Odd Thomas: He Can See The Dead!

Hello everybody! Today on our New Movie Show we have the supernatural thriller Odd Thomas.

ODD THOMAS

DIRECTOR: Stephen Sommers

STARRING: Anton Yelchin, Willem Dafoe, Addison Timlin, Nico Tortorella

GENRE: Mystery

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: United States

In Pico Mundo, a small town near the desert, fast-food cook Odd Thomas has the ability to see and talk to dead people. He is in love with his girlfriend Stormy Llewellyn and they believe that they are destined to be together forever. Odd Thomas uses his abilities to help the Chief of Police Wyatt Porter to solve murders. When Odd Thomas sees the creepy Fungus Bob Robertson, he is sure that the town is in danger and threatened by the possibility of massive destruction. His further investigation with Stormy discloses that Fungus Bob worships the Prince of Darkness and he is plotting to kill many people in Pico Mundo. Will Odd Thomas and Stormy succeed in avoiding the bloodshed?

On the plus side, Odd Thomas has a fun premise going for it, one that has sustained prolific horror writer Dean Koontz through a six-novel series so far. What’s not to like about a wisecracking, self-denigrating short-order cook keeping the world safe from psycho-killers and satanists? Yelchin is agreeably offbeat and convincingly two-fisted in the role, and Sommers, who’s always had a knack for fast-paced action with a light, comic touch, provides a few entertaining scenes here and there.

The story unfolds in typical mystery fashion, picking up clues, piecing them together. It’s engaging though hardly riveting. What’s more interesting is Odd’s personality and his loving relationship with Stormy. The film has a very surprising emotional wallop in the end.

Unfortunately, the horrific stuff in Odd Thomas seems gorily incompatible with the film’s otherwise breezy screenplay. Speaking of which, there should be some sort of penalty imposed on any movie where snappy repartee makes up more than, say, 63 percent of the dialogue. And quirky voice-over narration? 12.3 percent tops.

PROS:

• Fun Premise
• Main cast performance.
• Few entertaining scenes.

CONS:

• Not pure horror.
• Too much gore for how its written.
• Dialogue.

SCORE: 6.0 / 10

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