Contending with the fear of being alone in an isolated house, as well as the philosophical question of what comes after death, is a gripping motivator for the protagonists of any genre film. That’s certainly the case for the main characters of the new supernatural horror thriller, ‘Oddity.’
The character-driven psychological revenge movie was written and directed by Damian McCarthy. The revenge haunted house drama stars Carolyn Bracken, Gwilym Lee, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Jonathan French and Steve Wall.
IFC Films is releasing ‘Oddity’ in theaters today, Friday, July 19. The thriller’s official distribution comes after it won the Midnighter Audience Award at SXSW and the Audience Award – Feature Film at the Overlook Film Festival this past spring.
In ‘Oddity,’ Dani (Bracken) is brutally murdered at the remote country house that she and her husband Ted (Lee) are renovating. After her death, the prime suspect is a patient from the local mental health institution, where Ted works as a doctor. However, soon after the tragic killing, the suspect is found dead.
A year later, Dani’s blind twin sister Darcy, a self-proclaimed psychic and collector of cursed items, pays an unexpected visit to Ted and his new girlfriend, Yana (Menton). Convinced that there was more to her sister’s murder than people know, Darcy has brought with her the most dangerous items from her cursed collection to help her exact revenge, including a life-size wooden mannequin.
Bracken and Lee generously took the time last week to talk about starring in ‘Oddity’ during an exclusive interview over Zoom. Among other things, the performers discussed that they were both drawn to the intriguing aspects of their characters, and that they relished the opportunity to work together, as well as with McCarthy, to develop their roles.
Film Factual (FF): Gwilym, you play Ted, and Carolyn, you play the twin sisters of Darcy and Dani, in the new horror thriller, ‘Oddity.’ What was it about the characters, as well as the overall script, that convinced you to star in the film?
Carolyn Bracken (CB): I suppose the first step for me was reading the script. I read it in one sitting and enjoyed it. I was also a bit unsettled by it, though.
I was lucky enough to be able to meet Damian, the writer-director, and chat with him and get to know him. After doing so, I felt that I would be in very safe hands by taking on the roles of Darcy and Dani.
So what attracted me to the project was its story. I also liked the challenge of being able to take on dual roles and see how that would go.
Gwilym Lee (GL): I also read the script and was freaked out and scared by it. So I thought that was a very good sign – just reading the words on the page was very effective.
I was also able to chat with Damian. During that conversation with him, I realized he’s an expert in his field and really understands the genre inside out.
I’ve never done a horror film. So I was keen to try that and work in this space and play an unsavory, sinister role that I’ve never really played before. So it was a lot of firsts, really.
FF: Speaking of working with Damian McCarthy as the drama’s scribe and helmer, what were your experiences like collaborating with him on the set throughout the production?
CB: He’s such a scholar of horror, but also has such a relaxed energy. That filtered through to everyone. So it was a really pleasant set to be on. Considering this is a horror film, it was a light and fun set to be on.
I think that was in large part due to Damian. He just seemed very chill and in control of the world around him that he had built.
He was also very open to discussing things on the go. If something popped up that you needed clarity on, he was very collaborative and had a very relaxed energy. You felt very safe with him, and knew that you were in very safe hands with him every day. So working with him was a pleasure.
FF: Once you both signed on to star in ‘Oddity,’ what was your experience collaborating together to craft your characters of Ted and Darcy together?
CB: We had a few long chats with Damian, in terms of building the relationship between Ted and Darcy, and of course, Ted and Dani, as well. But it’s Ted and Darcy who we see interacting for the most part. So we figured out a few things there, but we found a lot of it within the performances
But speaking from Darcy’s perspective, Ted, at the beginning of the story, is her last link to Dani. I think she holds him in high esteem, and she has a lot of love for him. But that quickly changes, which was an interesting to explore as Darcy. I found the knowledge she learns, and what she needs to disguise in order to get back into that house and do what’s on her agenda to be very interesting.
CL: There are scenes between Ted and Darci that I really relished. To me, that’s the nub of the film – the supernatural versus the skeptic views are so interesting. Ted underestimates Darci’s power, so it was quite fun to see him become undone in those interactions.
FF: Carolyn, what was your experience like of playing both of the twin sisters of Darci and Dani in ‘Oddity?’
CB: When I read the script, I loved the challenge of it. But after I got the roles, I became scared very quickly. I was wondering how I‘d pull it off. But I learned very quickly that I wasn’t alone, and didn’t have to figure it out on my own.
Damian had already established two very different women. But it also made sense on the page that they were sisters. So I felt like I was in safe hands.
The main focus for me, in terms of their relationship, was finding the heart between the two of them – the fierce love and loyalty. That needed to be there and be established in order for Darci’s actions to make sense throughout the remainder of the film.
So creating the dynamic between the two sisters was an important starting point for me. We don’t really see them together throughout the story. So being able to authentically have in the background the fact that these two women really loved each other, even though we don’t really see it demonstrated, was so important.
FF: Carolyn, you have several scenes with the mannequin as Darci. What is the experience of working with the prop like on set?
CB: It was quite fun. We’ve been asked quite a lot if we were terrified of the wooden man when he made his appearance. He was a very ominous presence on set.
But I found that with the Darci character, she’s so endeared to him. There’s this strange, unsettling connection between the two of them.
I also found that just having the mannequin there on set, hanging out at the end of the table, really helped me develop and explore these different ideas of how they interact. It also helped me develop how comfortable she is in his presence because it’s just very strange. It’s just this enormous object that’s the big elephant in the room. But she’s so utterly comfortable with it being there.
But I found it to be great to have him there – it helped flush out their dynamic. He really is a standout character in this story.
FF: The movie is set in the remote country house that Ted and Dani shared, as well as the local mental health institution where he works as a doctor. What were your experiences like of shooting the thriller on location?
GL: The house was a gift of a location. It was very atmospheric. It’s a real, incredibly beautiful building in the west of Cork. Since it’s a 360-degree space, it’s not like being on a set, where you have to imagine having a fourth wall. The building has these thick stone walls and dark corners that immediately make you feel a certain way.
The hospital, meanwhile, was a bleak idea of a psychiatric unit. That was a very conscious decision in the design on the film – to make it a slightly timeless setting. I think Damian was keen on not having too much technology or modern things in the film.
So it was great that the hospital felt as though it’s from a different era and time. It felt more like ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ than a current day psychiatric unit. So that had a creepiness to it, as well. Overall, it was beautifully designed.
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