Extra Ordinary (2019)

Extra Ordinary is the kind of genre mash-up that feels like a secret you can’t wait to share: a sweet, scruffy Irish ghost story that’s genuinely funny, oddly tender, and just gross enough to earn its horror credentials. Maeve Higgins makes Rose Dooley a disarmingly human hero—more anxious driving instructor than swaggering exorcist—and the film’s charm comes from watching her stumble into bravery while the supernatural chaos keeps escalating in delightfully unexpected ways. Will Forte’s washed-up rock star villain is gloriously pathetic, and the movie’s off-kilter tone—equal parts spooky, romantic, and cheerfully ridiculous—keeps it buoyant even when the blood splatters. If you want wall-to-wall scares, this isn’t that, but if you’re on the fence about horror-comedy, it’s a winning reminder that the best laughs sometimes come with a friendly little shiver.

Extra Ordinary is clearly trying to be a scruffy Irish mash-up of paranormal comedy, light horror, and heartfelt small-town romance, and when it clicks it’s genuinely charming. The problem is it often plays like a string of funny sketches rather than a smoothly building story, so the pacing can feel lumpy and the “quirky” tone occasionally turns into “trying a bit too hard.” The horror is more gross-out than scary (yes, there’s gore), and the jokes can be broad and repetitive if you’re not already on its wavelength. If you like offbeat performers and don’t mind uneven momentum, Maeve Higgins and Will Forte make it worth a look; if you want tight plotting, subtle humor, or consistent scares, this may test your patience.