One of the creepiest films of 2024 lies just around the corner. Oddity, releasing in theaters and on Shudder, seeks to build on horror’s amazing 2024. When a woman ends up dead at her remote house, blame for her murder falls on a mentally ill man. The truth may not be so cut and dry. A haunting, ghastly rituals and a wooden man only begin to highlight the darkness present within Oddity. Directed by Damian Mc Carthy, the slow-burn horror joins a thriving series of genre flicks this year. FandomWire spoke with Oddity‘s stars, Gwilym Lee (Bohemian Rhapsody, The Great) and Carolyn Bracken (You Are Not My Mother) about their experience on set.
Getting Involved in Oddity
Like many films, Oddity‘s uniqueness started with its script. However, few films accomplish this from the word go. As Lee notes, “it’s a good sign that it’s already creepy and scary when it just worked on a page.” Director Damian Mc Carthy utilizes rising tension and unease throughout his movie. “It was very atmospheric and very effective for a low-budget film.” Lee continues, “You realize that he has some pretty serious chops.” Bracken agrees with Lee on this point as well. “You just knew he was an absolute scholar of horror. He knew the world that he was trying to build. There was just that element of trust there.”
Bracken was also impressed by the challenges Oddity would offer. “Just getting the challenge to play two characters in one movie who happened to be twins attracted me to it.” Lee’s character also opened new doors for the actor. “I don’t often get to play the darker characters. It was a great prospect to play that kind of sinister, horrible, kind of gaslighting, arrogant person.”
Carolyn Bracken’s Double Performance
Rather than cast two actresses in Oddity, Mc Carthy relied on Bracken in a double role. She plays Darcy and Dani, twin sisters who have lived very different lives. Dani married Lee’s Ted and renovates a country home. Meanwhile, Dani runs a small shop of curiosities where she uses supernatural abilities to read the pasts of those who owned the items. Bracken’s roles would require distinct performances despite their shared characteristics. “They were quite different on the script. Damien had done a lot of the work already.”
“I was very fortunate in that sense/ I could hear two very different voices. The common denominator between them was their fierce love for each other.” The theme returns throughout the story, and Bracken crafts a unique chemistry with her second character over the story. Bracken explains that she had to “Find that heart between the two of them because they don’t meet on the screen.” She continues, “I think what was important for me was to build that authenticity, and these two were really sisters and loved each other.”
This also proves integral to Oddity‘s driving action. Bracken notes, “It kind of legitimizes Darcy’s quest for revenge.” With Ted looking to move on, Darcy dives into the investigation. “The haste in which she tries to do it, and the measures that she goes through in order to find justice for her sister” become the backbone of the story.
Bracken and Lee Used Their Previous Experience to Enjoy Oddity on Set
For Bracken, horror offers her opportunities that dramas cannot. “I really love performing in horror because there’s so much to play around with. Fully fleshed out complex women that are not confined within the realms of realism.” She laughs and continues. “Some of the bucket list characters that I would like to play are within horror. I found that with You Are Not My Mother, it really was a playground. It just kind of solidified for me my love of it. Oddity continues that.”
For Lee, the lower budget also brought some relief. “There’s something really great about being on this, a slightly lower budget film. On day one, you’ve met the whole team.” Coming from The Great and Bohemian Rhapsody, Lee had been on huge productions. “You might get to the wrap party and still be meeting people for the first time. It’s such a beast.” For a smaller film, the stakes are more personal. “There’s a real sense of like all being in it together.
Lee continues, “You are all invested in telling this story together.”
The small town of Bantry, Ireland, served as their base for the shoot. It was also Mc Carthy’s hometown. Lee laughs, “The carpenter and the set builder was his best mate from school.” Lee points out that another one of their sets, “Bantry House,” was owned by family friends. “It felt like the whole community was a part of telling that story. It’s quite a fun way of making films.”
Can Oddity Expand Into a Franchise For Shudder?
Oddity concludes in a somewhat ambiguous place. It features one of the coolest final shots in any movie and opens the door for future installments. Bracken notes, “I suppose that’s a question for Damian, isn’t it?” As the director and writer, it will likely fall on him to push for more. Lee does note “I think he was quite intrigued about the origin story of the wooden man.” Bracken also wonders about this character and its potential as a horror icon. “We do not know how she came across this wooden man. How did this relationship develop?”
One of the excellent aspects of Oddity stems from its setting. Bracken’s character owns a shop of “oddities,” which opens the door for anthology-style tales tied together by the shop. The horror does not need to feature these characters, but could expand within a shared universe. Bracken explains, “There’s quite a lot of mystery shrouding Dani and Darcy’s past and upbringing. We only get little snippets into it.”
Lee also finds himself in a precarious situation late in Oddity, which could result in its own spin-off. “There’s a character that appears literally in the last frame of the film, and that could be quite a fun origin story as well.” Bracken agrees. “There’s so many possibilities. But, yeah, I’d be up for it anyway.”
Watch Oddity in theaters on July 19, 2024. IFC Films and Shudder distribute.
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