It’s Halloween night, and I take a break from my trick-or-treating activities to review Offspring, which was shot in Muskegon.

    Was it worth it? I think not.

    It concerns a group of cave-dwelling Neanderthals, basically, except here they’re rendered as little more than wild men/women cannibals, who terrorize people and eat babies and the like.

    The sound quality was lacking, mixed with muffled lines and background noise that most likely wasn’t scripted. The picture was muddy and soft. The colors overall were drab and featureless, most noticeable with the pink lemonade (i.e. blood) and the gray blacks.

    Basically, you could tell it was a low-budget film; the quality just wasn’t there.

    In terms of character development, I didn’t connect with any of them. I basically didn’t care who died, which was a problem for the viewing experience considering death was all there was.

    On a slightly positive note, the acting wasn’t too atrocious as long as they had no speaking lines. I couldn’t decide if the police officers were scripted as comedic relief of if they ended up with the worst lines in the film. I found myself laughing out loud as they delivered one-liners that could literally close down the theater.

    If I were to rate the scary factor, I would give it a six out of 10. Disregarding the pop-ups and scary lines, screen-writer Jack Ketchum went for more of the disturbing psychological aspect.

    There was a decent amount of explicit sexuality in the R-rated film. This personally always seems to get under my skin. Whether it was the random cannibal in the corner of the cave getting pleasured or the naked cave girl inflicting injuries as punishment to her naked body, I didn’t like it.

    Scary, disturbing, however you want to classify it, the director had me "scared" for a few scenes.

    Putting the negativity aside, I do have to say I was psyched to see Muskegon’s Lake Harbor in multiple shots. Granted this made it difficult to remember that this was all supposed to be happening in Maine, but I got over it. I had a sense of pride when I saw the dunes, too.

    So when all is said and done, I wouldn’t recommend it.

    But after speaking with the director personally and watching the behind-the-scenes footage, it is difficult to criticize.

    Everyone working within the film on camera, on makeup, or on set had such a pride for this film. It is safe to say that the director inspired his team, and at the end of the day, he got his art out to the public.

    Honestly, I would rather listen to this guy speak or watch him talk about his film than actually watch it. He has developed a great talent for selling his product, which is admirable in itself.

    So don’t waste your money or your time, but keep investigating. These independent films are a hit or miss. And if you regret not seeing the Offspring, you can always watch the sequel, which was announced at the premiere and is happening; but shhhhhhh, you didn’t hear it from me.