I really appreciate the nuance in being able to enjoy a movie while still being able to criticise it.

I loved Hokum, but when you recounted the plot of the film I could see where you were going with it. It sounds like actually the agency issue is bigger in Hokum than it is in Oddity - the men make things happen, whereas women just have (shitty) things happen to them.

The "woman jumpscare" thing pays off BRILLIANTLY in Caveat- I won't spoil it- but you could perhaps make an argument that as it was so successful in his first film that he's carried it on through the rest...

I was underwhelmed by both films. I am tired of "all vibes" horror films. Thank you for this video!

Watching your videos has made me want to watch movies again after not sitting and watching any for over a year.  Thank you!

I appreciate these takes

Thank you! I have been saying all of this so much since Hokum came out. You are the first person I have ever found that was always saying this! I liked Caveat and Oddity, but I had to draw the line at Hokum because of all of this. You REALLY should have seen Caveat before making this video though so you could have all the puzzle pieces. Would have loved to know your thoughts on it since it also has these problems. Caveat is definitely his scariest film and I highly recommend it.

Thanks for the share ! I need to see this movie. Anyway. I'm curious😮.

I love all his films but i agree with you

4:14 now I am Damien 😂

You need to watch Caveat, you will love it and the plot involves a dead mother and her narcoleptic daughter 😆 plus the hare appears in all 3 films, love this film maker!

Great take and makes me want to watch it again. I was able to see it in the theater and I loved it. Its also refreshing to hear that you have the same take away from Promising Young Woman. I hated that ending so much.

Hokum, for me, was “it would be a great horror film for people who have not yet seen too many horror films. But as someone who has seen a lot of horror films, it was very by the numbers and predictable.” Although the scene with the witch in the room was very well done. My favorite part was the unexpected opportunity to have my knowledge of Gaeilge tested by the handful of Irish words used

You will have the same issues with Caveat, but it also quite terrifying using a similar device.

I had no idea caveat + oddity + hokum were the same director! You've noticed a trend, for sure. I'll be more skeptical of the next, but I did enjoy Hokum the most.

SPOILERS:

Didn't fiona have the chalk in the dumbwaiter? didn't she draw a line before she died? I assumed that she protected herself from the witch but died of starvation or the drugging? or maybe mal came back while she was weak and strangled her, leaving her there for a safer time to move. I saw this in like February so I could be misremembering, but that was my take. I'll have to re-watch!

This is an iteration of the Woman in Refrigerators trope.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_refrigerators
Also reminds me of the "girlfriend/wife cheats to start the man's journey" plotline. Once you see it, it's tough to unsee. Like when you notice that almost all coffee cups in film and TV are very obviously empty. For my wife, it's "loose clothing and large handbags to hide the actresses pregnancy" thing. She can spot that in an instant!

Great analysis. Given your argument, I’m not sure you’ll like Caveat, his first film. You MIGHT because there is a female character who takes action, but it’s still largely a story about men, I would say. Still, deadly unsettling like his other films. I’d be curious to see what you think of it.

I was under the impression that Mal did kill Fiona, not the witch. I feel like it might be a spoiler to explain why I think that, but the fact that she’s still in the dumbwaiter is part of it. Not that that changes your overarching point, which I think, unfortunately, is true.

I actually liked the ending of Oddity. Darcy had explained that she would “have to pay” for sending the golem to kill a man who was not the actual murderer of her sister, so I saw her death as part of that karmic price for killing an innocent man and less about the husband’s agency. I very much WOULD have liked Darcy to survive, though. But the doorman’s bell arriving after the main events of the plot felt like a final checkmate that she initiated before her death and so not from beyond the grave and an example of her strategic thinking while living. She knew she would die and thus ensured that if the golem didn’t kill the husband, he would nevertheless end up dead. It was also such a nice callback to the beginning of the film that I enjoyed the circularity of the plot at that moment. But, still, yes—I wish Darcy didn’t have to die.

Thanks for a great video!

another issue I had with Oddity was the pacing; I actually thought it would have worked better as a short film, which is a reaction I don't usually have. But so much of Oddity just seemed like filler to me, and you could tell the same story just as, if not more effectively, in 15-20 minutes rather than 90.