Shudder Secrets: Oddity

Irish writer/director Damian Mc Carthy sure knows how to craft a chilling tale. This was true of his feature debut, Caveat, and it’s definitely apparent in his second film, the eerie and unsettling Oddity. Both films have Gothic overtones, specifically buried secrets that ultimately resurface. Oddity very much feels like a haunted house movie with a murder that drives the narrative and a creepy wooden man that’s one of this year’s most unnerving characters in any horror movie.

Mc Carthy’s second film again proves his talents as one of the most interesting genre filmmakers in the game today. The Gothic shades of Caveat are expanded in this second film, while Mc Carthy also explores broader issues such as science v. faith in the paranormal and belief v. nonbelief. Oddity is one of this year’s must-see films, perfect for spooky season.

Oddity as a Murder Mystery

Though Oddity is very much a horror movie, it’s also a murder mystery from the get-go. Dani, played by Carolyn Bracken, moves into a massive and major fixer-upper with her hubby Ted (Gwilym Lee). Everything about the house and its rural location feels all-consuming, again reinforcing Mc Carthy’s Gothic atmosphere. Dani appears unnerved whenever she’s alone, as if ghosts roam the creaky hallways. Maybe they do.

A few minutes into the runtime, one of Ted’s patients from the local psych hospital, Olin Boole (Tadhg Murphy), knocks on the door. Minutes after that, someone murders Dani by bludgeoning her head with a hammer. Bits of her brain bloody the floor.

Olin seems like the likely suspect. He is, after all, an escaped mental patient who was put away for murdering someone in the past. He also showed up at the house not long before the murder occurred. However, Dani’s sister, Darcy, also played by Bracken, isn’t convinced that Olin murdered Dani. Darcy is also a medium who can read personal objects. She even runs an oddity shop filled with cursed objects, including that ghastly bunny from Caveat. Darcy spends much of the runtime unraveling the mystery regarding Dani’s murder.

Oddity’s Gothic Overtones and Motifs

As already stated, Mc Carthy establishes a Gothic tone and atmosphere with the house. However, the few exterior shots reinforce that mood. It’s always raining. Everything looks gray and moss-covered. The Gothic genre also relies on buried secrets surfacing. Think The Fall of the House of Usher, for instance, or a number of Poe’s other stories, such as the beating heart beneath floorboards in The Tell-Tale Heart, or the bodies buried within basement walls in The Black Cat. Here, the truth about Dani’s murder refuses to stay covered up, in part because of Darcy’s determination to avenge her sister, using her paranormal talents to do so.

Did Ted have something to do with it? He does, after all, have a new girlfriend, Yana (Caroline Menton). At one point, Ted tells Darcy that after Dani died, Yana cared for him. Darcy continually questions how long the relationship occurred. Even if other characters seem like more likely culprits, it’s obvious there’s more to Yana and Ted’s relationship than they both let on. Mc Carthy deftly plants a few red herrings to keep viewers guessing.

There’s also the power of objects and storytelling within the film. At one point, Darcy holds a bell and shares the story of a doomed bellhop. The wooden man she gives to Ted, which rightfully freaks out Yana, has its own story. A witch gifted it to Dani and Darcy’s mom as a wedding anniversary present. The wooden man haunts every frame it’s in. At times, it looks like it moved its head or slightly adjusted its chair at the kitchen table.

Oddity also relies on the Gothic motif of science v. faith/belief. Ted dismisses Darcy’s claims about haunted objects, telling her he’s a man of science. Yana also acts condescending towards Darcy, pointing out she’s a sales rep for a major pharmaceutical company. She treats Darcy like a charlatan. Yet, Mc Carthy orients our sympathies towards Darcy, who’s reeling over the loss of her sister and wants to avenge her and uncover the truth, using paranormal objects, including the wooden man, to do so. In fact, it’s fair to say that Yana and Ted’s firm belief in their own narrow viewpoints doesn’t serve them well.

Mc Carthy proved with Caveat he’s a director to watch. Oddity is a masterclass in dread, mood, and atmosphere. It’s one of this year’s must-watch horror movies that makes familiar Gothic motifs and tropes feel fresh and unnerving.

The film creeps onto Shudder on September 27. To keep updated on the streaming service’s latest releases, follow my Shudder Secrets column.