By George & Josh Bate
There’s something about an effective, memorable opening scene that is so important for horror movies. Seemingly more than other genres, horror has a rich history of iconic beginnings that set the stage for the scares to follow, whether it be that chilling extended opening in When a Stranger Calls to the harrowing start to the recently released Longlegs. Ranking up there among the horror genre’s best openings in recent years is Oddity, a new horror movie from writer/director Damian McCarthy.
Oddity takes place largely at a remote country house in Ireland. Couple Dani (played by You Are Not My Mother’s Carolyn Bracken) and Ted (played by Bohemian Rhapsody’s Gwilym Lee) have recently moved in and are getting settled when Dani is brutally murdered, apparently by a patient of Ted’s from the mental hospital he works at. One year after the tragedy, Dani’s blind twin sister and self-proclaimed psychic Darcy (also played by Carolyn Bracken) shows up to the country house, which Ted is now occupying with his new girlfriend Yana (played by Caroline Menton in her screen debut). Accompanying Darcy is a terrifying wooden mannequin, which remains eerily present as Darcy begins to look into how her sister actually died.
Oddity begins on strong footing with a brilliantly executed opening scene. Wife Dani is at their newly purchased country house, which is in the process of being renovated, while husband Ted is doing a night shift as a doctor at a local mental health institution. What’s already an unnerving environment becomes all the more frightening when Dani runs out to her car to retrieve her phone. Unable to find it, she returns to the house, only to soon realize that someone is on the other side of the front door she just shut. Opening a small window in the door reveals an unsettling man standing outside, a panicked man with a creepy fake eye. The man tells Dani that, as her back was turned when she was at her car, someone ran into her house and is now inside with her. He insists that she open the door and let him in to look around, but Dani is understandably uncomfortable. Does she trust this random stranger who proclaims an intruder has entered her home? Or does she keep the door locked and believe that he is the real danger to watch out for? This opening scene unfolds with a core dilemma for our character and a palpable intensity as a result of this dilemma. Effective in establishing a strong foundation for the film that follows, this beginning marks a high point that even the rest of a fairly well-crafted horror film doesn’t quite match up to.
Beyond the striking opening scene, Oddity stumbles with somewhat of a jumbled first act. The passage of time is ambiguously conveyed, while it takes a while to get a handling of the characters and their relationships with one another. It is not until Darcy’s arrival to the country house that her sister died in that the film finds its footing and truly kicks into gear. But, once it does, there is a lot to appreciate here.
The dark, secluded setting plays a role in the film’s scare, which are infrequent yet impactful. Although Oddity is more of a horror film that unsettles rather than downright scares, when the film does go into jump-scare, more overtly horror territory, it definitely packs a punch.
Coupling the horror of Oddity is a fairly compelling mystery. Dani’s death at the beginning of the film raises a number of questions as it is indicated early on that there is more to her death than what we are initially presented with. With Darcy’s arrival at the home, the film heads further into mystery territory as it becomes clear (eventually) that she is here to seek answers to the questions surrounding her sister’s death.
This raises an interesting point in regards to protagonists in Oddity. Narratively, the film lacks a straightforward protagonist to get behind and follow. On the surface, Gwilym Lee’s Ted, the widower of the deceased Dani, initially appears to be the lead (and receives top billing), although this is somewhat dispelled when it is revealed Ted has started a relationship with another woman so shortly after his wife’s death. Carolyn Bracken’s Darcy, meanwhile, could also serve as the lead for the audience to follow along, but her character is shrouded in intrigue. In bringing a creepy wooden mannequin to the home, Darcy feels more akin to the villain of the film, although there is more nuance to this point as the film progresses. In this sense, Oddity adopts an unusual storytelling approach in which the film purposefully lacks a lead character to empathize and resonate with. As a result, the audience is a fly-on-the-wall to the proceedings, although one that lacks a certain emotional attachment or empathy to any one character.
90+ minutes of tension and suspense eventually converge upon an underwhelming ending. A disappointing final act in which key elements are left under-explained as the final scares pale in comparison to the stronger frights from earlier on. Things are left on disquieting note, but there is a sense that the film lost its steam in a miscalculated final act, especially when compared to the film’s excellent opening and several terrific scares.
VERDICT: 6/10
Oddity is an unnerving, contained horror film bolstering a few powerful scares and a masterfully crafted opening sequence. A jumbled first act means the film takes a little bit to find its footing, but, once it does, it proves to be an interesting narrative exercise given the lack of identifiable main character to get behind and empathize with. Despite an underwhelming ending, Oddity triumphs with its eerie atmosphere and intriguing mystery, in addition to a strong performance from Carolyn Bracken in playing the sisters Darcy and Dani. Oddity peaks early on with its excellent opening scene, one that is strong it makes it easier to overlook the stumbles in the film that follows.