Spoilers go down better with soup than without.

Horror involving religion is often too generic. There are a lot of films in which any hint of faith is devoid of tradition or folklore. The truth is religious horror and folklore horror are one and the same. Rather than walking on eggshells, I’d rather have a film dealing with religion and superstition with their lines blurred. Fortunately this film did something wise in using the family angle. A little more creativity would have done a lot more.

(Credit: Millenium Media)

The Offering (2022) is directed by Oliver Park. The screenplay is written by Hank Hoffman based on the story by Jonathan Yunger. Arthur “Art” (Nick Blood) has long been estranged from his father, Saul (Allan Corduner), who runs a Jewish funeral home in a Hassidic community in Brooklyn. Now Arthur and his pregnant wife Claire (Emily Wiseman) come to visit Saul hoping to reconcile the family. Saul is elated to have his son back, but Arthur has ulterior motives, something that is obvious to Saul’s longtime assistant, Heimish (Paul Kaye). Trying to garner the trust of his father, Art will agree to help him with a recent arrival, a body of a man who happens to have a knife with mystical symbols carved on its hilt. Unknown to him, this will cause a chain of events that will invite a demonic presence into their lives.

The world and the lore in which this feature takes place involves Jewish tradition and myth. They immerse the audience in this world without alienating our main cast. I both appreciated and felt underwhelmed for the creative effort at world building. It feels like a little more drive could have gone a long way. I found the characters of Saul and Heimish far more investing, but the film prefers to use the point of view of outsiders Art and Claire as our protagonists which feels unnecessary. Of course we then move into familiar foreboding territory where jumpscares abound.

But there’s a few things I couldn’t help but appreciate. The performances are good. I did like Art’s semi-redemption arc. I appreciated Heimish as a jerk with a heart. Saul’s openness with Claire, inviting her into the family was heartwarming. The cinematography is also well done using warm colors for Saul’s home and a eerie greens and blues for the basement mortuary. The movie looks rather good. The house itself could be considered a character. Despite the very linear plot and execution, I appreciated it never overstays its welcome.

Lightly recommended. It has good cinematography and uses its community backdrop well and often. The performances of Allan Corduner and Paul Kaye are well executed (to the point I wished they were the main cast). The story is linear with no surprised and very stale jumpscares that add very little. It can do as a short and fun horror film. Worth a watch in my opinion somewhere in your watchlist.

That will do for now.