UP there with pork and porter, horror movies are another Irish export to be proud of.
There was a time when the idea of half decent chillers from the Emerald Isle would have been taken about as seriously as Gaelic rap.
But the proof is in the eating of the pudding, and with Kneecap busy flying the flag for Irish hip-hop, horror fare such as Grabbers, The Hole in the Ground, A Dark Song, and All You Need is Death prove we’re no slouches when it comes to the art of producing bloodcurdling cinema either.
And if you’re still not convinced, check out award-winning film Oddity, directed by Damian McCarthy, which is one of the very finest horror flicks of the year.
The film, which premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh this summer, is now available to enjoy over on Shudder as we head into the witching season.
McCarthy’s film has all the transfixing and contemplative style of Rembrandt’s paintings for its entrancing use of shadow and light. This is a dark and brooding tale of golems and ghouls that will keep you pinned to the edge of your seats.
Oddity is tense and brimming over with atmosphere. It stands on the shoulders of old-school classics that invented the psychological chicanery McCarthy’s film uses to such great effect — films like The Changeling, The Innocents, and Gaslight with hints of art house gem Suspiria thrown in for good measure.
Oddity tells the story of a blind medium who uncovers the truth behind her sister’s death with the help of a frightening wooden mannequin. After Dani is brutally murdered, her blind occultist twin sister Darcy goes after those responsible using inherited haunted items as her tools of revenge.
An engrossing and terrifying tale of supernatural vengeance, this is ominous from start to finish, and is all the proof that’s needed, that we have this horror cráic, well and truly mastered.
(5/5)
