Oculus
Starring: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Rory Cochrane, Katee Sackhoff
Director: Mike Flanagan
Rating: 3/5
2014 has been quite a poor year for horror movies and I am yet to see a film that truly chills me to the bone.
Oculus enjoyed critical and box office success when it was released earlier this year, and now it is coming on home release.
I have to say, this is one of the better movies in the horror genre I have seen in 2014, but it did leave me feeling a little disappointed.
Ten years ago, tragedy struck the Russell family, leaving the lives of teenage siblings Tim and Kaylie forever changed when Tim was convicted of the brutal murder of their parents.
Now in his 20s, Tim is newly released from protective custody and only wants to move on with his life; but Kaylie, still haunted by that fateful night, is convinced her parents' deaths were caused by something else altogether: a malevolent supernatural force unleashed through the Lasser Glass, an antique mirror in their childhood home.
Determined to prove Tim's innocence, Kaylie tracks down the mirror, only to learn similar deaths have befallen previous owners over the past century.
With the mysterious entity now back in their hands, Tim and Kaylie soon find their hold on reality shattered by terrifying hallucinations, and realize, too late, that their childhood nightmare is beginning again...
As well as being in the director's chair, Mike Flanagan has also penned the screenplay, and he has been clever in the way that he has put the story together.
The idea that a brother and sister experiencing the same events but seeing it through very different eyes is a very clever concept indeed, and an aspect of the movie that I really enjoyed.
The movie jumps back and forth between the present and events of the past, leaving the characters and the audience uncertain that what they are seeing is in fact reality.
This is something that works well in building the tension, as you are never quite sure what Kaylie and Tim are going to come face to face with next.
The first half of the movie is the strongest as Flanagan slowly notches up the tension as the central characters start to unravel.
Gillan and Thwaites both deliver solid central performances as a brother and sister who are haunted and confused about the past.
While I admire Flanagan for not going down the 'horror porn' or slasher route, I don't think he quite pulls of the final act and I was left feeling a little disappointed by the big reveal.
Oculus is a horror movie that I was expecting to deliver on every level, but it didn't quite hit the high notes that I was expecting and hoping for.
Oculus is out on DVD & Blu-Ray now.