SYNOPSIS:
A woman visits an island town after learning that her mother’s grave there has been desecrated, only to discover there is something a little off about the people who live there and that things themselves aren’t quite what they seem there.
REVIEW:
I thought that the premise for Offseason sounded neat and I went into it hoping that it would be an awesome little movie. I knew about half an hour into it that this wasn’t going to be the case, but I toughed it out to the end, and while I didn’t absolutely hate it and wouldn’t say it was the worst movie I’ve ever seen, I won’t be in any hurry to ever watch it again.
The premise had promise and I thought that it sounded like it could be interesting. It’s all about a woman and her estranged boyfriend heading to a little town on an island to deal with her mother’s grave being vandalized. Once they get there it becomes apparent that there is something up with the people there and the town itself, as everyone there is just a bit odd in general and it is obvious, they aren’t exactly fond of outsiders. I thought it would be fun trying to figure out exactly what was going on and what the big mystery of the island was, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. The movie is extremely predictable, and I was able to basically figure everything out early on, something that I think most viewers will do as well.
I think the biggest issue I had with the film was the fact that it is extremely boring. There are definitely some pacing issues here and most of the time that I was watching the film I couldn’t help but feel more than a little bored. It moves way too slowly for the most part, and once things do eventually start to happen, they aren’t exactly anything to write home about. Nothing that exciting really takes place at any point, so if you’re looking for a fun, action-packed film loaded with cool death scenes and other exciting things going on you may want to steer clear of Offseason because you aren’t going to find any of that here, unfortunately.
The acting is just OK as well and is passable for the most part. Jocelin Donahue is fine as the main character Marie, but there are times that even she seems to be bored and wishing that she was somewhere else. The same can be said for Joe Swanberg, who plays her boyfriend George, who also appears to be preoccupied with other things occasionally as well. The other actors appearing in the film are all just sort of there and don’t really stand out to be honest, but I think this is due more to the writing than it does any of their acting skills.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending either. It is probably the most predictable thing about the movie and just felt lazy to me. I don’t want to spoil anything, but let’s just say that it’s mighty cliched and has been done countless times before in other movies. As I said earlier about the big mystery going on involving the island itself, most viewers will most likely see the ending coming and won’t be shocked or surprised as a result. I could personally think of at least two different ways the movie could have wrapped up, so I was a little surprised that the people behind it went with the ending that they went with because it just doesn’t quite work and feels more than a little generic and cookie cutter in my opinion.
As I stated earlier, I didn’t totally hate Offseason, but I didn’t think it was anything special at the same time. It’s an OK way to kill 90 minutes it you don’t have anything better to do, but just don’t go into it expecting to be blown away or for it to become your new favorite movie of all time or anything like that. I didn’t find it to be scary at all and I really can’t see there being a lot of viewers out there who watch it being terrified by it either. Give it a shot if you are curious about it and think that you may be into it, but make sure to keep your expectations in check and you might enjoy it a tad more than I did.
