[FrightFest 2026]: Oddities
Expanding on his 2023 short is Tyler Savage’s Oddities which had its world premiere at this year’s Tubi FrightFest in London. Starring Lilimar and Lovie Simone as two roommates who go on the run after accidentally killing their drug dealer. When they seek shelter in a roadside antiques shop, they soon realise they are in a hell of a lot more trouble than they could ever imagine.
Two best friends spend their days hustling to pay their rent and their nights partying, experimenting with drugs. After being invited to a party with their drug dealer, one of the roommates is assaulted by the dealer, leading to the two young women accidentally killing him. When they steal his car for a quick getaway, they discover they have also stolen a whole lot of drugs, and so they must find a quick escape route whilst other drug dealers are in hot pursuit. Driving through the isolated countryside, they come across a roadside antiques shop housed in an old barn and run by a seemingly friendly woman (played by horror legend Adrienne Barbeau). The two soon discover however, that the woman isn’t as sweet as she seems, and they find themselves trapped in a horrifying life or death situation.
The cinematic horror stage has seen this set-up a million times before, headed by the classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1973, where a group of young unassuming people stumble across hillbilly locals in an isolated countryside, and find themselves facing a terrible and violent fate. Savage’s Oddities seeks to bring that situation into modern day, with Gen Z sensibilities, combined with a cosmical horror. Unfortunately, Oddities doesn’t quite grasp the grittiness or grim reality that makes films like Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece both horrifying and appealing, instead choosing to stick with the slick shininess of Generation Z, and glossing over just how terrible a situation this would truly be for two young women who can’t help but stumble further down into the depths of hell and despair.
On a more positive note, Adrienne Barbeau shines as the roughened antique shop owner, forced to sacrifice others in order to save her world from an ancient evil, and seems to delight in the role. Despite some impressive gore set pieces, unfortunately Oddities just falls short of making any sort of impact other than maybe a potential gateway film for younger horror audiences discovering the horror subgenre of hicksploitation.
2.5 Screams out of 5
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