Fantasia '19 Film Reivew - Extra Ordinary

Comedian Maeve Higgins scores a well deserved leading role in Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman's Extra Ordinary. Her low key Irish accent on full display, the viewer has to pay attention to her delivery for fear of missing one of her low register one-liners. She works as a driving instructor having suppressed her talents for speaking to ghosts due to an unfortunate accident over a decade ago. She is drawn back into the practice by kind widower Martin Martin (Barry Ward) whose deceased wife Bonnie still runs the household and daughter Sarah (Emma Coleman)has been targeted by a one hit wonder artist Christian Winter (Will Forte). Winter who has name recognition but bordering on bankruptcy has taken up the dark arts to get his carrier back on track. Sarah being the virgin sacrifice required to seal his deal with the devil.

The directors see the film as inhabiting the supernatural comedy world rather than straight horror. Their theory on display in many sequences especially in the banter between Winter and his wife Claudia (Claudia O'Doherty) who constantly pokes at him while he attempts his incantation completely disregarding the rules of engagement leading to the explosion of the first virgin target. There are also the running T.V. episodes of Rose's dads show as he explains ghosts to the viewer, how they commit minor every day acts in an attempt to be noticed.

Maeve Higgins experience as a comic makes her the perfect fit for the role. She comes home each night from teaching her students to an empty house, locked room where her magic equipment has been sealed off, a bouncing ball in a corner of her kitchen and frozen dinners. Claudia O'Doherty shines in the supporting role of Ms. Winter. Her impatience with the entire satanic ritual process is always on display. This peaks when she has had enough of the virginal procession to their castle needing to hasten thing up and get back home before her Chinese food order arrives.

Extra Ordinary is a charming low key genre-crossing piece that loses its way a bit toward the end of the second stanza. The narrative rights itself as it heads to the final showdown and series of confrontations. The final reveal is an item that has been telegraphed from the opening scene but that is not enough to take away from a good hearted light piece of filmmaking that is worth the watch.

*** Out of 4

Extra Ordinary | Mike/Ahern/Edna Loughman | Ireland /Belgium | 2019 | 94 minutes.

Tags: Driving Instructors, Supernatural, Ghosts, Pentagram, Virgin Sacrifice, Satan, Blood Moon, Holding Spell, Magpie, Pregnancy, Birth