Watch Offseason (2021) online

SXSW 2021 Greetings again from the darkness. Horror director and writer Mickey Keating adds to his oeuvre with a creative twist on the genre that mixes zombies, the depths of hell, and a powerful monster. Using title cards to take us through six chapters and an Epilogue, Mr. Keating has us experience the events through the eyes of Marie Aldrich (played by Jocelin Donahue). However, it's Marie's mother Ava, played by the always interesting Melora Walters (whose career dates back to DEAD POETS SOCIETY, 1989), whom we see and hear from first. She appears near death as she explains that she's accepted that there is no way to run away from nightmares ... they always find you.

Marie receives a letter informing her that her mother's grave has been desecrated and it's an urgent matter that must be handled promptly and without fanfare (do people usually go to the press on such matters?). Marie and her boyfriend George (Joe Swanberg) head to the island where Mom is buried. It's a creepy place that shuts down for the winter. Marie's mother had told her stories of the island and "The Man from the Sea", and how the island residents sold their soul to the sea monster in order to survive the harsh conditions. Reluctantly, the Bridge Man (Richard Brake) allows them to cross the bridge onto the island.

Things immediately seem weird and off-center. Marie finds her mother's damaged grave, but the caretaker is nowhere to be found. Under a time crunch, Marie and George make some bad decisions ... of course, it wouldn't be a horror movie without bad decisions! Not to give away any of the fun, but suffice to say the island is cursed, just as Marie's mom had warned.

Keating creates some nice visuals, and has terrific placement of The Vogues' "Turn Around, Look at Me". One thing that I couldn't help but notice is that Marie runs and runs. She runs a lot. I'm hoping Ms. Donahue agreed to the extra miles before arriving on set. There are enough chills here to keep us engaged, and Keating deserves credit for an original story within a genre that frequently re-treads.