By: Lindsay Morrison
| The film Odd Thomas is an adaptation of the Dean Koontz book by the same name. Odd Thomas (his mother says it was a mix up on the birth certificate however his father insists his name was always Odd) is a fry cook living in Pico Mundo. He also happens to be clairvoyant and works with the local Police Chief on homicide cases.  The dead always find a way to contact Odd, by non-verbal means, to show who killed them, and Odd works to bring their killers to justice. Odd has a girlfriend named Stormy, whom, according to a quarter fortune teller; he is destined to be with forever. Stormy and Odd understand each other completely and their love is solid. The movie represents this in such a way that you indeed want them to fulfill the prophecy. I didn’t want to compare this film to the book, but I feel it is important to do some comparisons. I am a fan of the Odd Thomas book series. It displays wonderful wit, has a great cast of characters, and it knows how to portray suspense while still maintaining humor. The books get big thumbs up from me.  The movie starts off with fast paced action that was rough. It took me a good half an hour of continued watching of the film to get over how fast and how much action was presented. The special effects used in this movie also really leave something to be desired. The bad special effects, combined with how different the beginning of the film was compared to the book, left me a little disappointed. After the beginning, it is easier to pick up similarities to the book.  Odd is working at the diner; his cast of friends is present with wit, banter, adding into the premise of the story. Odd sees Bodachs (The Bodachs, are present when someone is going to die, very reminiscent of the Graveling in the television show, Dead Like Me) and an interesting character named Fungus Bob come in. Odd sees these entities whenever someone if going to die, and there are more of the creatures than he has ever seen in one place. There is going to be a massacre at foot. | Rating: Unrated Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Horror, Thriller Directed: Stephen Sommers Runtime: 1 hr. 36 min. Cast · Anton Yelchin as Odd Thomas · Willem Dafoe as Wyatt Porter · Addison Timlin as Stormy Llewellyn · Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Viola · Nico Tortorella as Simon Varner · Shuler Hensley as Fungus Bob · Kyle McKeever as Officer Bern Eckles |
Fungus Bob gets his name because he has a strange growth on his head. He acts very odd (not Odd Thomas, odd). With all the Bodachs around, Odd suspects he is the cause of the upcoming upheaval in the desert town. Naturally, he begins his sleuthing, following Fungus Bob to a home and experiences a fantastic entity consuming the home.
As the movie progresses, wit and humor are aplenty, though it is often the same wit and humor recycled over and over again. He is an Odd one as we have come to know very well. As appreciated as the humor is, they should have toned it down. Midway through the movie the humor finally found its ground, in fact, midway through, everything found its ground and the movie became fairly solid. The suspense in this move was executed very well. It has an accurate build up and throughout the movie the suspense never gets old. The actor playing Odd, Anton Yelchin, could not have been a better pick for the role, and William Dafoe as the police chief was also fantastic pick. The cast in general was pretty solid and made the fantasy story believable.
After watching it I found myself wanting to revisit Pico Mundo. The rough start aside, this is a good film. Even though they pushed it through quickly, the story is solid, and they did have an entire book to condense into hour and a half of cinematic fun. The movie also stayed true to the book, with exception to the beginning.
All around this was a good film. The special effects were not the best, but the movie accurately portrayed Odd, his clan and the world he lives in. If you are a Dean Koontz fan, this should be right up your alley. If you are a fan of whimsical horror/sci-fi, this is for you. This is a movie that I could watch multiple times, and I recommend it for fans.
As the movie progresses, wit and humor are aplenty, though it is often the same wit and humor recycled over and over again. He is an Odd one as we have come to know very well. As appreciated as the humor is, they should have toned it down. Midway through the movie the humor finally found its ground, in fact, midway through, everything found its ground and the movie became fairly solid. The suspense in this move was executed very well. It has an accurate build up and throughout the movie the suspense never gets old. The actor playing Odd, Anton Yelchin, could not have been a better pick for the role, and William Dafoe as the police chief was also fantastic pick. The cast in general was pretty solid and made the fantasy story believable.
After watching it I found myself wanting to revisit Pico Mundo. The rough start aside, this is a good film. Even though they pushed it through quickly, the story is solid, and they did have an entire book to condense into hour and a half of cinematic fun. The movie also stayed true to the book, with exception to the beginning.
All around this was a good film. The special effects were not the best, but the movie accurately portrayed Odd, his clan and the world he lives in. If you are a Dean Koontz fan, this should be right up your alley. If you are a fan of whimsical horror/sci-fi, this is for you. This is a movie that I could watch multiple times, and I recommend it for fans.
© 2014 Lindsay Morrison
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