Verdict
Summary
Oculus isn’t spectacular but it has some decent scares with a cast giving their all; it’s currently on Netflix so you should give it a watch during this scary season.
Plot: Haunted by the violent demise of their parents 10 years earlier, adult siblings Kaylie (Karen Gillan) and Tim (Brenton Thwaites) are now struggling to rebuild their relationship. Kaylie suspects that their antique mirror, known as the Lasser Glass, is behind the tragedy. The seemingly harmless reflections contain a malevolent, supernatural force that infects the mind of anyone who gazes into it. As Kaylie gets closer to the truth, the siblings become caught in the mirror’s evil spell.
Review: Anyway, Oculus is quite an interesting little horror flick as it’s one of those movies that plays with your mind. It’s quite slow in parts and takes a while for things to get going but there are some decent scares.
I thought the two leads Karen Gillan and Brenton Thwaites were very good and the film was well acted in general which isn’t usually the case with horror flicks. I also liked how the story was something different where you actually cared about these characters and sympathized with the nightmare they went through as children. Their troubles of course were only just beginning and Oculus goes pretty dark by the end but generally is pretty satisfying.
Katee Sackhoff is arguably at her career best as she descends into madness and Rory Cochrane is always good at playing coldly distant characters which he excels at here.
I doubt I would sit through it again as once you know how it ends then it takes away any of the shock value but it’s definitely worth a watch and the fact that the mirror is never really explained leaving the mystery open is a nice touch.
Overall, Oculus isn’t spectacular but it has some decent scares with a cast giving their all; it’s currently on Netflix so you should give it a watch during this scary season.