Offseason (2022)

Do you like HP Lovecraft stories? Do you like folk horror?

If so have I got a movie for you!!

Offseason is just so perfect for people who love the Lovecraft and folk horror vibe but without the Aster type mass appeal and overly smug air.

It’s also devoid of the 80’s synth and vapourwave vogue and leans more into the vibe of the 40s and 50s which is refreshing.

In New York, Marie’s mother, a former actress, has died. Despite advanced dementia she begs not to be buried in her home town, an island in Florida called Palm Island.

After a change of her will that Marie, her carer, was never aware of she is forced to let her mother’s body be taken there.

Sometime later the cemetery caretaker calls Marie to tell her that her mother’s headstone has been vandalized and so she enlists her ex-boyfriend, George, to drive her to Florida.

When there they’re told by the bridge operator that the bridge closes each summer and it’s now offseason.

Marie tells him her reason for visiting and he lets her and George across, they get lost in mist, confused, separated and generally discombobulated before things get ever stranger.

With little to no gore, nudity or bad language really this relies entirely on atmosphere and acting and a very beautiful location, the holiday staples of palm trees and pastels juxtaposed against harsh rain, high winds and dark skies is very effective at setting the mood as well as keeping the ‘something’s not right here’ vibe.

It should’ve been maybe 10 minutes or so longer, it clocks in at 80 minutes which is fine but it just felt a bit winded.

Not as out there as Broadcast Signal Intrusion but in a similar vibe and genuinely creepy in parts.

The epilogue calls to mind Stepford Wives, you’ll know what I mean if you watch it.

Very, very worth your time.