Written by: Damian Mc Carthy
Starring: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Jonathan French
Rating: [4/5]
Arguing about the natural and supernatural comes as nothing necessarily new, where the debate of what we believe versus we can see divides opinion. However, where this disagreement bleeds into tragedy really puts this debate to the test in Oddity, where trying to get at the truth of a murder puts the survivors at odds. Wickedly fun and inventive in its approach to telling a haunting story, this feature came as a lovely surprise.
Unsatisfied with the conclusion of the investigation into her sister’s death, the blind and clairvoyant Darcy (Carolyn Bracken) wishes to learn more about how she died and the individual responsible for it. This leads her to return to the scene of the crime and spend time with her former brother-in-law, Ted (Gwilym Lee) and his new girlfriend, Yana (Caroline Menton).
Delightfully odd as the title of the film indicates, this feature combines elements of a haunted house and the uncovering of a mysterious murder in unexpected ways. As we follow Darcy and her antics as she invites herself over to this country home, we get just as kept in the dark as the other characters in trying to figure out what’s transpiring right before us. The way in which this feature teases it out and then ultimately reaches its conclusion makes for such an entertaining ride that never really telegraphs where it’s going or how it will get there.
The film begins with a harrowing interaction held between Darcy’s twin sister, Dani and a strange man with a fake eye, Olin (Tadhg Murphy). He appears at her door and pleads with her to let him in as there’s someone inside the home looking to do her harm. Knowing her husband works at a psychiatric hospital and utilizing common sense, this feature begins with a terrifying circumstance for a character who later ends up dead. Additionally, it sets the stage for this country home, its strange layout, and how it takes a life of its own in creating the intended dread this feature seeks to evoke. We spend the rest of this feature primarily with Darcy as she saunters around the house, brings over this strange mannequin that just sits on the dining table, and makes this situation very uncomfortable for Ted and Yana. Therefore, we spend much of this film through the perspective of Yana, who has no idea what’s going on and rightfully gets weirded out by this entire circumstance.
As previously alluded, this feature likes to dwell in the difference between the natural and the supernatural with Ted representing the former and Darcy the latter. As much as Ted can doubt Darcy and the clairvoyance she espouses, the way she navigates this story raises some questions about the murder of her sister, which Ted would prefer to be put to bed so he can move on with life. However, that does not matter to Darcy and the more she pokes and prods with her antics and the presence of this mannequin, the more it reveals elements of the truth that did not previously receive enough attention. The line between the natural and the supernatural continues to get foggier with the revelatory truth will cause some heads to spin.
An integral element that makes this film unique comes from this strange country home where these characters spend the majority of the film’s runtime habitating. A strange layout with this living area splitting the home in half inviting darkness to appear in various corners. It’s ultimately what makes the opening of the film so incredibly chilling where Dani could not discern what may be hiding in those corners and essentially makes it a death trap for others we shall see throughout this film. It does raise the question that Yana brings to Ted in why this man refuses to leave a home his ex-wife was murdered in. A great question to ask with a bone-chilling answer, this feature later decisively answers. It presents a level of sunk cost fallacy that perhaps crosses a disconcerting line.
Loads of fun and wildly terrifying at times, Oddity feels like quite the unique horror film in how it thrives in the mystery it constructs that the natural world cannot fully answer. It therefore comes down to Darcy to bring her clairvoyance and unimaginable belief in her ability to connect to spirits based on touching specifically connected physical objects to shake everything up and make characters doubt in what they see. That terrifying and disconcerting mannequin now exists as a new horror icon at least in my estimations given the chills it brought by barely ever even moving. Damian McCarthy mightily impresses with this feature as he builds out and punctuates this story with utter perfection as it puts a bow on top of a narrative that brought so many surprises into this strange Irish country home.
Films with Josh 
