Oculus, 2014
Directed by Mike Flanagan
Starring Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane, Analise Basso and Garrett Ryan
SYNOPSIS:
A woman tries to exonerate her brother, who was convicted of murder, by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.
Over the last decade or so, the horror genre hasn’t really turned out many “classics”. Despite a great showing of movies at FrightFest and Grimm Up North every year, it always seems to be the gutter-trash “jump scare” horrors that make it in front of general audiences. Oculus certainly isn’t a game-changer, nor is it a “classic”, but it’s easily one of the best horror movies you’ll see this year.
Based on Flanagan’s own short Oculus: Chapter 3 – The Man with a Plan, Oculus plays as a sequel to a film we never saw as a brother and sister duo, Tim and Kaylie, return to their family home to tackle a strange occurrence that happened during their childhood. After their father purchased a beautifully designed mirror, he started to show signs of losing his mind and he eventually killed his wife and was shot dead by Tim. Now that Kaylie has tracked down the mirror, she intends to prove her father innocent and show that the mirror is pure evil.
What’s great about Oculus is that it doesn’t give us the full back story straight off and instead drip feeds you information as the film progresses, which means you are essentially watching two films that cut between each other. This works especially well as the film makes its way towards the third act as the mirror plays tricks on Kaylie and Tim (as well as the audience) and we see both films play at the same time. It’s a hard one to explain, but it’s a superb experience.
Karen Gillan (who is set to kick arse in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy) is fantastic as the determined Kaylie. Her brother Tim (Brenton Thwaites) may be viewed as the “crazy” one of the duo as he was incarcerate following their father’s death, but it’s Kaylie who really shows signs of losing her mind in the early goings. She has become obsessed with this mirror and in a wonderful piece of exposition, she explains to a series of cameras she has set up just where the mirror came from and what it’s done in the past. It’s a clever way of setting up the mirror’s evil while strengthening and furthering Kaylie’s character. Thwaites also does a great job as the recovering Tim and he draws genuine sympathy from the audience as he tries to move on from his previous life while trying to help his sister get past hers. Credit should also be given to Analise Basso and Garrett Ryan who play the younger versions of Gillan and Thwaites. The pair have a big job on their hands but, for young actors, they really show conviction in their characters and you can feel that they are younger versions of their older counterparts.
It’s also refreshing to see a horror movie that doesn’t rely on the now standard “jump scare” tactic to frighten its audience. Instead, Oculus aims to unnerve those watching it with creepy visuals, suggestion and drawn out moments of tension. There are great directorial and writing flourishes as Flanagan pulls some beautiful ‘bait-and-switch’ moments as if the mirror is influencing the audience as well as the characters. Flanagan doesn’t play his hand too soon and he creates a fantastic atmosphere that will have you itching around your seat while gripping the arm chairs. It’s not exactly In Fear, but it can certainly make you uncomfortable.
Oculus is a film that shows that genuinely good horror does exist and it deserves to be seen by all. It takes its time, it draws you in and – while the finale is a bit lame – it does a great job in unnerving its audience. Gillan and Thwaites are fantastic and the way Flanagan blurs the lines between past and present via the evil of the mirror is a touch of genius. Oculus may not be seen as a “classic”, but it’s brilliant movie.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
You can watch a video of Luke Owen meeting the mirror from Oculus here.
Originally published June 12, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
