Odd Thomas

     Odd Thomas really surprised me.  I've tried a lot of indie films lately and have been really disappointed.  Every-now-and-then one pops out and makes an impression.  Odd Thomas did that for me.  

     I wanted to watch a Horror, or Thriller movie for Halloween.  This show was on Netflix, and it had really high ratings, so I figured I'd give it a try.  I was not disappointing.

     First of all, this is an expensive looking indie film. I'm still a little unsure if it's completely independent or not.  It is an adaptation of a novel series by Dean Koontz.  You can find his novel series on his Amazon author's page here.  

     Odd Thomas is a nervous guy who lives up to his namesake.  He got his name from a mistake on his birth certificate, but the name holds true because he can see dead people.  I know what you're thinking... Sixth sense.  No.  It's nothing like that at all.  His mother had the gift, and passed it down to him, and he uses it to solve crimes. 

     The movie starts with a fairly intense chase scene, when a dead girl leads him to her killer.  He explains the murder in detail to the murderer, and the guy runs.  Odd chases him, and they have a far reaching brawl.  There are some cool effects in the fight scene that have a kind of unique feel to them.  The whole movie carries these types of effects (slow motion in strange places, sped up scenes, and cg where you wouldn't expect it) throughout the show.

     A strange man appears in Odd's little town, and these demon-like creatures that only Odd can see are hanging out all around this guy.  These demon creatures feed on suffering and pain, so Odd knows that something bad is about to go down.

     He works with the chief of police, and his girlfriend, to find out what, why, where, and when it will all happen.  There are a lot of twists, and the end might make you a bit misty-eyed, but there's really nothing scary about the movie.  It's more of a suspense/thriller.

     There are a few profanities in the show, but nothing major.  There is one scene with a girl in her underwear, but for the most part, there's nothing sexual about the movie.  It has a rating of NR, but if it did have a rating, it would be a mild PG-13.

     Anton Yelchin, best known for playing Chekov in Star Trek (2009), was amazing.  His character was so believable that he kind of carried the movie.  I was actually surprised to hear him speak without a heavy Russian accent.  He made Odd a lovable character, and brought you in to his plight from the very first scene.

     Addison Timlin played Odd's girlfriend, Stormy Llewellyn.  Her character was not as believable, and, quite frankly, was a bit cheesy.  She was too supportive of Odd.  I know that that my sound a bit pessimistic, but it was really bad.  Sure, I think every guy would love a woman that devoted to him, but it really came off as almost patronizing.

     William Dafoe played the chief of police.  His role kind of confused me.  I only watched the movie one time, and we were interrupted several times by trick-or-treaters, but I was unsure if he was Odd's dad, or just his mentor.  He was good, as always, and gave a performance that we have come to expect from him.

     Because it was such a pleasant surprise, I give this movie