I guess we’re back to our regularly scheduled horror programming. And you can’t go wrong with regularly scheduled horror programming. After all these years, I can sense them within a few seconds. You might even say that I have developed a Sixth Sense for them. Oddity is a standard-issue horror movie about a woman who starts to think that her twin sister was murdered by an unknown evil force. And since Darcy is a psychic medium she definitely can sense that something’s off. The premise is simple and effective, the atmosphere brooding and the casting spot-on, what more to want from a horror movie?
If all of this feels a bit generic, it’s because it is. Writer and director, Damian Mc Carthy, says he “cherry-picked” the best horror tropes and molded them into a feature-length film. We’ll talk about some of them a bit later. Damian sure knows how to create a suspenseful atmosphere and a sense that you’re right there, inside the movie. This is incredibly important as many horror directors just go for the jump scares or graphic violence. I like my films immersive and scary. In this package, we also get a bit slower pacing that I know won’t sit well with some of the viewers. Just try to pick the right time to play the movie and you should be fine.
Ahhh, the good old IFC Films. I remember how I first came to know them, back in the late 2000s, just as I started writing about movies. Black Sheep, Dead Snow, Anamorph, and Pontypool are just some of my favorites from that period. Over the years, they’ve developed quite an impressive portfolio full of all kinds of movies, not just horrors. So, horror tropes. Creepy but rather small Victorian mansion in the middle of nowhere – check. Weird curiosity shop full of creepy items – check. Creepy old insane asylum that’s still open – check. Creepy sounds coming from dimly lit corners – check. Ambiguous characters with a touch of class – check.
I could go on and on but I don’t want to spoil anything for ya. When it comes to gore or graphic violence, there won’t be much of it. Just a couple of scenes, in line with a bit lower budget of this movie. Carolyn Bracken was quite good in the double role of twin sisters Dani and Darcy. However, I think that Gwilym Lee, who plays the psychiatrist Ted Timmis stole the show here. Okay, okay, Tadhg Murphy was just as good as Tadhg Murphy as Olin, one of his former patients. I also want to add that despite the apparent simplicity of the story, there will be quite a few surprises here.
And almost all of them will be dark and cynical. Just the way I like them. Now, what could’ve been better is character development that seems a bit too on-the-nose. I guess this isn’t that type of a movie and that it would lose that dream, or better yet, nightmarish quality if we really delved into the characters we’re going to be meeting. Just something to keep in mind for Damian for his future films which I eagerly await. His next one is titled Hokum and it’s about a writer who encounters a witch deep in the Irish countryside. Again we have that familiar narrative but I’m sure this one too will be worth checking out.
Finally, I’ve been struggling with whether to tell you or not what the main horror element of this movie is for all this time but I now realize that it’s better if I just come clean. Especially since I want to recommend another movie featuring almost the same elements as Oddity. So, if you absolutely want to avoid spoilers better start watching the movie now. I’m talking about a mythical creature from Jewish mythology known as Golem. Usually, it comes from clay or mud and has only one purpose: to wreak revenge upon the guilty party. Do check out The Limehouse Golem if you want to see something similar but a bit grander than Oddity.
Director: Damian Mc Carthy
Writer: Damian Mc Carthy
Cast: Carolyn Bracken, Gwilym Lee, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Steve Wall, Johnny French
Fun Facts: One of the items in Darcy Odello’s curiosity shop is a monkey with cymbals, referencing Stephen King’s novel The Monkey. Its film adaptation just hit the theaters, in February of 2025.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26470109/
