Oculus (2014) Review

Oculus (2014) Review

Director – Mike Flanagan

Stars – Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites

Over 2 years after initial filming was complete Oculus has nearly arrived in cinemas across the globe. It has been a long time coming for Director Mike Flanagan who seems to have made it a lifelong ambition for it to be made, as he also worked on a TV movie Version back in 2006. This time round he is equipped with $5 million budget and a cast led by Karen Gillan (a veteran with monsters/supernatural beings/ dodgy BBC CGI) after her outings with Doctor Who.

The film’s premise is based on a mirror with supernatural powers which over the centuries has made people slaughter their friends, families, pets, ect. Flanagan uses an interesting technique of showing us the past and present life’s of Kaylie (Gillan) and her brother Tim (Thwaites) as they struggle to cope with what has happened. As we pan backwards and forwards between their childhood and present we begin to uncover a story of horror and gore. The film grabs us in the first half as tension builds and builds where we see the two attempting to destroy the supernatural being whilst facing what happened to their family at the mirrors hands (sounds great right?). It’s around the hour mark where we begin to wish that we had just watched something else. The rest of the film is dull, predictable and simply doesn’t satisfy. All the small cleaver details that gripped us seem wasted as the film ends abruptly with no real conclusion to whatever the hell just happened in the first place. However Gillan is the film’s saving grace, she manages to guide us past all the small hiccups and bland camera work and even makes us wish there was more room for her character without a killer mirror.

Although this film seems to be another attempt to cash in on the supernatural movie market its clear to see that Flanagan holds it dear. There are some small touches that really work, especially in the childhood scenes where we get a Paranormal Activity vibe. With that said this B Movie doesn’t make a mark against a competitive horror genre. Its dull script makes it hard for us to care at all about the characters on screen and by the time the big reveal is upon us it’s too late to win us back. Oculus unfortunately isn’t a film that will keep you up all night if anything it will do the opposite.

RATING - 2/5