Oculus
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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- Cast:
- Karen Gillan , Brenton Thwaites , Katee Sackhoff , Rory Cochrane , Annalise Basso , Garrett Ryan , James Lafferty
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Reviews
One of my all time favorites.
It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
This was a very original horror film in the way that the story unfolds. You don't expect it to go between present and past, but it is very effective. The jump scares and suspense hit you when you least expect it, and the ending will chill you to the bones. A truly brilliant film.
A mirror with evil powers and two siblings who want to destroy it - Oculus is for sure not inventing the wheel new, but a good and suspenseful atmosphere, good acting and a pro production make the flick an entertaining contribution to the genre and it is far better than the average movie that hits the market under the label of horror.
It is far to be the right word defining "Oculus" but it is a real surprising film. first , for the story. simple and tragic and reminding old Greek tragedies. second , for the performances. not the last, for the great art of director to explore and use and give tension and seduction force to a film who is more than a horror but a remarkable one. for the wise use of illusion. for the science to give unity using the fragments as a sort of yellow bricks road. and for an idea not exactly unfamiliar. about family, fears, sibillings and the evil. and the enemy is too familiar for ignore the references about it. short, a good film. a special one. and little more.
Mike Flanagan is still a relatively unknown name to mainstream audiences, but fans of the genre will recognize him. He is the director of "Absentia", "Hush", "Oculus: Origin of Evil", and "Gerald's Game". He is also signed on to create the Netflix show "The Haunting of Hill House" and the upcoming Stephen King adaptation "Doctor Sleep" (a sequel to King's novel "The Shining"). However, two of his films are underrated: "Before I Wake" and "Oculus"."Oculus" is a brilliantly told and twisty thriller about two siblings who try to prove that a mirror is responsible for many deaths, including that of their parents. Much like the novel "It", this film alternates between these siblings when they are children and when they are adults.The performances in this film are great, even from the young children. However, the standout performance is from Katee Sackhoff as she slowly starts to lose her sanity. Her turn in the movie is quite terrifying, and even adds some emotion later in the film.Another thing about this film is its twisty narrative. Normally, it would get convoluted, but Flanagan does a good job of making it cohesive. I really like how the film almost starts to make it seem like it might be a psychological thriller instead of a supernatural horror. This uncertainty towards what I'm watching is what really makes this film so interesting. It also does a good job of switching between past and present.Finally, the tone of this movie is perfect. It's an extremely dark movie, with an ending that just tore me apart (while also expecting a sequel of some sort). The film is also very emotional, due to its superb performances."Oculus" is a very scary movie that really should get more attention than it got. I highly recommend it to anybody that likes twisty stories like this.