Movie First Impressions - Odd Thomas

Once in a while, I come across a movie that affects me deeply. It could be character, plot, dialogue, setting, or simply timing. This film is not one I would have intentionally chosen to watch on Netflix, but Mrs. Adorkification saw it and suggested it to me...and became one of those films.

Spoilers after the jump.

You've been warned...I mean it.

The Good: Let's start with some casting. It has...

Chekov from the Star Trek reboot,

Sam Raimi's Green Goblin,

and the LMD's from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

* The writing. I've never read the Dean Koontz books. I didn't even know there were any Dean Koontz books, but this movie feels less like a film than a pilot episode to a series. Which I liked. I'd watch the hell out of this show. If the first season was half as good as this pilot, I'd own it.

* The dialogue. The conversations between Odd and his gal Friday Stormy reminded me of The Thin Man and Moonlighting. They were that good. 

* The characters. Odd can see ghosts, and has somehow developed a relationship with the local sheriff - who knows all about Odd's abilities and uses his position as Chief of Police to oh so slightly manipulate crime scenes to cover up Odd's involvement. Odd often calls the guy (at sometimes awkward moments at home with his wife) to give news or suggest actions, and he willingly leaves his wife behind to follow up on Odd's calls. You'd think this would drive Mrs. Chief of Police crazy, but when the Chief wears a necklace because Odd told him to, and it ends up saving her husband's life, the first thing she does when Odd meets her at the hospital...is hug him, and thank him for saving her husband's life. I cried a little. 

Odd and Stormy (who also knows about Odd's abilities) have known each other since childhood and know that they are destined to be together...so they are. 

Let me make a side note here:

Yes, Stormy is an attractive woman...and wears what I guess is appropriate attire for woman in her early-twenties (in 2013, when this film came out) to wear. But that's not what makes this character so cool:

1) She knows Odd's secret. Most often in films like this the male lead is hiding his gift(s) from his significant other to protect her and/or for fear of losing her if she knew the truth. That's not the case here. She knows what he can do and helps him when she can. Which leads me to... 

2) She's not only accepting of what Odd does, she's right there with him. She even stands up for him at one point, ready for a fight. She's smarter than him in certain ways, which helps him do what he needs to do. 

Looking at both Odd/Stormy and Chief/Mrs. Chief relationships, you have the ideal examples of what male/female relationships should be (with the possible exception of having a Chief/Mr. Chief - where she's the sheriff and he's the spouse - which would also have worked).

Back to the film...

The villains were creepy as hell. Yeah, there was a bit of The Sixth Sense there, but I didn't see it at first. That's a good thing. Their plan was terrifying, and totally believable...which is horrifying.

Then there were the monsters. The bodachs. The fact that they weren't the cause of evil so much as the witnesses of evil was freaky good. Then there's the bit about how if they knew you could see them, they'd kill you. Odd does his best not to look at them, but it's impossible. I tried. 

The Bad: The one thing I hate the most about this film is, unfortunately, the payoff: Stormy's death.
It was necessary, and predictable, and at the time I felt sure it happened, yet was relieved when it didn't, only to learn it did and I was fooled. If I were Odd, I'd never have left the damn apartment. Ever. They'd lock me up and I'd spend the rest of my life in a straight jacket talking to Stormy forever. That's not what happened though. Instead, Odd leaves town and heads to Las Vegas. Why Vegas? Because that's where Stormy suggested they go if they ever left town. Odd didn't want to because that place is filled with evil and death...two things Odd has enough of where he is. But he goes there anyway. And this, above all things, is why I think this was meant to be a series pilot. I can totally see Odd spending the next seven episodic years dealing with one tragedy after another, where his sheriff friend contacts a Vegas colleague to help out from time to time. And don't tell me that even though Stormy has moved on to a nicer place, she wouldn't return to help her partner out. Because that's what they are: Partners. Like all good couples should be.

I highly recommend this film. If you've already seen it, you should see it again. If you haven't seen it yet, and still want to after all the spoilers I've divulged, it's on Netflix.