Oculus

2014 "You see what it wants you to see."
6.5| 1h44m| R| en
Details

A woman tries to exonerate her brother's murder conviction by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.

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Reviews

Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie
Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
Paradisepie6577 Huh? Made no sense at all. Good luck trying to figure this one out, especially the end.
jonjethro It's had an xfiles vibe w a skeptic and a believer and I like that in a movie. It's not really. Exposition if they are debating the topic.
sddavis63 I appreciate a movie that isn't entirely straightforward, and that has me questioning what's happening almost from the beginning. "Oculus" managed to do that. Was any of this real, or was it a figment of someone's (presumably Kaylie's) imagination? Was there anything supernatural about what happened, or was it just a family tragedy? Did the whole family go insane, or was it only one or two of them? I wondered about all of those questions as the movie went on, and in the end there didn't seem to be any specific answer given to those questions.The movie begins with Tim (Brenton Thwaites) being released from a mental institution. He's met by his sister Kaylie (Karen Gillan). The two share a bond that goes beyond just being brother and sister. They both experienced something horrific. It's made clear pretty early that dad killed mom, and then Tim killed dad. But why? What happened that turned a normal and apparently loving family so bloody? Kaylie can't accept the possibility that it's just a case of straighforward killing. Instead, she's convinced that it's because of an antique mirror that had been in the family home. She's traced its history - there have been other similar incidents. She believes there's an evil, supernatural presence in the mirror and she wants Tim to help her kill it once he's out. Tim on the other hand is convinced after his years in therapy that there was nothing supernatural about what happened. Dad killed mom and he killed dad. It was that simple. And then we watch as Kaylie's carefully planned experiment sets out to prove that the mirror is haunted - or something.Thwaites and Gillan were good in this, as were Rory Cochrane and Katee Sackhoff as their parents. The movie switches back and forth from the present to the past - and while such a format can sometimes be difficult to follow, I thought it worked very well here. It allowed the story to unfold methodically. Everything that Kaylie was planning in the present seemed to have some relationship to the past, so letting the past out bit by bit was an effective way of moving the story forward. There are the kinds of shocking things you would expect in this kind of movie, but it's not an especially blood and gore kind of thriller. It is thoughtful and it does make you wonder - and it leaves you wondering. Was this mirror haunted or not, or was this just Kaylie not being able to accept the brutal reality of what actually happened? It's left to the viewer to decide. (8/10)
WubsTheFadger Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadgerFirst off, after watching some really good horror films like The Babadook, The Witch, The Conjuring 1 and 2, and a few other, I went into this film with high hopes. The film didn't let me down. The story is told in short flashbacks that connect to the future storyline. The plot is at time very dark and disturbing. The film carefully tells us about the children's experiences with the mirror and how it relates to them now. The atmosphere the film has is haunting and mysterious. The ending is shocking and stunning. The acting is very good. Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane, and Garrett Ryan all perform very well. Annalise Basso, who plays young Kaylie, performs the best in all of her scenes.The pacing is a little slow in the beginning but picks up as the film progresses. The runtime is short which is good.One bad thing about this film is that it is not very scary. I really was never frightened.Pros: Dark and disturbing story, great atmosphere, good ending, good acting, a great performance by Annalise Basso, and a short runtimeCons: Slow pacing in the beginning of the film and the film was not very scaryOverall Rating: 7.1