No two Mickey Keating films are alike; the filmmaker consistently explores different corners of horror and influences with every production. From neo-western horror to psychological to sci-fi horror and beyond, Keating seems uninterested in retreading the same ground. His latest, Offseason, takes on cosmic horror.
In Offseason, “Upon receiving a mysterious letter that her mother’s gravesite has been vandalized, Marie quickly returns to the isolated offshore island where her late mother is buried. When she arrives, she discovers that the island is closing for the offseason with the bridges raised until Spring, leaving her stranded.
“One strange interaction with the local townspeople after another, Marie soon realizes that something is not quite right in this small town. She must unveil the mystery behind her mother’s troubled past to make it out alive.”
RLJE Films and Shudder will release the horror film in theaters and on VOD and Digital on March 11, 2022. The cast is led by Jocelin Donahue (The House of the Devil, Doctor Sleep). Joe Swanberg (You’re Next, The Sacrament) and Richard Brake (3 from Hell) also star.
Ahead of the release, we look back at Keating’s horror films and how he switches up the aesthetic and style for every single one.
Ritual
Keating’s debut sees a man summoned to a seedy motel room by his estranged wife after she’s just killed someone. Her victim is a man from a dangerous cult that’d marked her as their next sacrifice, and their lives are still very much at risk. The chamber piece is minimal in story and design, though the cinematic influences still bear their mark. Rosemary’s Baby factors into the cultists’ ability to blend in as typical neighborly types, and David Lynch’s style leaves its imprint. Sound design plays the most vital role in setting the mood. Ritual establishes the core constant to every Keating horror movie: Larry Fessenden appears in every single one.
Pod
Pod might draw its name from The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but it’s used as an intentional misdirect for what’s a Twilight Zone-inspired paranoid conspiracy thriller. Siblings Lyla (Lauren Ashley Carter) and Ed (Dean Cates) stage an intervention for their brother, Martin (Brian Morvant), a veteran deep in the throes of psychosis. Martin claims to have found a pod in the woods and, believing it to be part of a government project, keeps the creature hatched from it in the woods. He refuses to let his siblings see it, though, breeding tension and paranoia as they attempt to get Martin psychiatric help. The commitment to the paranoid conspiracy thrills gives way to something far more unexpected, though appropriately grim. Frequent Keating collaborator Larry Fessenden appears in a minor supporting role.
Darling
For his monochrome psychological thriller, Keating channeled the works of Roman Polanski. The New York-set thriller draws from Rosemary’s Baby, Repulsion, and The Tenant. Lauren Ashley Carter stars as the eponymous Darling, and her descent into lonely-induced madness gets broken into chapters. The stylized, trippy horror movie also stars Sean Young as the ominous Madame, who bookends Darling’s story. Fessenden once again appears, but so too does Pod‘s Morvant.
Carnage Park
Up until this point, Keating’s horror movies were single-location chamber pieces. Carnage Park lets the filmmaker play with a much larger scope and scale. The 1970s survival thriller sees a couple of bank robbers mess up a heist and flee into the desert, winding up in a particular stretch of wilderness that a psychotic sniper uses as his slaying grounds. Pat Healy plays the deranged antagonist, with Ashley Bell as the protagonist on the run. Notable cast members also include Alan Ruck, Graham Skipper, and, of course, mainstay Larry Fessenden. If Keating’s previous film paid tribute to Polanski, Carnage Park tips its hat to Sam Peckinpah’s violent action westerns. Carnage Park lives up to its name.
Psychopaths
Keating once again shifts aesthetics according to influences. Psychopaths is a vivid collage of madness, drawing from Brian De Palma, Paul Schrader, and even a little David Lynch. The film opens with serial killer Henry Earl Starkweather (Larry Fessenden) vowing violence and retribution at his execution. His soul does indeed inspire an ensemble of psychopaths, who run amok throughout one night, occasionally crossing paths. Psychopaths is less interested in cohesive storytelling and far more focused on visuals and style. It’s an unhinged mood piece that features memorable performances from Ashley Bell, Angela Trimbur, and Jeremy Gardner.
Offseason
This Southern Gothic tale uses dream logic and atmosphere, creating a beguiling cosmic horror story led by Jocelin Donahue. She travels to her hometown and becomes trapped in an increasingly nightmarish scenario. That dream logic bears a striking resemblance to Messiah of Evil in an eerie tone, but Keating draws from David Lynch and Robert Altman. A lot of Keating’s frequent collaborators appear, including the stalwart Fessenden. All of it makes for a very Lovecraftian tale.
Offseason releases in theaters and on VOD and Digital on March 11, 2022.
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