10 TERRIFYING Horror Movie Openings (That Led To Disappointing Movies)
9. Oddity
Oddity is a decent movie that could’ve been great had it maintained the macabre simplicity and relatability of its moody home invasion jumping-off point.
The segment centers on Dani, a woman who’s married to psychiatrist Ted, as she spends a night alone at the couple’s new house. Suddenly, an ominous man named Olin comes knocking and asks to come in and protect Dani from someone else who’s snuck in. Dani remains indecisive as Oddity cuts to its title card.
It’s a subtly tense and menacing example of creative mastermind Damian McCarthy’s talents, and it retroactively gets creepier once audiences learn that Dani was subsequently murdered in her home.
It wasn’t Olin who did it, though, but rather one of Ted’s other patients – Ivan – at the behest of Ted so that Ted could start a new life with his girlfriend, Yana, without having to divorce Dani. Naturally, Dani’s clairvoyant sister Darcy knew of Ted’s involvement, so he kills Darcy as well.
In the final scene, we see that Darcy sent Ted a cursed object that’ll haunt him forevermore.
All of that could’ve worked well if it wasn’t executed so sluggishly, convolutedly, and formulaically, with major reveals that were blatantly obvious, not only because Ted always seemed suspicious but also because they’d already been done in countless other properties.