Must Watch?
- Scream level: 0.5/10
- Horror level: 1/10
- Script: 8/10
- Movie flow: 8/10
- 93-minute value: 10/10
Brief conclusion: Highly recommend it.
While I highly recommend The Offering, I won’t conceal the fact that this horror film frightened me considerably. Perhaps I’ve encountered one too many mutant goat-headed monsters and eerie little girls. Additionally, the film’s brief 93-minute duration means some suspenseful moments are quickly resolved, and the lighting is somewhat too bright to evoke a truly gloomy atmosphere.
Nevertheless, the screenplay is exceptionally well-crafted. It was my first experience with Jewish cinema, especially a horror film, yet I found myself captivated by the seasoned actors and their authentic Yiddish accents.
The director excels in introducing a new religion into the horror genre, mastering not just the art of storytelling but also piquing interest in the rich traditions and wisdom of Jewish culture.
I Would Say Yes!
Is there a better way to bring people with different beliefs together through a horror movie?
“Like the common horror movies based on the Christian religion, I would like the audience, either religious or non-religious to enjoy a horror movie without the barrier of different religions,” The director, Oliver Park said.
Reason to watch The Offering
The interplay of hallucinations made the shifting scenes among various characters less confusing. Regarding the horror aspect, the evil girl and the mutant ghost head monster resembled spooky Halloween themes, a bit scary but still entertaining.
I was rather enthralled by the underlying philosophy in the dialogues, such as ‘Don’t worry about it. Worse things have happened to the Jews,’ or ‘Open home, open heart,’ among others.
The Offering is a straightforward film that presents the multifaceted life perspectives of the Jewish community. I am intrigued to explore their culture and realize how limited I know about the history of Jews, and it is a shame to only think of the devastating history from the textbooks.
The movie beautifully portrays their religion, family bonds, and enlightening views on life and death. It’s a horror film that’s appropriate for minors to view with adults, or for those who want to watch something frightening yet still need to sleep well at night.
If you’re anticipating a film with bloody massacres, high-quality CGI, or ghastly ghostly images, they are not in The Offering. Despite its theme involving a demon known as ‘the taker of children’ and a heavily pregnant woman, I still highly recommend this movie. It may not astonish you as a horror film, but it offers valuable life lessons from the perspective of the Jewish community.
I appreciate this kind of horror movie although it doesn’t make my heart jump out of the throat. The director uses a lesser-known religion as the backdrop, presenting the beliefs of a minority authentically without glorifying or vilifying them.
If the director had focused solely on crafting a Hollywood-style blockbuster horror film, exploiting the audience’s unfamiliarity with an obscure religion to conjure up a bogeyman and an enigmatic force of vengeance would easily classify The Offering as a horror movie.
Park understands the importance of respecting their sacred beliefs. In today’s world, creating a film that encourages audiences to actively engage with and understand a minority culture represents a progressive mindset that advocates more directors to shoot a horror movie beyond the genre of horror.
I am eager to see a sequel or prequel to The Offering.
Unlike typical religious horror films where exorcists cast out demons from possessed individuals, The Offering is a movie that revolves around evoking a demon and confining it within an amulet.
A Twist from the Bible
This Jewish horror film cleverly intertwines a biblical story where Abraham is commanded to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, to seal a demon that causes miscarriage.
Plots & Scenes
The Offering tells us what demon we’ll face right in the beginning: a child-taking, ancient demon from Eastern European Jewish mythology.
An elderly man who, in an attempt to summon Averangel to reunite with his late wife, accidentally summoned a shapeshifting demon. To redeem such a terrible mistake, he let the demon take over his body and stabbed himself in the heart to force the demon to be bound in a purple amulet he wore around the neck.
Accompanied by his heavily pregnant wife, Claire, the soon-to-be parents were concerned about Art’s father, Saul’s rejection due to Claire’s status as an outsider (a non-Jewish, British woman) in the past.
To their surprise, Saul warmly embraced them, preparing to open up his mind and rebuild his relationship with his son.
The arrival of a body, wheeled in by Saul’s assistant Heimish, interrupted their dinner.
A faint nostalgic memory of the scene in The Autopsy of Jane Doe, yet there was no need for an internal examination to determine the cause of death.
Art, who came home bearing a dark secret, accidentally dropped and shattered the amulet, releasing the demon from its confines. Meanwhile, Heimish cautioned Saul outside the basement about his son’s return to take advantage of Saul.
Heimish later furiously finds out the true motive of Art’s return, revealing the harsh truth to Saul.
The unresolved tension between father and son lingered as the demon killed Saul in the basement. Art, with no time to grieve his father’s demise, was thrust into battle against the demon to protect the life of the unborn child.
The Offering concluded with an efficient spray kill, primarily due to Art’s carelessness, resulting in a definitive ending. However, I didn’t find myself feeling particularly distressed for any actor, as the film’s brief duration didn’t allow for the development of a deep connection with any character.
Director, Oliver Park made an admirable effort to showcase the enigmatic culture of Judaism in this horror film. From the thought-provoking wisdom to the food, Kreplach, which Claire mistook for dumplings,
to the custom of shirt tearing at a funeral and the frequent use of Hebrew dialects and idioms,
Park revealed the deep-seated intellect of Judaism traditionally preserved within the Jewish community.
Favorite Sentences
- “All is not butter coming from a cow.”
- “We’re a very misunderstood people,” “It’s the burden of investing so much in internal meaning, it’s hard for outsiders to see.” –>It hit my heart to be a writer.
- “When you see the world a certain way, it’s not easy to accept the change.”
- “Comforting others didn’t really,” “prepare me for my own grief.”
- “Don’t worry too much. The worst thing has happened to Jewish.”
