The term oculus is a misnomer. An oculus is not a mirror,
but a round or eyelike opening or design. The film "Oculus" is just plain
deceiving, but in a good way. Like many
recent horror films, the protagonists are a family under siege from a
malevolent supernatural force. Written
and directed by Mike Flanagan (“Absentia”), "Oculus," is a
suspenseful, scary horror film in the same vein as "Insidious," or
"Sinister." This latest
offering from Blumhouse productions is about an ancient mirror that unleashes
an evil force in the lives of a typical American family. "Oculus" follows many of the horror
genre tropes that have made Blumhouse productions a household name when it
comes to modern family-horror. Although
not necessarily gory, "Oculus" is rated R for the violence and
language. Look for one hour and
forty-five minutes of interesting, disturbing, and at times a confusing peek at
your normal everyday family haunted by an ancient evil.
Our family, by the name of Russell, comprises of a self-employed
software developer, a mom, a redheaded, pre-teen daughter, and a dark haired
son who is about two years younger. Rory
Cochran, once a starring cast member of the now defunct "CSI Miami,"
plays Alan Russell, the father, who 11
years previous, allegedly murdered his wife.
The doomed wife and mother, Marie, is played by Sci-Fi star Katee
Sackhoff. Widely known for her role on
television's "Battlestar Galactica,” Sackhoff is no stranger to the horror
genre. In 2000, she was in
"Halloween: Resurrection," and she started opposite of Nathan Fillion
in "White Noise 2," and the more recent "Haunting in Connecticut
2: Ghosts of Georgia.” New to American
horror movie audiences, but not to "Dr. Who" fans, playing the now
grown daughter of this family, is Karen Gillan while Annalise Basso playing the
12 year-old Kaylie. Rounding off the
cast, playing the 21-year-old Tim is Australian, Brenton Thwaites, and American
actor Garrett Ryan plays his younger self.
Now 21 years-old, Tim (Thwaites), is conversing with his
psychiatrist, Dr. Shawn Graham played by "Medium" co-star Miguel
Sandoval. Tim has come to terms with
demons and recognizes that he is responsible for shooting his father when he
was 10 years-old. His older sister
Kaylie (Gillan) is another matter. Over
the past 11 years, Kaylie, was left to cope with the devastation that came to
visit their family when their dad, bought an antique, almost grotesque, full-length
mirror with an ornate wooden frame. The
mirror is over 300 years-old and once sat in Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The mirror we are told, has had numerous
owners who all have died horrible deaths.
Kaylie's fiancé Michael Dumont (James Lafferty -
"One Tree Hill") runs an auction-house and Kaylie has throughout the
years been tracking the mirror through its various owners and via the
auction-house purchased the mirror on the same day that her brother is being
released from the mental hospital as a "cured" individual. The question of sanity is one that is not
only asked by the audience to the characters and events in this film, but the
audience may also ask that question of themselves as well. Memory is a tricky thing, and looking back 11
years and trying to remember certain events in a certain way, is at best
circumspect.
Setting up cameras and having a rigid plan, Kaylie and
Tim venture to their old house where the gruesome death of their mother and
their father's murder took place. The
goal is to somehow prove that the mirror is to blame for Alan's death and not
Tim. After carefully reviewing the
history of all of the deaths that have been recorded throughout history in
relationship to the mirror, Kaylie has a plan that includes hydration, check-ins
by the fiancée, and tracking of paranormal activity with the use of
plants. Gillan plays Kaylee with determination that is quite obsessive and believable. On the other hand Thwaites, is a little less convincing, but that changes closer to the end.
In telling this story, Flanagan chose to interweave
scenes from the past as the two surviving children return to the house they
once lived in. The past unfolds like Stephan King’s
"The Shinning," we see a father's quick descent into madness and
followed very quickly by the moms, leaving the kids to fend for themselves. The story is clever, as Kaylie has set up
video cameras, à la "Paranormal Activity." What happens in the house in one night is
both predictable, and yet not. Karen Gillan
portrays Kaylie with a solid sense of purpose in defeating the thing in the
mirror, and with the help of her brother, hoping show the world that her
brother isn't a murderer, but killed their dad in self-defense. I never got a sense of creepiness from Rory
Cochran when he was on "CSI: Miami.”
However, in "Oculus" he portrays the dad, not only the sense of creepy,
but also as time goes on, a certain sense of doom and dread. Like the film itself, Rory plays dad much
more subtle in his madness than Jack Nicholson does in "The Shining." Katie Sackhoff's character Marie, succumbs,
like her husband, to the effects of the mirror.
The slow rumble just below the surface, tiny voices in the back of your
head with the millions of tiny whisperings play on the character’s minds as well
as on the audiences. The images in the mirror
are deceiving and at times confusing.
Katee Sackhoff plays Marie as if she more like Regan in the
"Exorcist.” At times, she raves
like a demon when the mirror possesses her.
This is not Flanagan's first trip out with a film about
an evil mirror. In 2005, Flanagan did a short
film titled "Oculus: Chapter 3 - The Man with the Plan.” This short seems to be the seed of what this
new and improved film is about.
"Oculus" is more subtle than the 2007 film "Mirrors"
starring Kiefer Sutherland. With "Oculus,"
the art of building to a climax is more than the horror that arrives at the
end. That is this film's strength and its
weakness. In trying to build up a climax
that hopefully allows the audience to say "Wow." Although that doesn't quite happen,
"Oculus" isn't a total letdown.
The story is almost too clever, but not quite, the acting is solid, and
the ending is decent, but not what I was hoping for. Overall, "Oculus" is worth watching
at some point on DVD or Blu-ray.
Movie Data
Staring: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane
Producer(s): Marc D. Evans, Trevor Macy, Jason Blum
Writer: Mike Flanagan, Jeff Howard
Rating: R
Running Time: 104 minutes
