Oddity (2024)

Unique irish horror

For a country with a relatively small film industry, Ireland has really been kicking ass recently. There have been several Irish horror movies worth watching in 2024. The aptly named Oddity, which recently premiered on Shudder, is the most unique among them.

It’s inspired by classic E.C. Comics stories, the type of stuff that’s been showcased in movies like Creepshow. In fact, Oddity is comparable to an enhanced, feature-length episode of Shudder’s own Creepshow series.

The movie begins on a spooky evening in a secluded medieval country house. Dani (Carolyn Bracken) is renovating the home by herself. After a brief phone call with her doctor husband Ted (Gwilym Lee), who is unable to be with her that night, she prepares to spend the evening in a tent located inside the home’s entryway.

She can’t find her phone and the house has no heat or electricity. Dani is totally alone and in a terrifyingly vulnerable position. You’d think her husband would be concerned about this, but he seems strangely detached.

Dani is jolted by a knock on the door. A mysterious man warns her that she is in danger. Someone is lurking inside the house, he claims. The stranger implores her to let him in so that he can protect her. Dani seems indecisive about what to do.

The movie then flashes forward several months. It reveals that Dani was murdered, supposedly by the man at the door. The alleged killer recently died mysteriously while in prison.

Dani’s twin sister, Darcy (also played by Bracken), is the owner of an oddity shop filled with supposedly cursed items. Darcy is blind but has the psychic ability to see into people’s memories. She discovers that the stranger is not responsible for her sister’s death.

Darcy suspects that Ted and his new girlfriend Yana (Caroline Menton) are the actual killers. Using her treasure trove of cursed items (including a disquieting life-sized wooden mannequin), Darcy seeks revenge for her sister’s demise.

She journeys to the home where Ted and Yana now live – the same house where her sister died. The movie later flashes back to Dani’s horrific final night and we get further context into what actually occurred.

Darcy uses her creepy collection of trinkets against her foes. The wooden mannequin is truly unforgettable. What a gloriously grotesque creation!

A Blind Protagonist

There aren’t many horror movies about blind people, so it’s nice to see Oddity portray one in a central role. It’s interesting to compare Oddity with the Mike Flanagan film Hush, which has a deaf protagonist.

Deaf people have received increased representation in recent years, in both horror and mainstream films. But there still aren’t a lot of blind movie characters. My guess is that this is because deaf characters are easier for actors to portray.

Darcy is strong, fearless, and confident. Of course, she’s also playing two roles. Darcy and Dani (who is not blind) are twin sisters, but their personalities are totally different. Bracken handles the multi-role challenge with aplomb. It’s always fun to see an actor tackle multiple roles, like Mia Goth in X.

A Twisted Conclusion

Oddity surprises at nearly every turn. This is the type of movie where we think we know where the story is going, only for our expectations to be repeatedly upended.

This is a truly unsettling and creepy movie, even for seasoned horror watchers. The scenes depicting Dani’s last night are some of the most intense and disturbing moments I’ve seen this year.

Director Damien McCarthy does a great job building tension. I haven’t seen his other movies, but now I want to check them out. The twisty script keeps us on our toes all the way to the end.

Speaking of the end, this movie’s conclusion is weird and a bit confusing. My initial reaction was “huh?”. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who was baffled. McCarthy was compelled to explain the ending’s meaning in an interview. Note: the linked article obviously contains spoilers.

After reading McCarthy’s explanation, the ending makes more sense to me. He would have saved himself some headaches by making the final moments a tad less ambiguous. Leaving some things to the imagination is fine, but sometimes this detracts (if only a little) from a movie’s effectiveness.