Good evening, House of Madness morticians:
Do you consider the football game you're watching an entertainment success if it's been three and a half quarters of boredom, but your team wins it on an absolutely epic play with no time to spare? What about a dinner at your in-laws that consists mainly of bland mashed potatoes and stodgy conversation, only to be served the greatest slice of apple pie you've ever eradicated with your taste buds? The dog you argued against getting tooth and nail with your wife because you hate dogs turns out to be a godsend, as he nonchalantly chews a hole in the ugly sweater you received for your birthday and felt obligated to wear? Sometimes it pays not to give up on something, as it can surprise you later with rewards you never knew it contained. This is how I felt after watching "The Offering", and made me glad I stuck it out til the end, as the conlusion of the film was not what I expected, and redeemed my prior feelings of extreme "meh". Was the ending enough to save the entire film? I would say no, but it certainly left me satisfied to the point that I didn't feel I had just wasted 90 minutes.
It's been a while since Art (Nick Blood) has been home to see his father Saul (Allan Corduner), as they haven't always seen eye to eye, not to mention the tension caused with Saul's poor treatment of Art's now pregnant wife Claire (Emily Wiseman). As the reunion transpires, things are going much better than Art and Claire had hoped, as Saul seems to have done some soul searching, and realized his past behaviours were unwarranted and malicious. To Claire's astonishment, he even apologizes. While things seem to be treading along wonderfully, Art has a little secret as to why he's really come home to see his father, and Claire doesn't even know the furtive jam Art has gotten them into. Turns out Art and Claire's house is on the brink of foreclosure, and unless Art can convince his father to put up his own house/morgue as collateral, they're as good as homeless. Saul's longtime assistant and good friend Heimish (Paul Kaye) accidentally discovers Art's horrible secret, and exposes him to his wife and father causing anger and disappointment to arrive once again in their dysfunctional family. While all this has been happening, unbeknownst to everyone the latest body in the morgue has a little bit of a demon problem, and they're all about to get a taste of a situation much more menacing than an angry banker.
At this point of the film, I'm feeling extremely underwhelmed with what has been a cut and paste rendition of a demon movie, and the ho-hum story feels like it's been done to death a thousand times, then exorcised back into existence only to be killed again. This is the point "The Offering" plays the ace up its sleeve, and in my opinion redeems what was a very bland and repetitive concept. I've definitely seen better films depicting demons, but it's been a while since a film's ending has captivated me enough to oversee its flaws, and change my overall perspective of what I've just witnessed. While my dog eats that ugly sweater, I'll make sure to keep "The Offering" in a safe place, but if he does find it, I hope he doesn't eat the ending or I'll be left with just an ordinary demon film, and I have plenty of those he can chew on.
Madness Meter: 5.5/10
NB
