In cinemas; Cert 15A
‘Oddity’ is a witty, wicked horror that has plenty of scares
Damian McCarthy knows his way around a decent fright. There are, perhaps, too many holes in this knotted chiller from the award-winning Irish filmmaker – but there are some fabulous scares, too, and we mustn’t take those for granted.
A woman named Dani (Carolyn Bracken) is murdered at her home in rural Ireland. On the eve of the first anniversary, Dani’s psychiatrist husband Ted (Gwilym Lee) visits her twin sister Darcy (also Bracken) at her oddities shop in town.
Darcy is a blind medium, but Ted doesn’t believe in ghosts. He’s here to check in, to share news of his new partner and to let Darcy know that she’s always welcome for dinner. Sort of. The following week, Darcy shows up unannounced with a terrifying wooden mannequin in tow. Things get spectacularly weird.
Spooky but uneven, Oddity’s internal logic is murky, at best, and McCarthy’s film sometimes talks itself into a corner, like a short story that’s been stretched too far. But it’s never boring, and this witty, wicked horror unnerved me in ways that I wasn’t expecting. Oh, and the finale will stay with you for days. Get on it.
Three stars
