Oddity Review
A psychological drama mystery revenge horror, Oddity was easily one of the best films in 2024. This is high praise for a film that probably isn’t doing anything new, and isn’t too graphic, but still somehow immediately captures the audience’s attention and remains uncomfortably creepy from terrifying beginning to terrifying end.
The film opens with the murder of Dani Timmis, wife of psychiatrist Ted Timmis who determines she was killed by one of his patients, Olin Boole. Olin just happened to be at the couple’s country house the night of Dani’s murder. Jumping forward a year, we see that Ted has a new woman, Yana. Ted, at the request of Dani’s sister Darcy and due to another horrific event shortly after Dani’s death, brings her something of Olin’s. We learn that Darcy, while blind, has the gift of sight being a clairvoyant. Using personal effects, she’s able to see things that lead her to believe her sister’s murder may not have been some random act of violence by an escaped psychopath. When Darcy shows up to Ted’s country home unexpectedly following the delivery of a large crate with a creepy statue in it, Yana is left questioning the women’s true motives. But that’s not all Yana is left questioning when weird things start happening when she’s alone with Darcy at her home, like the statue seems to be changing it’s positions, her car keys go missing, and an old camera that used to belong to Darcy has haunting images captured on it. Some thing just isn’t right with the country house and Darcy, but Yana can’t seem to leave the home and the suspense only builds the longer she’s stuck in the house losing her grip on reality and maybe even losing her life.
Oddity juggles so many genres and executes beautifully when blending all of them into this story. The whodunit murder mystery sets a can you trust your eyes and ears tone when opening with Dani possibly in peril after Olin shows up at her door warning her that someone is in the home with her and she needs to leave. Dani expectedly doesn’t know whether to believe Olin or not and airs on the side of caution, remaining inside the home. This opening scene is pure genius. It puts the audience in Dani’s shoes. In any other horror film, if some one randomly shows up when you’re along trying to scare you out of your house you’d scream Hell Naw and triple lock that door. But something about Olin leaves Dani and the audience wondering if he’s telling the truth or attempting to trick her. Would you leave your home if someone seemed to be desperately trying to save your life? Do you stay in the home and risk being trapped inside with a killer, or do you open the door and let the killer inside? Olin takes off in fright and Dani meets her end but the audience still doesn’t know what to believe. Who or what killed Dani? Here the murder mystery is set.
A year later we see Ted having moved on almost un-effected by the tragedy. His meeting with Darcy doesn’t feel like a reunion with the sister of his dead wife, something they shared and some would bound through grief over. He’s a psychiatrist and Darcy reads palms and objects. One uses logic and his studies of the human mind to read and fix people, while the other uses a supernatural ability to do the same. Here we get to see her abilities at work and she’s not liking what she’s seeing with Ted. Darcy showing up to stay with Ted and Yana, only feeds more into the drama and suspense of the film. What her power brings with her is a slow burn of unexplainable phenomena.
The design of the film mirrors late 70’s horror films, so things like the lighting in the country home creating dark corners, or the age of the home giving it a cold feeling leaves the viewer in a constant crisis watching Darcy and Yana put up with each other when there’s clearly someone or something else there with them that has yet to reveal itself. And as you watch this film, you keep wondering when this thing will reveal itself. Is the statue actually moving or is Darcy doing this. How could she if she’s blind. What’s all this creepy stuff that may have belonged to Dani that has now found it’s way into this statue. And if the worrying is not enough, the film goes even further in terrifying the viewer during one scene where Yana is sticking her whole hand into the mouth and other orifices of the statue and finding items that have to be a recipe for dark magic. And when Yana just wants to get out of there and away from that damn statue it’s clear Darcy is doing something to her. But what exactly is Darcy doing.
Is Darcy getting revenge? If so, why? What can she see and what is she capable of? Where does Ted fit in all of this? Did Olin really murder Dani? Something sinister is afoot and that statue is a part of it, and Darcy seems to be connected to that statue. The film establishes that every action has consequences. No one is ever absolved of their wrongdoing and must pay their pound of flesh before the end credits roll. Psychopaths, murderers in masks, evil looking statues, ghosts, spirits, all these things cause some to pay with more pounds of flesh than others.
Streaming now on Hulu, etc
♦♦
Director: Damian McCarthy
Writers: Damian McCarthy
Starring:
- Gwilym Lee
- Carolyn Bracken
- Tadhg Murphy
- Caroline Menton
- Jonathan French
- Steve Wall
Runtime: 98 Minutes
Synopsis: Packed full of unsettling moments and a creepy ass statue that just can’t sit still, Oddity draws the audience in with terrifying suspense, a murder mystery that needs solving, and supernatural horror vengence.
Follow us on Twitter:
Want more podcast greatness? Sign up for a MTR Premium Account!
