The Legend of Ochi Provides Lifelike Creatures and Bland Characters
Film Reviews
Sundance Film Review: The Legend of Ochi
Director: Isiah Saxon
Encyclopedia Pictures, Neighborhood Watch, Year of the Rat, AGBO
Premiere: 01.26
The fantasy genre has always held great appeal to me, and anything that can transport me into another world or bring me new creatures is extremely appealing. The Legend of Ochi has almost all the ingredients of a new personal favorite. So why am I feeling so lukewarm about it?
On the remote island of Carpathia, young Yuri (Helena Zengel, News of the World) is raised to fear the Ochi, reclusive creatures blamed for attacking livestock and humans. Under the strict guidance of her father, Maxim (Willem Dafoe, Poor Things, Nosferatu), the local boys serve as a makeshift militia of Ochi hunters, chief among them is Petro (Finn Wolfhard, Stranger Things, Ghostbusters: Afterlife), a kind boy who looks out for Yuri. During her first hunt, Yuri discovers an injured baby Ochi in a trap and secretly nurses it back to health. Defying her father’s beliefs, she sets out to reunite the creature with its family, uncovering long-hidden truths about the Ochi — and her own past. Along the way, she reconnects with her estranged mother (Emily Watson, Dune: Prophecy) and challenges the island’s deeply ingrained fears, forging a new path for herself and her community.
The practical puppeteering wizardry of The Legend of Ochi is beyond stunning. The baby Ochi is astoundingly lifelike and tactile in a way that we rarely see in modern cinema, as CGI has dominated the effects world for 25 years, and it’s on par with what we’d expect from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. The picturesque cinematography by Evan Prosofksy (Pare de Sufrir) and the fairytale-like production design by Jason Kisvarday (Everything Everywhere All At Once) are also eye-popping and full of personality. Unfortunately, that sense of personality doesn’t extend to the cardboard characters, nor does the feeling that we’re seeing something visionary apply to a story that feels like it’s been done better dozens of times before and at times feels lifted so directly from How To Train Your Dragon 2 that it’s a bit jarring. Still, any scenario of a sweet friendship between a kid and a mythical creature is inherently irresistible, and the film remains watchable and reasonably entertaining throughout its 96-minute runtime. That’s all well and good, but in the context of a film festival where it stands alone among a sea of films set in the mundane reality of the real world with minimal locations, The Legend of Ochi should stand as something absolutely magical and joyous. Instead, it stands out as a movie with great puppeteering. The musical score by David Longstreth (Love Me) is memorable but often overpowering, and there’s entirely too much of it.
Zengel is a natural and likable young actress who shines in her moments interacting with the baby Ochi, though she’s unable to establish a particularly interesting character because the screenplay gives her nothing to work with. Faring even worse in that department is the always-reliable Wolfhard, who has little dialogue and apparently needs to be told that he can start turning down roles. Dafoe over-milks it, giving a hammy yet rarely amusing performance, and Watson barely registers at all.
The Legend of Ochi wants to be a quirky folk tale riff on E.T., though it plays more like Guillermo del Toro’s answer to Mac & Me, minus the product placement. I’m still giving it a moderate recommendation as being worth seeing for the fantastic puppets, but it earns an E for effort. It’s just perplexing to see a film that has all the makings of a wondrous experience turn out feeling so utterly unexceptional and bland. —Patrick Gibbs
Read more of SLUG’s coverage of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.