Oddity – SXSW Review

In this supremely scary supernatural chiller from “Caveat’s” Damian Mc Carthy, a widowed psychiatric doctor is joined by his wife’s sister, a blind medium, in a bid to investigate his wife’s death. So far Oddity is the most terrifying film of the year.

★★★★

Psychiatric facility doctor Ted (Gwilym Lee) and his wife Dani (Carolyn Bracken) are renovating their remote Irish country house. When Dani is brutally murdered one night while Ted is working late, everyone suspects Ted’s patient Olin Boole (Tadhg Murphy). Soon Dani’s identical twin Darcy, a blind medium who runs a shop of “oddities” arrives with a large trunk, and starts nosing around…

Mc Carthy’s Caveat was lauded for its expertly orchestrated terror, and if anything Oddity is a step up from that. The blocking, editing, and camera movements in and around the country house are all constructed to yield maximum fear in the audience. The toolbox of long static shots, sudden reversals in perspective, hand-held whip-pans, jump-reveals, long dark corridors, deep shadows and menacing door frames are all deployed to maximum effect, and the muted blue-grey tones of the country house’s stone walls and floors provide a chilling backdrop to sudden spatters of red blood, or to an unexpected yellow tent in the middle of a room.

I count myself as a seasoned horror pro, but this had me literally watching through my fingers. Possibly scariest of all is the terrifying wooden mannequin that Darcy has brought with her, its faced locked into an eternal scream, that will play a special role in what unfolds.

It’s also surprisingly funny – slyly playing with the audience, toying with expectations and tropes, and sometimes giving them a gag when they expect a scare – or a scare when they expect a gag. The interpersonal dynamics are fun, too, as a lot of people in this cast absolutely hate each other. Sometimes it seems that a character is as likely to be read to filth as they are to be sent to hell.

Weaving touches of occult, ghost, and folk horror into a neat tapestry of terror, this just might be the best supernatural horror of the year. Oddity will have you covering your eyes and begging for relief. Dripping with tension, laced with sly humour, and unafraid to go for the jump-scare jugular. Nothing wrong with that when it’s done this well!

Plus there’s a bonus cameo from Caveat’s rabbit puppet to boot. What more could a horror fan ask for? This oddity comes recommended.

Oddity played at SXSW and is coming soon to Shudder.