Director: Mike Flanagan
MPAA Rating: R
Film Pulse Score: 7/10
Director Mike Flanagan first broke onto the scene in 2011 with his low budget horror film Absentia, which has since become something of a cult favorite among fans. Now, Flanagan is back with a new supernatural thriller titled Oculus, which, in addition to a heftier budget, shows a marked maturity in the writing and directing. On the surface Oculus appears to be a typical haunted house flick, heavy on the jump scares, light on the plot. Fortunately, this isn’t the case and the film proves itself to be a cut above the rest by providing an extremely intriguing premise that keeps the viewer on their toes the entire time. It isn’t without its faults, but it still manages to be one of the freshest and most entertaining horror films of the year.
The film tells the story of a brother and sister whose parents were killed a decade prior. An antique mirror situated in their father’s office is believed to be the culprit, causing them to lose their minds. The horrific event left both siblings scarred and the younger brother, Tim, was sent to a mental institution. After leaving the facility, Tim meets up with his sister, Kaylie, and reluctantly decides to help her prove the mirror’s intentions before destroying it for good. As you might imagine, things don’t go according to plan.
The interesting thing about Oculus is the way in which we’re told the story of this brother and sister. Through periodic flashbacks, the events of the past and present merge into two narratives delivered simultaneously. This method keeps the pace moving, while slowly uncovering the mystery of the mirror. This proves way more effective than simply showing us the entire flashback then moving on to the present day, something many horror films like to do.
Because the mirror causes people to hallucinate, the most interesting part of Oculus was the constant guesswork of what is real and what is an illusion. The characters will be watching themselves do something and we’re never really sure which reality is true. This left the film open to a bevy of twists and turns that worked wonderfully in telling this macabre tale.
The scares were surprisingly limited in Oculus, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Too many films like this rely on jump scares that feel tacked on and nonsensical. For the most part, the horror elements all fit into place and add to the mounting tension the mirror begins radiating. It’s light on gore as well, however there are a few disturbing sequences, mainly one involving a light bulb that you may have seen in the trailer.
As with many horror films, there’s a certain amount of leeway you must give to Oculus however. Some of the pieces seem to fall into place a little too neatly, like what are the odds Tim gets out of the institution right when his sister finds the mirror? There are also some slightly bad pieces of dialogue that act as exposition, which feel unnatural and silly. Fortunately, these things are nothing more than nit picks and don’t detract from the overall experience.
Oculus is a taut mind-bender that proves the haunted house genre is not completely dead yet. This has all the makings of a sleeper hit and is certainly set itself up to become the next big horror franchise.
