31 Days of Horror – Day Twenty-six – Extra Ordinary (2019)

Posted on | By BylineSoLucid

Today we’re going a little extra with our horror comedies; this time with the 2019 paranormal film, Extra Ordinary!

Today we’re covering… 

Extra Ordinary! 

Movie Details:

  • Release Date: 2019
  • “Run”time: 1 hour 34 minutes
  • Where to watch it: Streaming
  • Directed by:  Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman
  • Written by: Demian Fox, Maeve Higgins, and Mike Ahern
  • Starring:
    • Maeve Higgins
    • Barry Ward
    • Will Forte

Synopsis: A driving instructor needs to return to her paranormal past to save her crush’s daughter.

Open Stab Wounds (out of 10): 7

Review: Horror comedies are often hit or miss. Many of the films struggle with the balance between the jokes and the scary elements. I think when they are done well, you get a good amount of chuckles and also care about the story and what happens to the characters. So let’s talk about where tonight’s film falls on that spectrum. Let’s talk about Extra Ordinary.

The film is centered around Rose (Maeve Higgins), a driving instructor who seems to have a paranormal past. Rose’s father Vincent (Risteard Cooper) had a series of self-help tapes instructing people on the use of their paranormal gifts, which he calls Talents. We find out early that as a child, Rose was his partner and also the reason for his death. Because of this, she swore to never use her gift and that is how she got into her current line of work.

Rose still receives calls begging for help with ghosts and the paranormal, but she ignores them all, until Martin (Barry Ward) comes into the picture. Martin and his daughter Sarah (Emma Coleman) are haunted by the deceased mother of the house, Bonny. Rose gets tangled further into their haunt when Sarah falls victim to a Satanic spell and is set to be a virgin sacrifice. Feeling an obligation to help, and a crush on Martin, Rose steps back into the world of helping people with their paranormal problems.

This was definitely filled with a lot of dry British humor, which I quite enjoy. All the characters had their own little charm, aside from one who was just completely annoying throughout (that was her character’s purpose though, so I can look past it). None of the jokes were the type to bring out deep belly laughs, but I found myself chuckling enough.

The way the paranormal moments were done all had humor mixed in, but they all helped drive the narrative forward. I appreciated that very much. As opposed to something like Scary Movie, where all the jokes feel like bits, the jokes in Extra Ordinary were an accompaniment.

There was not a lot of gore or effects, but what was there was decently done. Some visual effects near the end were a bit lackluster, but this seemed like a rather low budget affair, so they were good for what it is.

While I wouldn’t be recommending it for any awards, I did enjoy the film. Definitely worth giving a watch, if you can’t figure out what to put on.

BRANDON’S THOUGHTS: I could use some levity here and there. I liked this movie. I watched it with the wife. We liked it. Will Forte is great in everything.

8 out of 10!

Thanks for reading and watching along with us! Be sure to keep up with all 31 days of our Halloween Horror Film coverage! 

Oh, and make sure to follow Brandon on Twitter @BarnyardCruz and Kevin @Solucid!