Director: Mike Flanagan
Cast: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane, Annalise Basso, Garrett Ryan, James Lafferty, Miguel Sandoval, Kate Siegel
Rating: C-
Peering into a mirror, does one ever wonder if something or someone is looking back? Oculus, directed by Mike Flanagan, is a supernatural thriller about a seemingly harmless, gaudy, obnoxious, oversized mirror that has some evil force inhabiting it that is able to get inside its owners’ heads creating all sorts of hallucinations that cause its unsuspecting viewers to go bat shit crazy! So will the thrills and chills here make you think twice before staring into a mirror?
The storyline in the film flip flops back and forth from present to past and ultimately merges two time periods together. Eleven years earlier Alan Russell (Rory Cochrane) and his wife Marie (Katee Sackhoff) along with their two children Kaylie (Annalise Basso as the young Kaylie) and Tim (Garrettt Ryan as the young Tim) move into a new home. Much to Marie’s horror her husband purchases a rather ugly antique mirror that he hangs in his study. Shortly after moving into the new home strange behavior starts occurring with both parents. Some unexplained nasty energy in the home is causing both mother and father to go nuts and finally one night in a horrific chain of events Marie is shot to death by Alan, who in turn is shot to death by his 10-year-old son who is just trying to protect his sister from being strangled to death by a deranged father.
We then fast forward eleven years into the present. Tim (Brenton Thwaites), now 21, has been living in a mental institution being deprogramed by Dr. Graham (Miguel Sandoval) regarding what really happened to his parents when he was just a boy. The doctor shapes the lad into a seemingly normal young adult that is no danger to himself or society. Tim is released from the institution into the loving arms of his sister Kaylie (Karen Gillan). But, all these years Kaylie has been obsessed with what happened on that awful night eleven years ago, and is determined to prove that a supernatural force inhabits the mirror and basically wants to destroy the thing that ruined her family. She manages to acquire the blacked framed object from an auction and convinces Tim that he has to go back with her to the family home and keep the promise they made to each other as children to kill whatever is in the mirror.
We learn from Kaylie’s research the history of the mirror and the tragic deaths each of its owners encountered that no one through the years is able to explain. Tim tries to be the voice of reason and comes up with explanations for all the deaths including his parents. Kaylie, creating what looks like an elaborate science experiment, is determined to record and document all the activity in the home to show the world that the mirror does have a sinister force that is able to control anyone that comes in contact with it.
Oculus has plenty of foreboding scenes that will keep avid horror movie fans in their seats hoping for those far out moments that will scare the pants off anyone watching. But sadly those moments never come. Going back and forth from the siblings’ childhood to adulthood and joining the two time frames together gets very repetitive. Although the filmmakers try to give an explanation of what is happening to victims of the mirror there are still many unanswered questions, despite trying to explain it all through Kaylie’s research. There is something funky going on when Alan is alone in his study, but we never get answers to what mischief is taking place. There is no explanation for the family dog disappearing when the pet is left alone with the ominous piece of glass. No reasons are provided as to why there are dying plants everywhere. We just have to make our own assumptions about the wicked looking glass. There is a huge creepiness factor to this film, but the real scares never quite come together making the movie fall flat.
The actors all do a fairly decent job portraying fear and madness. The child actors playing the brother/sister team are especially good, but it is a bit unsettling to see children getting attacked by their parents. Then again, maybe the uncomfortable scenes of children terrified and trying to survive was the point of the film.
There is just a bit too much going on here that just might drive moviegoers insane trying to keep it all straight. Who needs a villainous mirror to cause disturbing illusions when a film provides a silly convoluted storyline to drive someone insane? If the movie had just focused on one story – say the past – and really developed that angle then this could have been a really awesome scary flick to enjoy with perhaps an equally good squeal to follow. Oculus is one film that no one will reflect back on with any lingering effects of wanting to run home and smash every mirror in the house.
