Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Oddity.One of the more celebrated horror films of 2024 is Damian McCarthy‘s Oddity, a movie that feels different from recent ventures in the genre. McCarthy has made several short films and had mild success with his feature debut Caveat, but Oddity seems to be the film of McCarthy that has garnered the most attention. It has some terrific performances, genuine scares, and a consistent tone throughout. However, some might be unsure of what the ending means, or if any of the set-up amounted to anything. Oddity‘s ending, with a horrifying ghost lingering next to one of the leads, is a haunting image in and of itself, but it also brings the entire story together by connecting details from the beginning to various twists and turns that come later.
What Is ‘Oddity’ About?
McCarthy’s film revolves around Ted Timmis (Gwilym Lee), a psychiatrist whose wife was brutally murdered by a home invader. Before her death, a mysterious man (Tadhg Murphy) came by the house to warn her. Naturally, many suspect he is the killer as he came from the same facility Ted works at. One day, Ted decides to visit his deceased wife’s twin sister, Darcy (Carolyn Bracken), who owns a house of oddities with lore and meaning. Ted dismisses these as trinkets due to his clinical mind and chooses to make assumptions rather than look deeper, finding the entire setting of the shop ridiculous. Darcy, however, is a blind woman, who still has the quality to see through people… including Ted.
Several times throughout the film, he repeats to others how he believes Darcy needs psychiatric help for her infatuation with the supernatural. Darcy decides to visit Ted’s house on a random morning, which is the same place he and his wife were living in when she was murdered. Ted has since moved on and now lives with a new girlfriend, Yana (Caroline Menton), who repeatedly mentions that being alone in the house frightens her and so does Darcy. It is soon revealed she Darcy has a plan to prove Ted is responsible for her sister’s murder. The central thesis of the story is how people are not what they appear to be, because Darcy does start off a tad peculiar with her dry speech and abrasive nature towards Yana. However, all of this is deliberate in her preserving the memory of her sister, and Ted turns out to be the one with the problem.
How Does ‘Oddity’ End?
When Ted has to leave the house for work, it leaves Darcy with the opportunity to fill Yana in on some details. She brings a housewarming gift in the form of a life-sized wooden man, who certainly does not please Yana in the slightest. The two soon chat in the dining room, as Darcy gives some context to the night of her twin sister’s death. She tells her of the home invader most believe is responsible for her sister’s murder. Darcy starts explaining how certain details do not add up because someone else must have been present when her sister was murdered. This new information, along with several ghostly images scattered across the house scares Yana out of the house, leaving Darcy to confront Ted.
Once Ted returns home, he discovers the wooden man has shifted, Yana is gone and Darcy tells him she believes he is responsible for all this chaos. He caves in pretty quickly, admitting to his wife’s and several other murders. He also admits to the home invader being his accomplice, having met him at work. He then takes advantage of Darcy’s disability by playing a trick on her. She is in a tight space upstairs, which just so happens to be far from the nearest telephone. Ted makes a deal with her to pick up the phone, and when she does, they will make an arrangement.
However, there happens to be a gaping hole right in front of her, which leads to her inevitable death as she takes the first few leaps. Ted sends his accomplice over to the house, but he fails to achieve anything and is eventually chased by the giant wooden man. This makes him an easy scapegoat for Ted, who can pin all the blame on him and have him committed to the psych ward. Ted seemingly gets away with everything, and Darcy appears to have died in vain. Not so fast!
One of the oddities he dismissed earlier in the film comes back into play, which he decides to touch instead of listening to Darcy’s warning. It’s a bell, which was used in an old and haunted hotel. If anyone else had rung it, a zombified bellhop would appear and go in for the kill. He decides to tap the bell without a care in the world, giving us one last well-done scare with a bellhop that feels ripped right out of a Mike Flanagan project. The movie ends with us satisfied that Ted got what he deserved.
What Is the Message of ‘Oddity’?
What makes Oddity‘s ending so special is how it ties into Ted as a character, who continuously makes the wrong decisions that have paid off until now. He appears to be a loving and trustworthy man, but viewers will soon pick up on his despicable nature by the end. Darcy is someone the audience is unsure of by the start of it, but she turns out to be the hero of sorts when the truth about Ted is confirmed. Ted is responsible for multiple deaths at this point, from Darcy and her twin sister to the orderly, Ivan (Steve Wall), who assisted him in the murder of his wife. Not only is this satisfying to see a villain have his comeuppance, but it works considering there is a lot more at play.
It is not a feminist story in the sense that it has a simple and happy ending, but the three central female characters are the most relatable. Yana is the only one smart enough to run away, Darcy is arguably the wisest and most daring and her twin sister, Dani, is who we mourn for. In a way, Darcy leads the charge by twisting Ted with a puzzle he has to follow, from bringing a weird present to the home or appearing unannounced and testing his partner. She is not even stooping down to his level and beating him at his own game, but rather, she decides to reinvent the game with her own rules.
McCarthy incorporates this mindset with the tension built up and the atmosphere present, but where he and his creative team excel the most is in selling these characters as three-dimensional beings with motives and ideas. Just like the oddities in the shop, these are human beings with real personalities, and they are not what they initially present themselves as. Here lies a man thinking he knows everything about everyone, and, due to his violent tendencies and entitled nature, thinks he can get out scot-free. However, his entire world is flipped when Yana flees the scene, Darcy is found dead, he kills his accomplice, and it all ends with him not heeding any warnings.
‘Oddity’ Challenges the Audience
Whether someone connects with the film or not, Mc Carthy certainly makes choices one would not expect, because viewers will constantly be questioning their allegiance or support of a character. Ted starts off as a reasonable and seemingly ordinary character, but he quickly grows into a monster. Darcy even appears a bit off-putting and intimidating at times, and yet, by the end, everyone is rooting for her. Some of the best horror films are ones you are supposed to let sink in later on, like The Shining or The Exorcist, because these films have deeply psychological and moral dilemmas placed at the forefront. They operate at a scary frequency, but this is also not their main purpose.
Mc Carthy seems to be interested in toying with audience expectations, creating a lived-in and realistic environment and letting this sense of dread hit. Not every single decision is consistent or effective, but the film definitely leans heavily into the cerebral and emotional realms. This is an original and well-made film with huge leaps, and audiences seem to have accepted this.
Oddity is available to rent on Amazon.
RENT ON AMAZON
