Alex Moss EditorIn something of a bumper year for the horror genre, you might be forgiven for missing out on Oddity. But it is certainly one of 2024’s most intriguing entries of the genre and one that feels like a throwback to a more sinister form of slowburn chills.
After her twin sister is brutally murdered, blind and psychic Darcy (Carolyn Bracken) travels to her sister and former brother-in-law Ted’s (Gwilym Lee) house to uncover what really happened. Bringing with her a gift of a disturbing wooden man as a housewarming gift for Ted and his new girlfriend Yana (Caroline Menton) Darcy is not exactly a welcome guest. Upon arrival, however, Darcy begins to suspect that her sisters’ murder was not what it appeared and as she sets about uncovering the truth, so disturbing things begin to go bump in the night.
From the opening scene Oddity is an effective little ghost story. One that lures you in before giving you chills rather than the more commonplace jump-scares. Writer-director Damian Mc Carthy deftly creates a gothic styling that is immediately reminiscent of such classics as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. There is something unsettling from the get-go and it never lets up for the whole running time.
At times the plot feels a little forced, at one point a character’s motivation for doing something feels unintentionally comedic to the point of pastiche. But it is a film very much driven by secrets and therefore plot becomes king over character development. And in a film of this ilk, that’s what we’re here for. Even if you guess the secrets within you’re never less than entertained. This is helped by the way in which Mc Carthy shoots everything with a stilted, disturbingly dilapidated look and feel. It’s a fairly contemporary setting but would work just as well as a turn of the 20th century Henry James style tale. This is aided by a yellow hue that resonates throughout, as if something is festering just beneath the surface.
Oddity could easily be an extension of The Conjuring universe. Indeed, a brilliant coda to the film suggests there are plenty more stories up Mc Carthy’s sleeve should he feel the need to dip his toe back in the ghostly world he’s manifested.
A rewarding, disturbing and slightly quirky horror of a film, Oddity feels both fresh and throwback all at once.
Be sure to checkout our Unboxing of Oddity
