Hokum has just hit theaters, and is already exceeding box office expectations. If this Kubrick-esque hotel flick starring Adam Scott was your introduction to director Damian McCarthy, do yourself a favor and go see his previous film, Oddity.
If you choose to go blind – the perfect way to watch any movie – Oddity is available to stream on Hoopla, Kanopy, Hulu, and Shudder.
Love Hokum, Oddity takes place in the open countryside of Ireland. They both travel through the same kinds of horrors – cursed objects, occultism, isolation, dark corners, and drawn men who live outside of society’s norms. They both also embrace magic and the supernatural, while doing the true evil of seemingly respectable men who abuse the women in their lives.
Both were made on very small budgets. Hokum it costs only $5 million. Oddity’s The budget has proven difficult to confirm, but I have seen reports as low as $750,000. The result is a gritty, extremely dark movie, and it uses its limited production budget wisely.
A good portion of the money was apparently spent on the main wooden golem of the film. It’s annoying. Where most human attacks, monsters, or ghosts in horror films lose their impact the closer you look, the golem in Oddity remains unsettling and terrifying, no matter how long it’s on screen.
Its intricately carved wrinkles, mouth cold from endless shouting, and empty eyes are the stuff of nightmares. And the fact that it sits there, motionless for most of the movie, only adds to the discomfort. You’re forced to stare at it for most of the 98-minute runtime, waiting for it to do something, anything. But mostly it looks forward, daring you to let your guard down even for a second.
McCarthy proves an expert at creating tension and atmosphere. While there are a few jump scares in between Odditythey don’t feel cheap or comfortable. It manages to lull you into a false sense of security almost every time, teasing you that fear may come, but it brings you where you least expect it. Even in retrospect, even though I know exactly what will happen and when, several still make me cringe.
At its core, this is a revenge film. But one with a few twists. It follows Darcy Odello, a blind magician who seeks revenge on those responsible for killing his twin brother Dani. What Darcy revealed is that the accused murderer is innocent, and that Ted’s (Dani’s widower) relationship with his new girlfriend, Yana, may not be so new.
Although the fear of wood that Darcy brings to Ted’s house and sits at his dining room table is a great fear, he is not the only one. Along the way, Dani’s ghost makes repeated appearances, a feast of beasts on foot, oh, and it’s impossible to get any cell reception.
It’s an incredibly effective film that doesn’t give you a chance to breathe.
