Winter Island (2024) – Film Review

Part mystery and part supernatural horror film, Winter Island begins on a somber note with, teenager, Abbey Carter (Ashlyn Harlos) leaving her lakeside home and paddling a canoe out to a nearby island, where she hangs herself. Abbey is Initially considered a missing person, so the local police and her family hope to find her alive, and, demonstrating a strong community spirit, the Carter’s neighbors conduct nightly searches. This proves to be a waste of time

However, after her brother, Galen (Elijah Carnazzo) looks across the lake to Winter Island and sees an apparition, the local police conduct a second investigation of the island and discover Abbey’s decomposing body buried in a shallow grave. Though cut, the rope Abbey hung herself from is still wrapped around a branch of the tree above, posing the question: who cut her down, and why? Viewers are also presented with several other mysteries; the reason why Abbey chose to take her own life being the most obvious one.

As the film progresses, it becomes apparent the Carters are a dysfunctional family. Their neighbor, Isra (Duygu Erdogan Monson) is well aware of this and contacts the police with concerns about Galen’s welfare. She also speaks with Galen, letting him know she is willing to help if he needs her support.

Although Winter Island is an indie movie, it’s hard to fault the quality of the acting. Carnazzo does a good job of portraying troubled teen Galen, who has to cope with the actions of his overbearing father, while also trying to get learn the truth about the fate of his sister. Galen is a good kid in a bad situation, and the anguish and frustration he shows comes across in a believable way.

Meanwhile, Jason Adkins is excellent as grieving father (Jonah)—a religious nut, with a narrow-minded view of Christianity. Speaking of Abbey’s death, he tells Galen Abbey’s death must be part of God’s plan. He also says sin is everywhere and, until it’s eradicated from the world, innocent people will continue to die in terrible ways. Taking a different stance, Galen tells his father he wants to find out who killed his sister, not rid the world of evil.

A few of the scenes where Jonah tries to force his beliefs on his family are almost uncomfortable to watch, and some of the other members of his local church are equally cringe-worthy individuals. Perhaps not surprisingly, when she goes to visit her father, Jonah’s wife Beth (Katie Prentiss) decides not to return home; and when Jonah fails to bully her into doing as she is told, he arranges for her to be picked up for psychiatric evaluation.

Although Beth is a little less prominent in the film than Galen and Jonah, she’s an interesting character. During the early stages of the film, she copes with her grief by throwing herself into her art projects or cutting herself. Together with her obvious dislike for her brother Randal (Avery Clark)—who is obviously the black sheep of the family—this indicates possible past traumas.

Beth is obviously a complex character, and Prentiss’ portrayal of her is believable, but she had the misfortune of being lumbered with one of the most ridiculous scenes in the film—a policeman being attacked by a levitating pen. It’s a WTF? moment that is so out of place with the rest of the action it’s also one of the most memorable scenes in the film.

In addition to ghostly goings on, Winter Island also contains scenes of bloodshed, that some viewer may find uncomfortable to watch. However, though quite well done, they are still tame in comparison to those of the average slasher film.

Overall, Winter Island is not a bad film, but it loses the plot a little towards the end, with some of the scenes being a poor fit for the initial premise. In some cases, it’s also hard to keep track of what’s going on—especially with Beth. It’s difficult to decide if she becomes possessed or suddenly develops psychokinetic powers similar to those of Carrie White. Nevertheless, Winter Island presents viewers with something a little different, and, with a runtime of 99 minutes, it’s not overly long, and doesn’t drag too much or become overly boring.

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