Interview with ODDITY’s Writer / Director Damian Mc Carthy

I can't recommend Oddity enough to Daily Dead readers. From writer / director Damian Mc Carthy the film plays like an Amicus horror film segment, with excellent acting, and enough scares to keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. I had the chance to talk with Damian Mc Carthy, who spoke about his love of horror, and the making of the film:

I loved Oddity and it's very clear from watching the film how much you love the horror genre. Can you talk about your early experiences watching horror movies?

Damian Mc Carthy: My parents had a VHS store when I was growing up, so I was always in the horror section. My dad was a big horror fan, so he was always showing me '80s movies, like Poltergeist and Alien. So that's where the love of it began, and I just wanted to know more about it, and to get into it myself, so I started writing, and eventually just wanting to direct my own films.

What was it about the story of Oddity that made you want to make it your next feature?

Damian Mc Carthy: It was a mix of these different genres that I really liked. It's a bit of a slasher and a bit of a supernatural film. I was [hoping that if] somebody was settling into it, but they didn't find supernatural or ghost stories scary, you could hit them with quite a surprise slasher movie-like sequence in it. I wanted to mix all these things that I really loved into one ultimate scary film.

Have you always had a fascination with oddity shops and haunted objects?

Damian Mc Carthy: I've always been somebody that loved going to old antique shops, looking at all the strange old things, and wondering what the story behind these items was. I've always liked the idea of an item that's haunted. I think of the Nicolas Roeg movie, The Witches, with that painting that the little girl is trapped in. It's almost like this haunted painting. When you have an object, but it's cursed or haunted, what you can do with that narratively is endless. Even in our film, we have a hotel desk bell that's haunted by a bellboy that hated his job. You could take any object and just make up something about it. I love to write, so when I'm writing, it's just a lot of fun to let your imagination just go, "Oh yeah, how do I make this inanimate thing creepy?"

I really love the concept and the design of this life-size figure. I saw it in person at the Overlook Film Festival, and it's terrifying to see it right in front of you. Can you talk about the design process?

Damian Mc Carthy: In terms of the story, I knew that he was going to sit there for the entire movie and not really do much, but still somehow be this kind of central figure of horror in the film. So I knew he had to look imposing, out of place, and with him always looking like he was very tortured or in pain. So I had my ideas and kind of what I'd like it to look like, but it very much came down to Paul McDonald, a designer here in Ireland. We didn't have a whole lot of time to do it, so it became very much about trying to design this all in real-time over Zoom, with me watching him sculpt this thing and put it together.

The home was also an excellent choice that added a whole other level of creepiness to the film. How did you settle on that location in particular?

Damian Mc Carthy: I know the family that lives in the home. It's renovated stables at the back and I just loved this big open room. I knew I wanted to make a haunted house movie, and it's just this location, and I thought, "Well, the whole film's set in one location, and everything's going to happen here, so the room would have to be as interesting as possible." I was just very lucky that they said yes, because I don't think I would've found anything as interesting as that room. It's just a strange, odd layout to it, and kind of an odd use of space in the room as well, and very open. Then, depending on how you've shot it, you could start quite open, and then, as the film goes along, get more and more claustrophobic with your camera when you're dealing with the characters.

Carolyn Bracken was excellent in the dual roles, playing Darcy and Dani. What was your experience with her on set?

Damian Mc Carthy: I had seen Carolyn in You Are Not My Mother and I thought she was great. I got her the script, and she had a really good take on both characters, and how to do it. When she was playing Dani, she was quite light, and on the day, you could see that she was trying to keep herself a little bit more loose, and more chatty, and there's something kind of more maybe fun about her. Then, when she was playing Darcy, you could see that she felt like she was more on her mind, not in a method acting way, but it was a different approach to it, because every scene that Darcy's in, she's up to something. She's fantastic and I was very lucky with all of the cast.

What was your experience seeing the film with an audience? I know it's been getting quite a bit of buzz on the festival circuit and now people have had a chance to see it in theaters across the US.

Damian Mc Carthy: Relieved, for sure. I'm absolutely delighted that people are enjoying it. You make these things in a little bit of a bubble. The first time I got to see the finished film with an audience at South by Southwest was amazing. I couldn't believe the response to it when we saw people were laughing or screaming. It was really fun for me to watch it with the crowd. I didn't think the film would play as well to a crowd as it had done. The film is quieter and scary, but it's just the fact that there is that buildup of tension and those more prolonged scenes seemed to play really well in a crowded room. So, yeah, it's been fantastic. I'm absolutely delighted with it.

Oddity is now in theaters from IFC Films