1. Movies

I heart under-the-radar horror movies.

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The 2024 movie schedule wasn’t exactly slouching throughout its first six months, with Abigail’s blood-soaked chaos and I Saw the TV Glow’s lo-fi hypnosis (among others) keeping vibes interesting, but the pre-Halloween months are generally when the genre hits hardest on the big screen. Following Oz Perkins’ Longlegs giving audiences Nic Cage-fronted nightmares, a new horror movie has debuted in theaters without much hype, despite rocking a 97% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes: Oddity.

If that title sounds completely unfamiliar to you, or only partially, you’re not alone. Written and directed by Irish filmmaker Damian Mc Carthy, Oddity is hitting U.S. theaters in the middle of a busy summer season bolstered by Inside Out 2’s box office success. And while there’s been no end to ads for A Quiet Place: Day One and MaXXXine, casual horror fans probably haven’t come across any Oddity trailers during primetime TV or bouncing around YouTube and TikTok.

Admittedly, that speaks in part to Oddity getting a limited release launch from IFC Films and Shudder, but this is the kind of movie that could totally base a whole marketing campaign on its stellar Rotten Tomatoes scores:

• 97% Tomatometer, based on 70 reviews
• 90% Audience Score, based on 50+ ratings

To be sure, not all of the critical raves were timed to the film's domestic release, with Oddity first garnering major attention from horror hounds in March at SXSW, where it took home the Audience Award in the Midnighter section, and in April at the Overlook Film Festival, where it also won the Audience Award. So the word-of-mouth acclaim was there, but only for those listening hard enough.

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Thankfully, horror fans in the know turned out in droves in markets where Oddity was screened. Despite only launching in 790 theaters, the horror flick pulled in $555,500, putting it far outside of Twisters' monster weekend, but only just outside the Top 10 at #12.

What Is Oddity About?

A woman named Dani is the victim of a violent murder in the remote country home she shared with her husband, with an escaped mental patient believed to have killed her. A year later, after the suspect is found dead, Dani's sister Darcy (Carolyn Bracken) suddenly pays the widower Ted (Gwilym Lee) and his new girlfriend Yana (Caroline Menton) a visit. A blind self-proclaimed psychic and curio shopkeeper, Darcy comes equipped with objects from her shop that prove vital to her investigation.

As seen in the trailer below, one of those objects is a freaky-as-shit wooden mannequin that has no business proving itself vital to anything.

Oddity - Official Trailer | HD | IFC Films - YouTube

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So be sure to check your local theaters to see whether or not Oddity is playing in your area, and be sure to show it some love if it is. Sure, you might be one of the relatively few exceptions who didn't think the feature was worthy of freshness, but it's more likely than anyone reading this right now will come away an Oddity fan. Can't hate on those odds.

For now, Oddity is only in theaters, but it will likely find its way to Shudder at some point in the coming months along with other upcoming horror movies. In the meantime, fans can check out Damian Mc Carthy's feature debut Caveat, which is streaming with an AMC+ subscription.

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