Odd Thomas (2013) Review

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Addison Timlin, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Page, Barney Lanning, Nico Tortorella, Kyle McKeever.

Directed by: Stephen Sommers

Written by: Stephen Sommers (screenplay), Dean R. Koontz (based on the novel “Odd Thomas” by)

Running time: 96 minutes

Rated: Not rated (contains violence, frightening scenes)

Reviewed by Michael Juvinall

Odd Thomas is in theaters Now!

I love films that are slightly askew and off kilter from the normal supernatural dramas that are pervasive in cinemas and home video in today’s market. The film Odd Thomas is just that and much more to boot. There’s something about this film that I can’t quite put my finger on, but in a wonderful way. I truly enjoyed this film. It has a magic about it that simply enthralled me in the best possible way. The film is adapted from a series of novels featuring the character Odd Thomas by acclaimed author Dean R. Koontz, which I’ve never read, but after seeing the film, I now want to check out the original source material.

Pico Mundo is your average desert town in New Mexico, but one of its inhabitants is not so ordinary. Odd Thomas (Anton Yelchin- Star Trek Into Darkness) is a short order cook with the ability to see dead people, unsure whether it’s a gift or a curse. Odd is a self-described undercover detective for dead people. According to Odd, “The dead don’t talk. I don’t know why.” Dead people appear to Odd when they need help and he reluctantly does his best to help them with their problems, which usually involves sleuthing for whoever killed them or caused their deaths because the dead seek justice.

Odd is passionately in love with his soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn (Addison Timlin- Californication), the most beautiful girl in the world. Stormy is one of the only people aware of Odd’s unique ability aside from Pico Mundo’s top cop, Chief Porter (Willem Dafoe-Daybreakers, Spider-Man 3) who is sympathetic and helpful in Odd’s cases involving the paranormal. One day a mysterious man comes to town followed by ghostly shadow creatures called Bodachs, predators who feed on pain and portend mass destruction. But there are more Bodachs than Odd has ever seen before, literally thousands of them, and he knows something truly terrible is about to go down in his town. Odd, with the help of his girlfriend and the sheriff are in for the battle of their lives against the forces of evil to try and stop a terrible catastrophe from happening in their town on August 15^th…Today is August 14^th.

Odd Thomas is such a delightful film, I began screening it about 2 am one night and intended on only watching the beginning and picking the rest of it up to finish the next day. I became so engrossed and caught up in the film I couldn’t stop and watched the entire film until about 4 in the morning before I collapsed into bed. First I have to say the characters are so well written by Stephen Sommers, who wrote the screenplay based on the novel and also directed the film. I don’t think I’ve cared about film characters as much as this in quite a while. Secondly, the dialog is extremely engaging between the three main leads, Odd, Stormy, and Chief Porter. The way each character interacts with one another seemed so natural and real, especially between Odd and his soul mate Stormy. The love the two of them share with each other is almost palpable at times. I can only describe the dynamic between the characters as fulfilling and most satisfying. In my book, caring about the characters and feeling what they feel conveyed through a film is paramount to anything else. It doesn’t matter how great the effects are or how many explosions you have or how cool the monsters are, if you can’t feel for the leads then the director hasn’t done his job and director Stephen Sommers has accomplished that in spades on Odd Thomas.

The film is shot and directed superbly by Sommers who is known for his big-budget epic films such as The Mummy series, Van Helsing, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. This film doesn’t have near the budget of those other movies but is directed just as well if not better. Everything looks incredible. The CGI creature effects are satisfying for what they are, you have to keep in mind this is not an effects heavy film, it relies on story more than anything. The Bodach creatures are totally CGI, but that’s to be expected, while still being pretty cool and menacing.

The only downside to the film if it is one is that it kind of reminds me of the film The Frighteners, which has a similar storyline, but I feel this one is better. Odd Thomas affected me in a way no film has in a long time, I completely felt for the characters and even shed a tear or two. I realize I’m reviewing a horror film which is light on the horror and heavy on the story, but that’s fine with me for a film as good as this one is. It’s not even an R rated film, there’s no real language, no sex/nudity (although Addison Timlin is a doll), and no bloody gore sequences. Ordinarily I would dislike the film based on these criteria alone but Odd Thomas has something special about it, it’s a love story with a supernatural action storyline. Odd Thomas is so well made and so enveloping that I can’t recommend the film enough. You just plainly need to see this film…enough said.