I don’t know why I waited ten years to see this movie. Odd Thomas is a supernatural mystery movie with phenomenal special effects and a great cast. It’s directed by one of my favorite directors, Stephen Sommers, and based on a really fun novel written by Dean Koontz. Just in case you don’t know who Sommers is, he’s the guy who brought you The Mummy, Deep Rising, and Van Helsing. And adaptations of Dean Koontz’s novels include Phantoms and Demon Seed. So, why is it that this movie did so poorly and subsequently disappeared into obscurity? Well, the answer is relatively simple.
Odd Thomas suffers from tonal and storytelling issues. After the final big reveal, you’ll see what they were trying to do and just how much potential this movie had. Opposite of all this, we have superb visuals that stood the test of time. CGI looks just as good now as it looked ten years ago and the same goes for production values. The evil ghostly entities Bodachs, who look like dementors from Harry Potter novels, look positively terrifying. Too bad this is a PG-13 movie so there won’t be much gore or blood.
It is the cast of Odd Thomas that makes it worth watching. Anton Yelchin was perfect for a role like this, although I still think his best performance is the one in Green Room. However, Fright Night and especially Burying The Ex are more similar to the movie we’re talking about today. Apart from him we also have infinitely cute Addison Timlin as Stormy and just as adorable Willem Dafoe. With great chemistry and a lot of effort, they brought life and sense to this muddled script.
So, we will be following a strapping young lad by the name of Odd Thomas. Mr. Odd has an odd gift as he can see dead people and this helps him to bring those who’ve wronged them to justice. It would appear there’s something huge about to go down in the little town of Pico Mundo. And Odd is the only one who can stop it. Pretty standard-issue stuff when it comes to this subgenre complete with narration trying to pull us further into the story.
Ten years after its original release, Odd Thomas is starting to feel refreshing. Especially with so few good supernatural movies coming out recently. We get at least twenty superhero movies per year now but we’re lucky if we get five supernatural ones. Moreover, this is not just a supernatural movie but also a comedy and a romance. It’s got a little bit of everything, and if you’re in a mood for something like this, I’m sure you’re like it.
A quite solid pacing, short runtime, and action which starts from minute one all make Odd Thomas easy to watch. Also, the editing is just outrageously snappy with cool zooms and transitions. If you’re looking for a movie that’s going to keep you from falling asleep late at night, you’ve just found it. Plus, although you might not know it yet, all the ingredients and clues to solving the big mystery are right there, in front of you. So, if you pay careful attention, you might figure out what’s going on here before the big reveal.
I have to admit that I fell in love with Addison Timlin while watching this movie. And that’s not just because of that sexy pink lace panties scene. Well, maybe it is mostly because of those sexy lace pink panties but she also has a lot of charisma and talent. Finally, if you’re looking for movies like Odd Thomas, I recommend you check out Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse and Freaks of Nature. Or you could go for old-school classics like Men in Black and The Faculty.
Director: Stephen Sommers
Writers: Stephen Sommers, Dean R. Koontz
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Willem Dafoe, Addison Timlin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Shuler Hensley
Fun Facts: Several pretty big characters from the novel do not appear in this movie.
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1767354/
