hokum Recently released in theaters, and it is already performing beyond box office expectations. If this Kubrick-referencing Haunted Hotel film starring Adam Scott was your introduction to director Damien McCarthy, do yourself a favor and go see his previous film, oddity.
If you prefer to go in blind – the ideal way to watch any movie – oddity Available to stream on Hoopla, Kanopy, Hulu, and Shudder.
Like hokum, oddity It takes place in the vast Irish countryside. They both trade in similar types of fears – cursed objects, witchcraft, isolation, dark corners, and unfulfilled people living outside of society’s norms. They both also embrace magic and the supernatural, while creating true evil seemingly respectable men who victimize the women in their lives.
Both were also made on a very low budget. hokum Cost just $5 million. of strangeness The budget has proven difficult to confirm, but I have seen reports of less than $750,000. The result is a film that is gritty, extremely dark, and cleverly exploits its limited production budget.
A large portion of the money was apparently spent on the wooden golem that is the centerpiece of the film. This is…disturbing. Where most haunted objects, monsters or ghosts in horror films lose their impact the longer you look at them, the Golem in Oddity remains unsettling and terrifying no matter how long he’s on screen.
Its intricately carved wrinkles, mouth set in a permanent scream, and hollow eyes are the stuff of nightmares. And the fact that it sits there without moving for almost the entire movie only adds to the discomfort. You’re forced to stare at it for a significant portion of the 98-minute runtime, waiting for it to do something, anything. But mostly it stares straight ahead, daring you to let your guard down even for a second.
McCarthy proves to be a master at creating tension and atmosphere. While there are a lot of upside fears oddityThey never feel cheap or unnecessary. It manages to lull you into a false sense of security almost every time, teasing that a scare may be coming, but it delivers just when you least expect it. Even on rewatches, when I know exactly what’s going to happen and when, there are still a lot of things that make me hesitate.
Basically it is a revenge film. But there are many ups and downs in it. It tells the story of a blind mental patient named Darcy Odello who seeks revenge against those responsible for the murder of his twin sister Dani. What Darcy reveals is that the man accused of murder is innocent, and Ted (Dani’s widower)’s relationship with his new girlfriend Yana might not be so fresh after all.
While the wooden object that Darcy brings to Ted’s house and sits on his dining room table is the main fear, it is not the only one. Along the way, Dani’s ghost appears repeatedly, a cannibal feasts on a leg, oh, and it’s impossible to get any cell reception.
This is an extremely powerful film that leaves you barely able to breathe.
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