Oddity Movie Review, by Lindsey Goddard

Oddity is a 2024 Irish horror film, written and directed by Damian Mc Carthy. It’s been called “unsettling” and “atmospheric” by fellow reviewers, and I wholeheartedly agree!

Oddity had me from the start, an intense opening scene where our main character, Dani, is alone in an old house, far from the beaten path of civilization, and she encounters a stranger at her door, who claims he saw someone enter her home when she stepped outside for a moment. The strange man, who dons a pale glass eye and a worried expression, insists that the home invader is still inside with Dani and that she is in terrible danger. Naturally, she is reluctant to believe this stranger. After all, why was he outside her home to witness the invasion? There’s no reason this visitor should be there, especially in the dark of night. And yet… the actor who portrays this man has a softness to his face that we, as the audience, recognize as genuine concern for Dani. WE FEEL LIKE HE’S TELLING THE TRUTH, DANG IT! Of course, Dani doesn’t let this stranger inside or take his advice to leave the house…

And our murder-mystery / supernatural horror adventure begins…

Remember the straight-forward spooky vibes that caused you to fall in love with horror cinema? Before all the twists and turns had viewers running in circles, trying to figure shit out left and right? Oddity has got ALL those classic horror vibes. The director angling the camera at a dark doorway or a shadowy corner was so dread-inducing, I could not look away. And DO NOT look away from Oddity. Just don’t. You might miss something.

As the plot progresses, we discover that Dani did, indeed, get murdered that fateful evening of the strange visitor, and now, her widowed husband has brought Yana, his new girlfriend, to stay at the house where she died. Yana starts seeing glimpses of Dani’s ghost, lurking around the house and popping up in the photos she takes.

When Dani’s sister stops by for an unexpected visit, bringing with her a hideous oddity gift and all the otherworldly knowledge of a psychic in mourning, life gets even weirder for poor Yana (who was played so convincingly by actress Caroline Menton, I felt her frustration to my core).

What I liked most about Oddity is that this film doesn’t attempt to milk every last drop of suspense from a scene (until you’re totally sick of waiting) before it sweeps in with a jolt. And Oddity doesn’t try to be too clever for its own good. It simply… tells a story. Something I have sorely missed.

The storyline accomplishes a seamless blending of witty dark humor, old school mystery, classic horror film techniques, and of course, some new concepts to keep us interested. The imagery is super spooky. The cast is flawless. I went in blind and came out LOVING this film.

Highly recommended. 9 and of 10 stars. I had not seen the director’s previous horror film success, Caveat, before watching Oddity, and I still haven’t. A mistake I plan to correct as soon as possible!