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THE OFFERING
A haunting tale of sacrifice, faith, and ancient evil.
Isaac, an exiled scholar in colonial America, gets lost in a strange forest when he stumbles upon a mysterious door. Upon entering, he finds himself inside the isolated home of a young widow, Abigail.
As Isaac learns more about Abigail’s beliefs and her devotion to the forest surrounding her home, he begins to realize just how trapped he is in this world of superstition, ritual, and ancient religion.
Join Isaac on this unsettling journey and ask yourself: How far would someone go to not only survive, but thrive?
“The Offering” is a short folk horror film inspired by The Witch, November, Hour of the Wolf, Hagazussa, and other atmospheric, eerie films. It combines grounded historical research, silent era inspired visuals, and a surreal, dreamlike tone to tell a dark, personal, and provocative story.
This is the senior thesis film of student writer and director Bryson Burnette, created alongside a team of passionate young filmmakers, artists, actors, and designers. “The Offering” is the culmination of everything Bryson and the team have studied, practiced, and worked toward. With your support, this project will take its final steps from concept to screen.
HOW YOUR DONATION HELPS
Your donation directly supports:
Costumes, makeup, and props
Practical effects, set dressing, and furniture
Transportation and location logistics
Meals and support for our cast and crew
Post production to bring the full vision to life
WHY THIS FILM?
“I wrote the first draft of “The Offering” in a stupor one night around New Year’s 2025. I’d been taking screenwriting classes throughout college and had worked on several scripts that I enjoyed, but for one reason or another, none of them felt quite right.
After watching Eggers’ Nosferatu and rewatching The Witch, I finally felt a pull toward something specific. I knew I wanted to try my hand at folk horror.
I’ve always been fascinated by history, especially the more esoteric, occult, and macabre sides of it. Folk horror appeals to me because it draws on real beliefs and traditions to scare us. It looks at what people have believed and takes those beliefs to their natural, unsettling conclusion. Because of that, it offers a unique opportunity to comment on deeper truths about religion, society, and human nature.
“The Offering” is set in colonial America, during a time when Enlightenment thinking was colliding with long held superstitions and folk beliefs. Christianity existed alongside older traditions brought from Europe, as well as the spiritual beliefs tied to the land itself. It was a chaotic, spiritually fraught time, and that tension sits at the heart of this story.
At its core, though, the film is about more personal themes. It’s about sacrifice, not just in a religious sense, but a human one. It’s about survival. And it’s about the uneasy line between faith, fear, and necessity. Ultimately, it is a story of loneliness. Of someone who has lost everything except their faith in something ancient and unseen. Abigail’s beliefs promise meaning, belonging, and transcendence, but they are rooted in devotion to something vast and indifferent. What begins as connection and intimacy slowly reveals itself as a quiet tragedy, where the desire to become something more leads to the gradual loss of one’s humanity.
Stylistically, this project gives me a chance to explore the film language I love. It draws on silent era imagery, surrealism, and atmospheric horror, telling its story through light, framing, and sound just as much as dialogue.
In many ways, “The Offering” is the culmination of everything I’ve studied and worked toward. It’s the first story I’ve written that genuinely feels like mine.”
Bryson Burnette, writer and director
ART DIRECTION
“The Offering” is a visually driven film. Director of Photography Morgan Rishel and writer director Bryson Burnette have opted for a visual style heavily influenced by classic silent cinema. The film will be monochrome, with high contrast shadows and stark lighting creating a moody, restrained visual language that supports the film’s atmosphere.
Our art team has been crafting costumes, makeup, and props rooted in colonial America, while also drawing inspiration from folk horror films, religious art, and other historical sources. The goal is not strict historical recreation, but to use history as a foundation for telling a heightened, timeless story, something that feels more like a legend or a half remembered folktale than a fixed moment in history.
CURRENT STATUS
“The Offering” is currently deep in pre production.
Since launching this campaign, we have revised and refined the script, shot and released a teaser to establish the film’s tone and visual language. These early steps have helped clarify the film’s direction and made the project more tangible for both the team and our supporters.
Filming is planned for a six day shoot in March 2026, with post production running through the spring. The goal is to complete the film by May 2026 and submit it to festivals.
Our current focus is on completing the bulk of our art department work, finalizing costumes and props, locking locations, and continuing fundraising as we move closer to production. We will continue updating this page as we hit new milestones and move into the next phase of the project.
MEET THE TEAM (SO FAR)
Bryson Burnette, Director and Writer
Jackson Rimmer, Producer
Riley Keough, Producer and First Assistant Director
Morgan Rishel, Director of Photography
Rowan Glover, Gaffer
Jordan Alford, Sound Designer and Operator
Dylan Walker, First Assistant Camera and Editor
Yasmin Bryant, Art Direction
Mia Fansler, Art Direction
Christian Mitchell, Set Design
Alyssa Lepker, Production Assistant
Cilicia Moore, Production Assistant
Cole McGaha, Isaac
Kai Lepker, Abigail
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
The Offering is more than just a film. It is a labor of love, growing and evolving every day. If you’re a fan of folk horror, experimental and classic cinema, or you simply believe in supporting the next generation of bold, boundary-pushing filmmakers, please consider helping us bring this story to life.
NOTE: No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions are offered in exchange for any donations made to this GoFundMe.