If there’s one everyday object that lends itself well to horror movie motifs, it’s the mirror. I mean, haven’t you ever woken up in the night and wondered if that was really your reflection…y’know, menacingly reaching out a blood-soaked hand to point at you?
Okay, we’re done creeping you out. In all honesty, despite the rather terrifying poster of Oculus, the movie is rather lean on scares, so much so that most of its allure comes from its characters and main plot, rather than any incidental spooky bits that it may possess.
Kaylie Russell (Karen Gillan) is a young women who’s been through some hard knocks: both of her parents were murdered, and her brother Tim (Brenton Thwaites) has just been discharged from a mental institution. Kaylie is convinced that an antique mirror containing a supernatural force is behind the tragedy that’s plagued her family over the years.
The biggest point of interest in Oculus‘s favor is the way it sets up the dynamic between siblings Tim and Kaylie. The chemistry between the actors is stellar, and in an ironic twist, it’s the ostensibly disturbed Tim who plays the voice of reason in this yarn, with Kaylie setting up surveillance cams and wielding pick-axes based on her occult theory.
More impressively, director Mike Flanagan and screenwriter Jeff Howard have managed to weave Oculus‘s second narrative centering on younger versions of the siblings (played by Annalise Basso and Garrett Ryan) into the main plot plot. There are occasional lulls in the intensity, but empathy with a horror flick’s main characters go a long way towards making the movie more engaging, and it’s that particular element that makes Oculus work despite a lack of truly terrifying moments.
If you’re only in the market for a purely terrifying filmic experience, Oculus may prove to be slightly underwhelming. But if you dig some emotional dynamism with your dose of horror, you’ll probably find a lot to like about Oculus.
Summary: A good cure for narcissism
RATING: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Raphael Lim