My Review of Oculus (2013)

 

Written by Mike Flanagan And Jeff Howard

Directed by Mike Flanagan 

Kaylie (to the mirror): "Hello again. You must be hungry."

Delving a bit earlier into Flanagan's horror resume and there was this one from over a decade ago. I remember seeing it a few years ago, so I thought I'd watch it again. A lot of Flanagan's beloved tropes are certainly present with this one.

For instance we've got a family in a house and a split timeline. Only it's not the house itself that's the problem but rather a mirror that seems to bring out the absolute worst in everyone involved. Notably the parents to begin with question.

The parents in this case being software engineer Alan Russell (Rory Cochrane) and his wife, Marie (Katee Sackhoff). The mirror ended up driving both of them towards madness that they became a danger to their children Kaylie (Karen Gillan/Annalise Basso) and Tim (Brenton Thwaites/Garett Ryan Ewald). 

Needless to say, both Marie and Alan don't survive the movie and their violent deaths would obviously have a knock on effect for the adult versions of both Kaylie and Tim. The former regaining possession of both their childhood home and that mirror and she had a theory to prove, whether Tim liked it or not.

The dynamics between Kaylie and Tim are the strongest part of the movie. While Tim's desperate enough to try and leave the past behind and rationalise his parents death, Kaylie was determined to prove the mirror's culpability in her family being destroyed. Truth be told, Kaylie should've steered well clear from revisiting the past.

With doppelgangers, flashbacks to the past, a dead fiancee (James Lafferty) and the mirror presenting itself as a supernatural threat, every possible bad case scenario played out. It's a grim ending to an overall grim movie with the surviving family member paying the price.

- The movie is based on Flanagan's short movie - Oculus: Chapter 3 - The Man With The Plan.

- Kate Siegel appears briefly as Marisol Chavez, another victim of the mirror. 

- Other victims of the mirror included Alice Carden in 1943 Wisconsin and a Philip Lasser in 1754 London.

- Chronology: The flashbacks in 2002 and the present day scenes in 2013.

I'll admit that Oculus might a bit confusing in parts and not as strong as some of Flanagan's later material, but there's a lot to like her. Mainly the performances from Karen Gillan and Brenton Thwaites are on great form.

Rating: 6 out of 10