Adults act like wild birds in this charming offbeat comedy.

I was expecting a lot of things out of”The Incomer,” which is a Scottish comedy about siblings who live on an island like birds. Their parents, who come from the mainland, have told them many stories of folklore, but I don’t even think they taught them any manners if they do meet new people. I don’t even think they wanted their kids to meet anyone off the island.

I was expecting it to be a dark comedy with a similar vibe as “Trainspotting,” and a lead like Domhnall Gleeson. But I didn’t expect it to have an echo of Hitchcock’s “The Birds” nor did I anticipate that the siblings would still act like children, even in their adulthood. I guess it has its own meaning of the word “original,” and that’s what I find most appealing about the film. 

But before I get ahead of myself, we meet two siblings-Isla (Gayle Rankin) and Sandy (Grant O’Rourke from “Outlander” and more recently “Grow”)-who have been living on a remote Scottish island for 30 years. They survive on eating seagulls, give their blessings by shouting CAW!!!!, and prepare to face their enemies-visiting people, whom they call “incomers.” And to prepare for battle, they dress up in black and white rags to form as giant birds and hold clubs. They call themselves Gulls of Auk Isle.

The latest incomer is Daniel (Gleeson), an awkward land recovery coordinator, who is sent to tell the siblings of their relocation to the mainland by his boss (Michelle Gomez). He doesn’t teach them their Ps and Qs, but he does teach them about his version of “The Lord of the Rings,” what a vegan is, and how good a banana is. But mostly, he’s trying to convince them that there’s more to life than living on an island with seagulls as food and very limited resources. 

Throughout this movie, Sandy is haunted by a humanoid seal folklore known as the Finman (John Hannah), who tries to lure her into the sea. When Daniel decides to teach her to swim, a jumpscare has to emerge. But I knew the Finman would appear at some point. I like to imagine if this was a Scottish film spoken in Scottish Gaelic, and the creature was speaking in that language as well. After all, I remember “The Quiet Girl” being the first Irish film to be Oscar nominated in the International Feature category, I can assume because of how it spoke in Irish Gaelic. So maybe they can still try to preserve the language, and “Kneecap” was an advocator of it. The Finman segments are a nice touch to “The Incomer.” 

I grew exhausted of Isla’s behaviors, which require her to act all angry and even injuring Daniel when he tries to kiss her and she thinks he’s attacking her. No apologies are given from both of them. But Rankin is very good at representing a woman who may not have been happy all these years on the island, and I like her chemistry with Gleeson, who adds some wizard fanboy appreciation and honesty. And I’ve never heard of O’Rourke before, but he is very funny and whimsical, and open to all the new things the Incomer is suggesting to the siblings. 

Writer/director Louis Paxton (whose background includes short films like “Dollface” and “Satan Has a Bushy Tail”) was inspired by his family’s Orcadian heritage and a family trip he took to an island abandoned in the 70s and learning about siblings who lived there. And in “The Incomer,” he provides a lot of laughs, warmth, a fight against cynicism, and absurd characters who manage to delight you almost every step of the way.

In Select Theaters This Friday