Small-town fry cook Odd Thomas (Anton Yelchin) is an ordinary guy with a paranormal secret: he sees dead people, everywhere. When a creepy stranger shows-up with an entourage of ghostly bodachs - predators who feed on pain and portend mass destruction - Odd knows that his town is in serious trouble. Teaming up with his sweetheart Stormy (Addison Timlin) and the local sheriff (Willem Dafoe), Odd plunges into an epic battle of good vs evil to try to stop a disaster of apocalyptic proportions. Based on the best-selling thriller by Dean Koontz. Written by
a href="/search/title?plot_author=PR&view=simple&sort=alpha&ref_=tt_stry_pl"
>PR

Plot Synopsis:
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Odd Thomas (Yelchin) lives in a small town in California called Pico Mundo. His morning of August 14 begins with him coming out of his apartment, and meeting the ghost of a teenage girl named Penny Kallisto, who silently leads him to a street, where Harlo Landerson rolls his SS Chevelle convertible beside Odd and says hello. Odd immediately pulls the keys out of the ignition and accuses Harlo of raping and murdering Penny, noting two pieces of white felt from the victim that Harlo apparently has in his pocket. Harlo flees and Odd gives chase, with the chase culminating inside a child's room in a stranger's house. Harlo and Odd have a fistfight and Odd knocks Harlo unconscious. Odd waits on the scene and meets with his friend, police chief Wyatt Porter (Dafoe), who knows somewhat of Odd's psychic gifts and promises to spin the story to keep public attention away from Odd, as Odd does not want that attention. In his narration, he says, "I see dead people, but then, by God, I do something about it".

On his way home, Odd encounters a group of faceless people wearing red and black bowling shirts who cry out to him to save them. As the vision progresses, a faceless gunman shoots them all, including Odd. He wakes up disturbed and heads to his job as a short-order cook, where he ends up serving lunch to a strange man (Hensley) with a haircut that resembles some kind of mold. But more disturbing is his entourage of dozens of bodachs, invisible (except to Odd) creatures that feed on evil and carnage.

After his shift, Odd speaks to Viola Peabody (Mbatha-Raw), who works at the diner with him. She recounts a strange dream in which she saw herself shot dead with another man. Odd asks what the man was wearing, and Viola describes the red and black bowling shirts from Odd's vision. Odd uses his psychic magnetism to find the disturbing man from the diner, leading him to the mall where Stormy works at an ice cream shop. He then borrows Stormy's scooter to follow Fungus Man home, breaking into the house after he leaves. Odd finds an ashtray with several brands of cigarette butts in it, revealing that Fungus Man has friends. He also learns that the man's real name is Bob Robertson, leading to his and Stormy's referring to him as "Fungus Bob."

Odd finds files containing clippings about various mass murderers, arranged by name. In Robertson's file, he only finds a blank calendar page for August 15, leading Odd to realize that something bad will happen within the next day. One of Bob's friends returns to the house, scaring Odd off, though Odd does not get a look at him.

Odd reports on Robertson to Chief Wyatt Porter, who asks his new deputies, Varner and Eckles, to put a watch on Fungus Bob. Odd then meets Stormy for dinner in the belfry of St. Barthlomew's Church, but when Odd sees Fungus Bob approaching, they flee to the sacristy and subsequently escape the church only to hear Robertson destroying the sacristy. Stormy calls Chief Porter, who finds the church trashed but with no physical evidence to link it to Robertson.

Psychic magnetism then leads Odd and Stormy to Green Moon Bowling, where Odd realizes that the black and red uniforms originate there. Chief Porter sends Officer Simon Varner (Tortorella) to keep an eye on the place on Odd's advice. Varner asks Odd about Bob Robertson and is surprised to learn that Odd had encountered him only a few hours ago. As he presses Odd for more information, Stormy intervenes and asks Varner about his tattoo, which reads "POD." He explains that it is a remnant of a former wasted youth and represents a crude obscenity he won't repeat.

Odd and Stormy then visit Viola to get more details on her dream. She describes the events in vague detail, including descriptions of crowd noise, old-fashioned music, and rushing water. Viola then realizes that she and the man in the red and black shirts were not the only victims of the shooting, but rather a large group of people. Odd goes to check on Vi's daughters and discovers bodachs hovering over them. He instructs Viola to leave town, telling no one of her itinerary.

Driving home, Stormy is overcome with fear for Odd's safety. He pulls over to comfort her, only to hear a woman screaming. He runs to her aid, only to find that she's been mauled to death by dogs he had seen earlier at Robertson's home. At the scene, a man had apparently tried to rescue her by shooting the dogs, but was too late to save her. The dead woman is Lysette, who was being fixed up with officer Eckles by Chief Porter and his wife Karla.

Odd and Stormy return to her apartment and Odd notices a van watching the building. Realizing that Stormy will be safe, Odd sneaks out and returns to his apartment only to find a gun on his floor and the dead body (gunshot to the chest) of Fungus Bob in his bathtub. He realizes someone is attempting to frame him for murder, and that if he reports anything to the police, Chief Porter would be forced to arrest him, preventing him from intervening in the next day's disaster. Odd notices that Fungus Bob is cold and stiff, indicating he's been dead for quite some time and deduces that the encounter at the church was with the dead man's restless spirit.

Wrapping the body in sheets, Odd then takes the dead man to an abandoned restaurant/prison/church and leaves him in the empty gas chamber. As he drives back through town, he notices hundreds of bodachs swarming, indicating the scale of the coming events.

Meanwhile, Chief Porter is shot in the chest at his home. Odd rushes to the hospital, where he discovers that a gift he had given the Chief, a steel medallion made by Ozzie (Oswalt), has saved his life, though his condition is still serious. Odd attempts to persuade Stormy to not go to work, but she insists on going. Odd then returns to Fungus Bob's home and finds evidence for the purchase of a moving van and improvised explosives, as well as websites for Satanism. He also encounters the angry lingering spirit of Robertson, who goes into poltergiest mode, destroying the house as Odd escapes.

Fearing he's missed an important detail, Odd is drawn to investigate the bullet wound in Fungus Bob's chest, where he finds a tattoo reading "POD." He makes the connection to Officer Varner and realizes that POD is an initialism for "Prince of Darkness." Odd realizes that his discovery of Robertson had led to his co-conspirators eliminating him.

Odd's psychic magnetism then draws him to the loading dock at the mall, where he grabs a baseball bat just in time to disable Eckles with a blow to the face, though only after he had killed the members of mall security. Odd notices that Eckles has his police uniform on under his tactical gear, showing how he had planned to escape.

Odd takes Eckles's pistol and seeks out Varner, only to hear screams from the end of the mall where Stormy works. He hurries to confront the gunman and is able to kill him with the pistol. He fears for Stormy's safety but sees her emerge from behind the counter at the ice cream shop, only to then realize the trouble isn't over when the lingering spirit of Lysette appears and directs him back to the loading dock. Odd removes the gunman's mask and recognizes the man as the one who had killed the dogs earlier and who had initially frightened him off from Robertson's house.

Realizing Varner is still on the loose, Odd rushes to the loading dock where he discovers a moving van packed with explosives. The plan had been to herd people to that end of the mall and then detonate the explosives, killing hundreds.

As he investigates the bombs, Odd is shot by Officer Varner but manages to start the van and drive it away from the mall. Varner clings to the outside of the van and attempts to kill Odd, who jumps from the van in time for it to crash into a drainage ditch and detonate spectacularly.

Odd wakes in the hospital to find Stormy attending him. Viola and Karla come in to greet him and inform him that Chief Porter has pulled through. Odd is a local hero and retreats to Stormy's apartment, apparently enjoying spending uninterrupted time with her for an extended period. Chief Porter, his wife, and Viola finally come and snap him out of his delusion, whereupon he learns that Stormy is in fact dead and he has been spending time with her lingering spirit. He breaks down, and Porter, realizing that Stormy is staying in this world only for Odd, admonishes him to let her go. Odd bids her a tearful farewell, promising her that they'll be reunited one day.

Odd then sets off for Las Vegas, where he realizes he has a lot of work to do before he can be worthy of going on to the next life with Stormy.

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Robin Thompson Duehring
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Odd Thomas was a solid movie and it was indeed an enjoyable watch. I'm a pretty big fan of the Odd Thomas books. As with any novel turned into a movie there was much of the finer details left out and a few that were never there added in. I feel they did a fair job of capturing Odd's character. I do feel the chemistry between Odd and Stormy was a bit off. I'm not sure if this was due to the casting ,acting or direction. Or the fact that so much about her character was left out. But it felt more juvenile rather than deep love of your life love. I can't help but wonder if they had given it a slightly bigger budget and focused more on some of the other characters and their stories, it would have been a great movie, instead of merely a good one.

In the book we get a lot more ghostly communication between Odd and a very diverse and interesting collection of ghosts, including Elvis. I would have loved to see more of this in the movie, as I feel it really helps the viewer/reader understand the world of the dead and how it impacts the living world and Odd himself. One of the most interesting characters in the books is his strange friend Little Ozzie and his cat, Ozzie has 6 fingers on his left hand, writes detective novels and knows about Odds unusual powers as does the Sheriff. Of course Stormy is the only one who knows everything about Odd.

I gave Odd Thomas a 7 out 10 - It's a good solid movie and a fun watch. I'd love to see it made into a T.V. series. I think that way you could get the in-depth character development and plot lines you have in the books.

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johnathan smith from United States
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Firstly, I am a huge Koontz fan and a huge Odd Thomas fan. I've been waiting years for this movie so my expectations were pretty high. I'm sure that figures into my analysis of the movie, as I have been largely let down by adaptations from novels in the past. That being said...

Overall, good movie, good adaptation. Moving a story from a book to a movie always presents problems; always there will be portions of the story and significant nuances left out. This is no exception. The casting of Odd was very good. Yelchin did a fantastic job capturing the strong albeit naive nature of Odd. I was skeptical about Timlin as Stormy, but she not only pulled it off but, in my mind, perfectly captured Stormy. I will no longer be able to think of Stormy without seeing her face. I wish we could have seen more interaction between Odd and Ozzie; in the books this is a very important relationship for Odd. Also, in the books, Ozzie is 350 or so pounds and Oswalt is considerably smaller. That being said, I think his size in the books is more of a testament to his larger-than-life character and less about his physical size, which I believe, given the chance, Oswalt would have perfectly captured. He is a largely underrated actor.

As for the story, it sticks to the book even though there are a few things left out. It would have been nice to know more of Odd's background but it would have unnecessarily stretched the movie out. Well told, with appropriate use of flashbacks, and good use (and not overuse) of narration, just as in the books. One thing I really enjoy about Odd Thomas books is the quick-paced, quick-whited dialogue. I've rarely read another author that could match Koontz in this aspect. This was transferred to the big screen very well.

As I said, I've been waiting for this movie for a while and whereas I wish they'd done it as an eight hour miniseries and captured every nuance of the book, this was a superb adaptation and an excellent movie. I really hope they make more because Odd's adventures keep getting better.

8 of 10

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crystal_gordon11 from Pasadena, CA
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So, much to my surprise, I enjoyed this one. I was skeptical before viewing because of the log line but it really took me on a ride. It was funny, sweet, sad, a bit scary, and had action. The mystery kept me engaged and the love story was so sweet but not sappy at the same time. The dialogue was great. I think Stephen Sommers did an outstanding job on the screenplay. Not to mention, he also directed and produced it. Kudos to him. I was shocked and impressed. I actually wasn't expecting the last plot twist. I didn't think so many elements could come together in one film and create harmony but it did. The genre says mystery/thriller but I think mystery/romance/comedy/thriller/action would be better suited. Go watch it.

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steventot from Slovakia
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I will start with a recommendation: "go watch it". This movie is definitely worth seeing. I did not red the book , and this movie truly surprised me. The movie unfolds very dynamically. It is not a slow paced movie for sure. The story is also very interesting containing just enough elements to surprise and entertain at the same time. The ending is also done very nicely. The effects are not the best ever seen , but sufficient. The acting was also very good. I admit some of the characters felt a bit dull , not really believable. In a nutshell , go watch it and be amazed how good a movie can turn out even if you never heard of it.

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johnstonlehane from United Kingdom
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Well I have read every book of Odd Thomas and I was worried about the movie adaptation , well I needn't of worried , it was fun great chemistry with the main actors , Willem Dafoe great as usual , the pacing was good , and the action scenes really good , OK so the ghost of Elvis is not in it , the sad thing is no cinema release that probably means no sequel and that's a damn shame as this was a great adaptation of Odd Thomas, I truly think this could have carried through a complete series of movies based on each book That said you never know the power of the fans , so fingers crossed there may be more Odd Thomas in the future

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Trevor Miller from United States
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This is my first review i've done of a movie on IMDb, so maybe that alone shows how much I enjoyed this movie.

It was filled with action, adventure, romance, heart, even mild comedy when the character of Oz (Patton Oswalt) was introduced. This movie like most new movies is very fast paced, and witty with the word play and sarcastic tones that some characters had. The lead roles were chosen wonderfully. Anton Yelchin (Odd) in one of his maybe breakout rolls. I'd hope to see him play more lead roles very soon as he is a great actor, you can even tell by his large amount of upcoming movies in 2013 and 14. DaFoe was outstanding as he much always is, his character had bits and pieces it would seem from his role as the main Detective of The Boondock Saints. The supporting roles were great, and there's a twist at the end that caught me off guard.

Great movie!

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Bruce Sommer from San Jose, CA, United States
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I've read a few of the "Odd Thomas" novels by Dean Koontz, but regrettably I have not kept myself up to date with this series. So, while I have the advantage of knowing the story behind the movie, as compared to those who haven't read the "Odd Thomas" novels, it has been some time since I've read them. With that in mind, I'm not about to go into any detail about whether the movie was faithful to the novel or not.

As far as the movie by itself, I really enjoyed Anton Yelchin's portrayal of Odd Thomas. Having enjoyed his performances in "Charlie Bartlett" and the remake of "Fright Night", I'm glad they chose him for this role.

The relationship between Odd Thomas and Stormy Llewellyn was ... ADORABLE! Seeing Odd in action at the Pico Mundo grill was as entertaining as any circus act. His naiveté around other women was cute.

The action of the movie kept me on the edge of my seat.

The parts of the movie that were meant to bring tears to your eyes, brought tears to mine. That is how involved with the characters I became.

I'm disappointed that the DVD has yet to see an American release. If and/or when it does get released, I encourage all those who are fans of Dean Koontz to purchase it -- vote with your wallet -- as this will put money in Dean's pocket and give you an opportunity to visualize what he has written in his novels on the big screen (your large screen television) as well as increase the probability of "Odd Thomas" sequels being produced in the future.

For me, this movie was well worth the time and I would gladly see it again.

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minerva1961 from United Kingdom
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Watched this with my 16 and 14 yr old sons last night and we all throughly enjoyed it, the 14yr old hid behind a pillow for quite a lot but really it was all standard 'turns around and ghost inches from your face' fare, the CGI was not budget - was really good actually and lots of it. The story was really engaging, acting was great from Odd and Stormy and great chemistry between them, you felt like they really were lovers. Nice plot twists, it's not going to be a blockbuster and win academy awards, almost as many plot holes as World World Z but it was much better than I expected, very enjoyable, no dull moments and this will be joining my DVD collection when it comes out for sure. The ending was very good...

It's pretty obvious there's a telly series (or string of follow-up movies) wanting to be made :-)

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Gargantua Pantagruel
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If you read Odd Thomas, which fortunately I did, you will hopefully find this movie quite truthful to the book which is really great. Superb job from the screen writers. Really, the characters are perfect in the movie and I think there would be no one better than Dafoe to play the Chief!

The book was a really fun read and the movie has exactly the same feel, too bad it's too short. I think books are the best because the thrill lasts longer but this movie is a go.

The rest of the acting is not Oscar material, but it is a very enjoyable movie and goes well with a soda and a bag of popcorn.

As for the end - get your tissues ready. Oh Lord, the humanityyyyyy!!!

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walter2-407-597390 from Canada
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I have liked the Odd Thomas books since I first opened the initial book, and I often wondered what a movie of any of the stories would look like. While this film seems trapped in a legal quagmire that will probably prevent release any time soon, watching it was a total delight.

I really wondered how they would cast this, and while I never thought of the people they did pick, they worked perfectly, and having seen them in it, I can't imagine any other cast.

Fans of the book will probably pipe up with "hey, where's Elvis"? and the answer is he's a cardboard cut-out in Odd's bedroom, and I didn't miss him at all in the film. The story is complex and vivid enough as told, and Odd's abilities get explained perfectly without Elvis. That's the beauty of books and films, both have their tales to tell, and they don't have to be identical to be well-told and the same story.

Anyway, I loved it, and can only hope it makes its way to screens all over. Why? Because, we all need to be looped in, Odd One.

In the beginning of the film, a life-size cardboard standee of Elvis Presley can be seen in the main character's apartment. In the novel, Elvis is actually one of the friendlier "spirits" that interacts with Odd Thomas.
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As Odd leaves the hospital, one of the signs that is being held up says: "In Odd We Trust", which is a graphic novel in the series
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Another scene that was cut involved Odd and Stormy's matching birth marks, an important reference from the book.
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Filming was stopped for several weeks due to financial problems.
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Scenes that included Odd and Stormy's origins were cut from the film. One including young Stormy and her step-father and another including young Odd and his mother. Odd's mother put a gun to his head and is later taken away while cutting paper roses. DJ Shamus and most of Ozzy's scenes were also cut from the film.
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Lily Collins, Emma Roberts, Kat Dennings and Portia Doubleday were considered for the role of Stormy. Collins was the front-runner but dropped out in favor of Mirror Mirror (2012).
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Tim Robbins was considered for the role of Chief Porter.
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'Kevin J O'Connor' was originally considered for the role of Fungus Bob.
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Sean Combs and 50 Cent were originally considered for the role of Shamus.
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AKAs Titles:


Certifications:
Australia:M / Canada:14A (British Columbia) / Germany:16 / Japan:G / Netherlands:16 / Philippines:R-13 / South Korea:15 / UK:15 / USA:PG-13 (self applied)