Year: 2013
Directed by: Mike Flanagan
Written by: Mike Flanagan, Jeff Howard & Jeff Seidman
Tim Russell was convicted of murder of his father, when he was a child. He is discharged from mental institution, and he gets to meet his sister. However, Kaylie still believes that all the murders were caused by the mirror their father had in his office. She's even done research about the subject, and she's ready to prove the mirror has supernatural powers with her foolproof plan.
The story and especially the story of the mirror is very intriguing. My friends watched a bit of this film at school once, but they didn't finish the film. After that I've been wanting to finish the film. I just had to know what happens with the siblings, and what exactly the mirror did.
Because you see, what happened to them as children isn't clearly stated at the beginning. Their childhood is revealed slowly along the film, with series of flashbacks. Flashbacks are a very effective choice. Also not revealing everything about the mirror in their first conversation creates an aura of mystery around the mirror, and it's much more realistic. Why would the siblings go through the whole story, when they already know it - or are trying to let go of that? Flashbacks are much better way to show what happened, instead of going through it in dialogue. They also provide very good way to increase the effects of the horror genre.
The best part of the horror in Oculus is how it plays with your mind. Like when the characters do something, only to realise they didn't do it. Or when they think something is real, but it isn't - or they think something isn't real, and it is. It's better and scarier than any ghost the mirror might cast.
The flashbacks also create an effective way to play with the characters' (and the audience's) minds. The mirror doesn't need to make the flashbacks, they are in their head already. The film very skilfully mixes past and present. It definitely is effective, but it might get slightly confusing. It's hard to tell sometimes what in the flashbacks during the last third of Oculus really happened, and what was changed by the present.
The editing of this movie is really effective as well. The change of the locus was rapid. It increases the feeling of really quick pace towards the end, when there are more and more flashbacks, and they are clearly mixing with the present. But even if the settings change quickly, there aren't too many characters and it all takes place in that one house. It is easy to get back on track.
Oculus is also very well shot. Some of the angles used are mesmerizing, capturing the enchantment of a character or an object - or capturing how a character is enchanted by the object. The cinematography shows important details and makes the movie look simply beautiful when needed, and horribly gruesome when needed.
The dialogue is often very realistic in the horror genre - especially before anything weird starts happening. It's the same kind of dialogue you have with your family and friends and the people around you. It's even playfully humdrum. In Oculus, the dialogue succeeds as well, apart from few details that just don't seem real.
Oculus is worth a watch, but if you are experienced in the horror genre, you might find it predictable and typical. is a good enough horror film. It isn't boring, even if the beginning is slow. But towards the end more and more things happen and more and more is revealed. That keeps the viewers on their seats.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
7 / 10
Loved it
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