Year of release 2013
Directed by Stephen Sommers
Written by Stephen Sommers
Dean Koontz (novel)
Starring Anton Yelchin
Addison Timlin
Willem Dafoe
Nico Tortarello
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Odd Thomas ++
Plot - In the small town of Pico Mundo, California lives a very unique individual; an individual fittingly named Odd Thomas (Yelchin). What makes Odd so unique is that he is blessed with the ability to see the spirits of dead people, and he uses this ability to help them achieve peace, usually by bringing those who were criminally responsible to task. There are only two people in his life who know Odd's secret; his girlfriend Stormy (Timlin) and local police chief Wyatt Porter (Dafoe) who helps Odd pit his powers to good use. An additional power at his disposal is his ability to see Bodachs; creatures normally invisible to human eyes who feed on pain and misery and whose appearance warns of impending death and destruction. When more Bodachs begin to show up than he has ever seen before, Odd realises that a truly major catastrophe must be in the offing and that it's up to him to stop it.
When it comes to the cavalcade of directors currently plying their trade in Hollywood, Stephen Sommers is not exactly amongst the most revered or respected. He's certainly not what you'd call an artistic auteur, and he has delivered his share of flops. However he has also proved on a few occasions (
The Mummy and
Deep Rising for example) that he is very capable of delivering films that are just a massive amount of fun. And
Odd Thomas is another that can be added to that list. Well at least in my opinion. Perhaps unsurprisingly it has not been met with a great deal of affection from the critics. I however found it be a very energetic, highly enjoyable little flick. In fact so taken with it was I that towards the end I had become so engaged with it that I found myself getting slightly emotional at the direction the story took.
Given his form in other enterprises it should perhaps come as no real surprise that Sommers is able to deliver a few lively and exciting set-pieces through the film. He also keeps proceedings moving along at a brisk pace, using a few cinematic tricks and CGI for stylish editing and inter-cutting to further enhance the breezy life of the film. His experience in the world of CGI is also put to good use as he impressively handles and incorporates the film's special effects into proceedings. On occasion you can tell from the effects that the film isn't blessed with a massive budget but they are generally well handled and fairly creative. I was particularly taken with the design of the Bodachs; the shadow-like creatures who feed on human suffering, their presence forecasting future death and disaster.
While watching through the film the most obvious comparison that came to mind was definitely Peter Jackson's terrific 1996 film,
The Frighteners. Just like that film,
Odd Thomas details the life of an individual with the ability to see the dead, an ability that alerts him to a major disaster that is about to occur. Also like that film it attempts a blend of horror, action and dark comedy. What I would say though, and it's perhaps the film's main flaw, is that it's unable to balance the shifting tones quite as well as
The Frighteners was able to. There are stretches of the film where it focuses very much on the sweetness of the central romance and on its comedic bent (largely dark but with a touch of the slapstick), while there are other long stretches where the film veers towards the rather dark and grisly. The tonal shifts can occasionally lack a cohesion and feel jarring.
Film Trivia Snippets - For the role of Stormy Llewellyn, several of Hollywood's hottest young things were considered. Amongst them were Lily Collins, Emma Roberts, Kat Dennings and Portia Doubleday. Collins was actually the front-runner but dropped out in favour of doing Mirror Mirror. /// Tim Robbins was originally considered for the role of Chief Porter before Willem Dafoe was cast. /// Originally the film was set to feature a character by the name of Shamus Cocobolo, who is a blind DJ. Sean Combs was considered and 50 Cent was actually cast. He does not feature in the final film however, though it's unclear if he filmed his scenes and they just got left on the cutting room floor or not. /// In Odd's apartment there is a life-size cardboard figure of Elvis Presley that the character talks to on occasion. This is a reference to the original source novels which actually featured the ghost of Elvis as a companion to Odd who would interact and converse with him. When Elvis moved on, the ghost of Frank Sinatra became Odd's new companion. Sinatra has subsequently replaced by Alfred Hitchcock. /// Odd Thomas actually started filming all the way back in May 2011. Filming was halted in June however due to financing problems. Even after filming was completed the film had financial difficulties and became delayed indefinitely in 2013 due to legal action. At one point it was unknown whether it would ever see the light of day.
Anton Yelchin is most famous to cinema audiences for his role as Chekov in J.J. Abrams' rebooted Star Trek series. While he's proven to be quite charming in the role he's been restricted to being little more than a 'funny' accent; nuclear wessels and all that. When he's been given the opportunity however he has been able to show himself to be a very interesting, diverse actor. Whether that be in small little indies or even in big blockbusters such as
Terminator Salvation where I thought he was the best thing about it. He feels like the embodiment of geek chic to me, and he proves to be a terrifically likeable and engaging lead as the eponymous Odd Thomas. In the role of his beloved, Stormy, I imagine that for many viewers Addison Timlin will walk the fine line between adorable and irritating. For me however I would definitely go with insanely adorable, and I just fell in love with Timlin right there and then. Willem Dafoe, in what feels like a very rare 'good guy' role these days, proves to be as watchable and entertaining as ever. In addition there are also a couple of interesting and quirky cameos from Patton Oswalt and Sommers' old
Mummy colleague, Arnold Vosloo.
Odd Thomas had a tough time of it in terms of securing distribution, never really receiving a proper cinematic release. Here in the UK it only got a direct-to-DVD release, while in America a lawsuit substantially delayed the release date (in fact at one point Dean Koontz feared it may never see the light of day) and ensured that its eventual release was extremely limited with no promotion. While I think that's a shame, in a way it actually seems quite fitting as
Odd Thomas very much feels like a direct-to-DVD film, though not necessarily in a bad way. It has a cheap, low-key, offbeat sensibility that offers a great charm. In fact what it actually feels like is the feature-length pilot for a new TV show; and your new favourite TV show at that. Indeed given its strong similarity it could be an apt successor to the oft-lamented “Dead Like Me.”
As someone who hasn't read the Dean Koontz novel on which the film is based I didn't know from the outset where the story was going, and while on reflection it may seem like a standard, by-the-numbers plot, as I watching it constantly kept me on my toes throughout, unsure of where the story was going to go from one moment to the next as it threw in a couple of twists and surprises along the way. In terms of the dialogue, the writing once again evokes the feeling of a TV show. It's that hyper-realistic, self-aware, quippy style of dialogue that pops up every so often in the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Gilmore Girls or Veronica Mars. It's a type of dialogue that may not sound that natural but it can certainly be very creative and highly entertaining.
Up until viewing this film I had absolutely no knowledge of Odd Thomas; the character or the book on which this film is based. Turns out that it's a whole series consisting of 6 novels (soon to be 7), 3 graphic novels and now this film adaptation. It looks like this may be the only screen outing for the character however, and on this evidence I'd say that's a real shame. I think there was potential here for a really fun, pulpy series of films. The film may be a little rough around the edges, but endearingly so I thought.
Conclusion -
Odd Thomas is not a brilliant piece of cinematic craftsmanship. Nor was it ever going to be in contention for any awards. And I'm sure a whole lot of people on here would hate it. However if it's a Friday or Saturday night and you're just looking for something fun to watch (either by yourself or with some friends) along with a few slices of pizza then I'd say this might just fit the bill. It's directed with a lot of energetic flair, features a series of likeable performances (with Yelchina being the stand-out) and I just found it to be quite a blast. Perhaps worth a shot for fans of
The Frighteners, maybe
Men in Black, Buffy, Supernatural, Dead Like Me etc. A future cult favourite? Very possibly.
As this is perhaps not a particularly well known film here's the trailer to help people out
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