Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Odd Thomas’

Written by Scott Edwards

​Some people are given the gift of an additional sight that no one else will truly understand. Being able to see things that are beyond this realm might be a great gift, but it could also be a curse to those who really did not want this ability. For those who will embrace their gifts, no matter how powerful it may be, it is the hope of everyone that this is used for good, rather than causing pain for everyone else.

Odd Thomas is a short order cook in a small California diner. There is nothing unusual about Odd, other than he is able to see dead people, tell their stories and most of the time, find their killers and have them locked up. Working with local law enforcement, Odd has made a name for himself for bringing killers to justice, even when the evidence seems to be thin. Chief Porter knows that Odd is right all of the time but asks the young man with his many talents to let him into the loop sooner than later so more facts can be collected before the apprehensions.  

Odd is in love with Stormy Llewellyn, his soul mate after being told many years ago by a quarter gypsy that the two are destined to be together forever. Stormy and Odd are joined at the hip and even though Odd is known to get himself into trouble quite often, Stormy is the only one that keeps him centered. Odd is able to see when trouble is coming by the appearance of Bodachs, dead creatures the feed off of the pain of the living.  

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​When the Bodachs start showing up in Odd’s town, he knows that there is something very massive on the horizon and needs to find a way to end it before innocent people get killed. Following a man Odd has given the name of Fungus Bob who is being followed by these dead creatures, Odd has to find out why death is following the man. Not being able to put all of the pieces together to figure out what event is coming to town, Odd calls in all of the help he possibly can to follow Fungus Bob before he does something horrific. But when Fungus Bob winds up dead in Odd’s apartment, he finds out that that there is something much more dangerous coming to town than he could have ever expected.

Odd Thomas follows Odd and the love of his life Stormy as they try to discover what terrible event will happen next. Even though Stormy does not have the gifts of seeing the dead as Odd does, she is able to give him guidance when needed. With help from the police chief, Odd gets all of the support that is needed to figure out what the next deathly event will be, but once his prime suspect ends up dead, Odd is left with trying to figure out the town’s fate on his own. Not knowing what to expect, the Bodachs are running rampant through the town and only Odd will be able to stop the event before it happens, if he can figure out what it is.

This is one of those lighthearted films that has enough horror and comedy to keep you glued to your seat. With some of the most entertaining interactions between the characters, this might be one of the stories that you will want to read the books before seeing the movie to make sure that nothing is being left out. This will be a series that I will have to pick up when the time becomes available, however until that time comes this is definitely one of those movies you will need to watch to the end to make sure you get the entire story. Stay Scared.

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