Odd Thomas (2013)

Plot of Odd Thomas: Odd is a young chef in the local diner, in a desert town. He can see ghosts of people and strange semi-transparent entities which he calls bodachs. The bodachs feed on misery and distress, and so will do their best to promote problems in the community. Odd is friendly with the chief of police and tells him about any signs he gets of future distress, or what he has found out about current crimes. Central to his activities is a young female ghost who had helped him, and also the presence of a strange looking man who Odd names ‘Fungus Bob’. Fungus Bob has an adobe house outside the town which is full of bodaches and the police are on to him, until his body is found in Odd’s bath. He has been dead for some time. Odd has a girlfriend, Stormy who is at risk when masked villains attack the mall.

Content: The police chief and his wife are seen in bed, but their activities keep being interrupted. Some beer is drunk. Odd often sees ghosts. Not all of them are threatening however the bodaches, semi-transparent flying figures are particularly unpleasant. Odd is alternately chasing and being chased by Fungus Bob and unknown masked figures intend to do harm to the population of the town, at one point shooting the police chief almost mortally. Things come to a head when the mall is shot up by the masked gunmen, and Stormy in the ice-cream parlour is at risk. She survives – or does she?

A View: The author of the book really liked the film, and you cannot get a better recommendation than that. They usually hate the on screen versions of their work. There were court cases relating to it, which seem to indicate that it received no publicity, possibly resulting in it losing a lot of money. But it rolls along allowing us to find out the extent of Odd’s powers and what he can do with them. The attractive actors do pretty well with the plot. The only thing I would say about it is that parents of young children should heed the censor’s ratings. It could be frightening for some.

Fun Fact:  The book was by far Dean Koonz’s best selling work.