defending herself is the stuff great protagonists in horror movies are made of. All while exhibiting emotional range 

The ending may seem spoon fed as Offseason wraps up this narrative with a twist, but it works because trying to overthink this film would counteract the entertainment value it has. Sure to be a Shudder star when the horror genre is in-season this fall, Offseason still holds up, even for off season enjoyment.

Acting and Casting - 2 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 1 | Entertainment Value - 2 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 2 | Reviewer's Preference - 1 | What does this mean?