Dir - Mickey Keating
Overall: MEH
While filmmaker Mickey Keating knows how to maintain a tone by exclusively making horror movies for long enough now to concoct some spooky-on-paper moments, his latest Offseason shows that his flaws are as steadfast as ever. Forgoing some blatant stylistic plagiarism this time that usually only channels one director's aesthetic, Keating goes for a mixed bag of Silent Hill, Twilight Zone, John Carpenter's The Fog, and a dash of Lovecraftian entities. Unfortunately though, the results also come off as a hodgepodge of predictable scares that are persistently yawn-inducing in their ineffectiveness. Screechy noises punctuate every creepy beat, quirky townsfolk act like either assholes or motionless zombies for no logical reason, everything is drenched in rain and vaporous gloom, and the plotting has everybody and everything doing nothing that we have not seen countless times before. Save for Joe Swanberg who is his usual, unconvincing and dweebish self, every other performance is well-suited for the stock material, with Melora Walters and Richard Brake chewing the scenery for the limited amount of moments that they have on screen, as well as Jocelin Donahue turning in another indie scream queen-worthy portrayal to add to her resume.
Dir - Skye Braband
Overall: GOOD
The indie debut Chompy and the Girls from writer/director Skye Braband boasts a hilariously daft premise that has a lot of heart despite the fact that it does not capitalize on its strangeness as much as would be preferred. Braband forces both the characters and the audience to take the odd series of events at face value, placing us in a universe where the rules are explained yet are also merely at the mercy of an eccentric screenplay. It can be seen as either a strength or a weakness that this is a story about a neglected and troubled young woman reconnecting with her unknowing father, be it one that throws in a mysterious man/alien/deity/whatever with a giant mouth who is trying to rid the world of a doppleganging entity. This is because certain tastes may want more or less of the other, with the grounded part of the narrative being treated respectfully through likeable characters that have enough drama on their plates even without the WTF elements, all of which come off as a quirky distraction at worst and a fascinatingly unique series of goofy set pieces at best. It mostly gets by on its inventive charm, with a solid cast of lesser-known actors treating the absurd material with an amount of grace that should hardly be appropriate. Some of the humor is more awkard than funny, but the disembodied voice of Udo Kier in a cameo is always a wonderful edition to anything.
Dir - Park Kang
Overall: GOOD
A strong debut from writer/director Park Kang, Seire is a purely psychological study on all manner of anxieties suffered by first time parents. Foregoing common scare tactics, (no manipulative music, no jump scares, no arbitrary supernatural activity, no muted color pallets, etc), Kang has crafted something that is unsettling in the subversion of its subject matter. Bringing a child into the world can be as harrowing of an experience as it is a profoundly beautiful one, but the focus ''';here is rooted in the former where Seo Hyun-woo struggles with his overtly superstitious wife who diligently tries to uphold the traditions of the Korean custom of the title, (a twenty-one day period after child birth where the baby is strictly kept at home and away from all visitors). At the same time, he is also conflicted with feelings concerning his long-time girlfriend who haunts his nightmares and has recently committed suicide over her own miscarriage, made all the more complicated by the fact that he was adamant about not wanting children of his own during their time together. As Seo's guilt, regret, and frustrations increasingly run amok, the film likewise fuses his haunting visions in with reality to the point where both he and the audience must interpret the ravishing effects that such emotions are having on him.
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