Odd Thomas (2013)

Directed by: Stephen Sommers
Country: USA

Review: Analyzing Stephen Sommers’s career, which is filled with uninteresting high-budgeted films such as ”The Mummy”, “Van Helsing” or “G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra”, I became reluctant to watch “Odd Thomas”. But I’m glad I did it, because this adventure on paranormal, deftly combines thrilling and funny factors to become the most engrossing work in the filmmaker’s career. The film was based on Dean Koontz’s novel with the same name, and stars Anton Yelchin as Odd Thomas, a 20-year-old cook with abilities to communicate with dead people and sense the danger in town, as he sees horrendous ghostly creatures known as Bodachs who appear exclusively in times of imminent death. With the help of his girlfriend Stormy (Addison Timlin) and the chief of the local police (Willem Defoe), the only ones who shared his secret, he will investigate a strange case, which by all indications might lead to a massive killing in a public space. A bad start seemed to put this film at the same level than the ones mentioned above, but the interest grows with the time passing, and “Odd Thomas” becomes solidly entertaining. The humor worked perfectly, the surprising moments were abundant, and the characterization and special effects showed a good taste. And so, with flaws and all, the film surprisingly managed to create positive impact, opinion shared by Koontz himself who said to be pleased with the adaptation of his work.