ODDITY
****
Directed by Damian McCarthy.
Starring Carolyn Bracken, Gwilym Lee, Johnny French, Steve Wall
Horror, Ireland 98 minutes, Certificate 15.
Streaming in the UK on Shudder from 27th September
After his ingenious and atmospheric 2020 debut film CAVEAT, Damian McCarthy continues to make a name for himself with ODDITY. This vengeance driven ghost story further proves his talent for crafting sharp and compact tales of the supernatural that grip and chill the viewer. While still working within the confines of a small budget, McCarthy manages to produce results that contain far more tension, scares and atmosphere than many of his Hollywood studio contemporaries.
McCarthy immediately sets the viewer on edge with a real anxiety attacker of an opening scene as we follow Dani, played by Carolyn Bracken, around her newly purchased, large country house. While her husband Ted, a psychiatric doctor, works the night shift miles away in the city, Dani is troubled to hear a knock at the door in the middle of the night. Peering out through the door, she is confronted with the unnerving sight of a stranger with mismatched eyes demanding to be allowed in. Understandably Dani is more than reluctant but left wondering even more when the stranger claims someone else is in there with her determined to do her harm.
A year later we are introduced to Dani’s twin sister Darcy, also played by Bracken, who could not be more different. Blind, with short white hair and claiming to have certain psychic gifts, Darcy runs a shop specialising in cursed antiquities. Darcy decides to visit her brother-in-law and his girlfriend Yana, determined to get to the bottom of what happened to her sister on that fateful night with the aid of a startling wooden effigy. For those of us still haunted by the stuffed rabbit from CAVEAT, which makes a nice wee cameo here, we know how much spooky mileage McCarthy can get from inanimate objects. This wooden mannequin with its mouth opened wide in a rictus of terror and/or rage seems even more cursed, leaving the viewer on edge and eager to discover how exactly it will be used in Darcy’s quest for justice.
How this is accomplished, along with a number of secrets that are revealed in increasingly smart ways add to the chilling pleasure of the expertly executed narrative. McCarthy’s strong and clever script makes the most of its limited locations, revealing certain details in rewarding fashion while others are kept tantalisingly hidden until the closing scenes. For instance, what could have just been yet another cliched shot of a psychiatric patient in a restrictive, protective mask is made all the more eerie here by being filmed entirely from behind with subtle movements from the actor, only making the full reveal much later that more powerful, shocking and satisfying.
Despite the modern day trappings of mobile phones and digital cameras, both of which play important roles in the story, there is a pleasing old school edge to the story here reminiscent of the best TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED. The mystery and its reveals are satisfying but McCarthy also manages to explore unresolved grief and anger, especially with Bracken’s excellent performance(s). Her portrayal of Darcy is memorable enough on a visual level but the gradual revelation of her despair and anger, as well as how she uses her disability to her advantage to get one over on her hosts, is expertly handled making her one of the more memorable protagonists onscreen this year.
Avoiding loudly telegraphed jump scares for something more malignant and effective, McCarthy has more than proved himself with his second feature. Far more satisfying and memorable than any number of EXORCIST reboots and CONJURING sequels and spin-offs, if Hollywood had any sense they would be giving McCarthy all the money to let him do what he wants.Until then, this will do nicely.
Iain MacLeod
