ODDITY. An atmospheric Hammer-style horror

The past year has been truly successful for horror films: “In a Violent Nature” by Chris Nash, “Longlegs” by Osgood Perkins, and “Substance” by Coralie Fargeat were recently joined by “Oddity”.

The story follows the young Timmis couple, Dani and Ted, as they renovate a large estate in rural Ireland. One night, while Ted is on duty at a psychiatric hospital, a former patient of his, Olin, shows up at the estate and warns Dani that someone has broken into the house. Dani becomes the victim of a murder, and Olin is convicted of the crime, only to die himself under mysterious circumstances shortly afterward. A year later, Ted visits Dani’s blind twin sister, Darcy, in her antique shop. A few days later, Dani unexpectedly arrives at the country home where Ted lives with his new partner, Yana, bringing with her a wooden sculpture depicting a bizarre, human-sized figure. Ted leaves for a night shift at the hospital, leaving Yana alone with Darcy, who claims to have psychic abilities and is convinced that Olin was not the one who killed her sister. Unexplained phenomena begin to occur in the house, and the wooden sculpture seems to come alive.

Irish director and screenwriter Damian McCarthy started his career with short films like “Hatch” (2009), “He Dies at the End” (2010), and “Never Ever Open It” (2011). He made his feature debut with the well-received “Caveat” (2020), shot on a modest budget of just £250,000. During the production of that film, McCarthy was already developing ideas that would evolve into the screenplay for “Oddity”. Filming took place in Ireland’s County Cork, with Carolyn Bracken (Dani/Darcy), Gwilym Lee (Ted), and Caroline Menton (Yana) in the lead roles. Artist Paul McDonnell crafted the wooden mannequin following McCarthy’s specifications; McCarthy is a fan of “Creepshow” (1982) by George A. Romero and “Child’s Play” (1988) by Tom Holland, both featuring animated dolls (though on a much smaller scale). “Oddity” premiered in March 2024 at the SXSW multimedia festival, where it won the Audience Award.

This is undoubtedly one of the finest recent examples of old-school horror, refreshingly far removed from the modern genre’s extremes, which oscillate between the crudeness of slashers and the pretentiousness of art-house fare. “Oddity” evokes the series “A Ghost Story for Christmas” and the classic horror films of Hammer Film Productions from the 1960s and 1970s but boasts significantly superior craftsmanship. The set design, lighting, sound, cinematography, and acting (especially Carolyn Bracken in her dual role as Dani and Darcy) are all top-notch. (To be clear, this isn’t a criticism of Hammer’s work, which the author admires, but their limited budgets often made technical excellence a challenge.) The similarities lie primarily in atmosphere: thick, menacing, and delightfully elegant in its vintage style.

McCarthy also draws inspiration from the works of Edgar Allan Poe, detective novels, and Jewish folklore (the wooden mannequin is reminiscent of the golem, the clay monster featured in Gustav Meyrink’s novel). While McCarthy doesn’t chart new territory in horror, he navigates familiar ground skillfully, making effective use of well-worn motifs: cursed objects, haunted houses, mysterious murders, supernatural powers, and more. Even the few jump scares in the film avoid feeling cliché. One of “Oddity’s’” great strengths is the suspense created both by the slow unraveling of the mystery surrounding Dani’s death and the paranormal events occurring in the eerie Timmis estate. This is a superbly crafted and performed horror film that scares, surprises, and keeps viewers on edge from start to finish. What more could one want from a horror movie?