Peter’s Movie Pick of the Week: Oculus
It’s hard for me to get into a lot of contemporary horror films. For the most part, big horror movie releases are just “jump-scare” fests or remakes. I’ve been meaning to watch Oculus for awhile now as I was very intrigued by the trailer. After finally seeing it, I can say that I wish I had sooner.
Oculus is the type of big release horror film that we only get every now and then. The two protagonists of the film, Kaylie and Tim, are siblings trying to destroy an apparently haunted mirror that tore their family apart. Kaylie is played by Karen Gillan, who truly carries this movie along with Brenton Thwaites as Tim. You can feel how concerned Tim is for his sister, while still dealing with his own mental trauma. That’s what really made this movie work for me; the dynamic between the two of leads. One sibling is trying to prove that they aren’t crazy, while the other is convinced otherwise. Mike Flanagan and Jeff Howard’s script is as solid a haunted relic film as it is a psychological horror. The whole time the audience is confronted with the possibility that this is all in the heads of Kaylie and Tim, an interesting aspect to add to this type of story. We never actually get a full explanation of where this mirror comes from, or why it haunts the residence. I thought this was another intriguing aspect about Oculus as ghost stories are usually about spirits that can’t pass on due to some type of unfinished business. The movie is shot with a lot of great little details in the background, giving us mere glimpses of the spirits that may be possessing the mirror. By doing this, Flanagan shrouds this relic with mystery, and that really works to this movie’s benefit. I always hate it when ghost movies give away to much information about the entity. Once you know what you’re facing, it isn’t that scary anymore.
Oculus is widely available on DVD and Blu-Ray. It is also currently streaming on Netflix, so check it out.