‘ODDITY’ (2024) IFC and Shudder reign supreme in scaring us with Damian McCarthy’s latest

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ODDITY

ODDITY poster

After the murder of her twin sister, medium and oddity shop owner Darcy visits the husband she left behind, gifting him an alarming wooden mannequin. ODDITY is a battle between skepticism and the supernatural. It is a spellbinding tale of revenge.

Carolyn Bracken is Darcy. This character is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Her supernatural abilities and encompassing rage come off as powerfully controlled. Bracken is dazzling.

Oddity_01The production design by Lauren Kelly delivers visuals that are startling and sneaky. Creepy art pieces, like the anatomical drawing behind Ted’s desk to the Rorschach paintings, hung in the house subconsciously keep you off kilter. Darcy’s shop even houses director Damian McCarthy‘s disquieting rabbit from his 2020 terrifier CAVEAT.

Bravo to the editing by Brian Philip Davis. The several jump scares are well-earned. The twists, yes plural, are shocking. The wooden figure’s physical evolution is skin crawling. Elements of ancient witchcraft and haunted objects mesmerize and terrify. The final shot is deliciously satisfying.

Oddity still 1

 

IFC Films Will Release ODDITY

In Theaters July 19th


Synopsis

When Dani is brutally murdered at the remote country house that she and her husband Ted are renovating, everyone suspects a patient from the local mental health institution, where Ted is a doctor. However, soon after the tragic killing, the suspect is found dead. A year later, Dani’s blind twin sister Darcy, a self-proclaimed psychic and collector of cursed items, pays an unexpected visit to Ted and his new girlfriend, Yana. Convinced that there was more to her sister’s murder than people know, Darcy has brought with her the most dangerous items from her cursed collection to help her exact revenge.



Writer / Director: Damian McCarthy

Starring: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Jonathan French, Steve Wall

Language: English

Run Time: 98 Min

ODDITY screenings

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Review: ‘Gridlock’

Gridlock

Release Date: March 2016

Guest review from Reel Reviews Over Brews

Gridlock is an Irish spin on an American style thriller, set during a traffic jam on a narrow country road. When Eoin’s young daughter Emma goes missing from their car, he forms a desperate search party to find her, and soon everyone is a suspect.

The last of the short films we have been reviewing, Gridlock is another home run! Like Penalty and Lost Face, Gridlock is also up for an Oscar nomination. This short film is roughly 20 minutes long and we certainly wish it had been a feature length because it had us from the beginning. Trying to figure out what happened to Eoin’s daughter and thinking that each character was more suspect than the last. Gridlock is a thrill from start to finish. Like the last few, we don’t want to give away too much, but this is another MUST SEE! Good luck to whoever has to decide which shorts will receive Oscar nominations… because we believe all three could take the cake. Gridlock, however, was our favorite. It had us locked into our seat, causing us to leave work late on a Friday to see the end. So we watched a movie about a traffic jam which then caused us to be in a traffic jam… totally worth it!

Reel ROB Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Post Credits Scene: No

We want to thank our friends at Reel News Daily for allowing us to do this guest review!