I have never trusted mirrors. They never reflect my true beauty, turning my gaze into something resembling a hideous gargoyle. Or is that the other way round? I don't know. Which side of the mirror am I on? Hmm, deep questions indeed.
Anyway, the film is pretty good. A haunted mirror plays with the minds of a brother and sister. Can they defeat the mirror? You will have to see it to find out. That is, if you can drag yourselves away from your own mirrors. You people are so vain!
Oculus is really not that scary but it makes up for it with some excellent performances and a very imaginative and impactful story. Mike Flanagan continues to impress me with his efforts in the horror genre and this is probably his best film yet.
Quite good mix of timeline and ilussions.
Very good horror with a very decent atmosphere. And with time, more and more interesting. Until the very finale, where the grandiose culmination of the whole horror film will come, which will not leave anyone cold. Definitely for those who like films about Paranorman, so I believe that this film will certainly not disappoint them, and I recommend everyone who likes this kind of horror to watch this film.
Predictable, B-movie, was not horrible but still a waste of time, watch something else.
I mean this honestly, truly, and the most appropriate sense of the word: whoops. Just about nothing in this film worked for me, down to the foley done in post. I have a laundry list of reasons why this film really didn't gel with me, but I'll mostly let my rating speak for itself.
Aside from one thing I just need to say: horror has a tenuous relationship with mental illness. It's a historic tie and link going back a long, long time. But what Oculus does that feels so particularly stinky to me is a similar issue that I have with every project I've seen from Flanagan: it exploits that illness after deliberately attempting to be empathetic towards it. Example: in Doctor Sleep, Dan is a recovering alcoholic. The entire story, really, is an allegory for recovering from addiction. And in that film, there's a moment where a character goes to pour himself a drink to take the edge off...and it's played as a joke. In a movie that wants you to believe it's empathetic towards addiction.
The entirety of Oculus forces one of its main characters to relive his trauma, the trauma that got him sent to a mental institution for eleven years. He's only released after he's declared healthy by his doctor. And immediately he is meant to go back through the same treatment by force only for him to end up right where he started, this time likely without any chance of ever being released. It suggests to the viewer (and particularly to those struggling with mental illness) that no matter how much time, money, and effort you pour into getting healthy you will never be able to escape that illness. You will relapse. And let me be very, very clear: that is a terrible thing to tell people.
I expected a bit more from the reviews i've read nevertheless Great performance by the kids with a nice ending. It was scary on many parts
Good story, good acting. Really well done movie.
This movie is underrated, it's original, smart and scary!
Great! A done to death scenario that is boring and not even slightly creepy. It would have been a lot more interesting if was played as psychological horror instead of kicking off the reality anchor and fusing in the family's past. The setup also kinda begs you to predict the ending early on (and they do like making money).
I really do hate the current fad of making these rather unimpressive and cheaply be done "scary" movies mainstream horror.
Maybe my expectations were too high. I got bored with "Oculus". The premise was nothing original. There was a nice setup of the mirror as an ominous haunted object. When the main character describes why the mirror is to blame for up to 45 murders over a few centuries, it really holds your attention. Then, as the mirror starts to play tricks on the woman and her brother, the movie falls flat.
There are some good moments, like when the main character is tricked into biting a light bulb (ouch!!!), but I was lost trying to figure out exactly what was happening. The movie keeps switching between the woman and her brother in the present, and then flashing back to when they were young and being terrorized by their mother and father (and the mirror). There are even times when the young characters see themselves as their grownup selves within the flashbacks. It makes zero sense. I'm confused just writing about it. Maybe the film makers needed to define the mirror's haunting techniques better. I don't know.
Loved it! This movie has a lot of scary transitions that come out unexpectedly.
Just like a ghost, I did not see this one coming.
Experienced phantom director Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House) delivers a solid, tangible success with Oculus.
I really enjoyed the framing device of a contemporary investigation used to foreshadow past horrors. Both times lines were well handled and merged nicely in the final act. There was some real suspense and genuine scares so, unlike the specter in the first sentence of this review, you should see it.
Good movie, not at all scary though. I wish they wouldn't have advertised it as a horror flick. :/
A largely effective horror film which relies on creepy atmospherics and visuals to scare rather than just loud jump moments and for that the film should be applauded. The narrative structure cleverly sets up two separate timelines as the film gradually reveals the history of the two central characters as well as their present. The nature of the plot, however is both a blessing and a curse - it allows the film makers to play very cleverly with the characters' and by extension the audience's sense of perception and reality within the context of the film, but more importantly the film never truly resolves the narrative confusion it creates, and it signals very early to the audience the ending and that every scene is a potential narrative cheat. This makes the actual present day story deeply unsatisfying, despite the strong performances and more interesting story about the characters' past.
Well worth the watch
Quite the mindfuck from Mike Flanagan in this haunted objet horror worthy of the Warren's (The Conjuring) artefact room. Oculus presents a strong sibling relationship at it's core dealing with past and present trauma. It takes place in two timelines (past and present) and the two were equally interesting the whole way through; a rare feat! The merging of the two as the movie progresses was very satisfying too. I love the concept for the mirror, to the point where I want more. Why is there no sequel??
Good main two sibling characters and I really enjoyed the believer/non-believer dynamic and arguements between the two. Some decent scares, atmospheric, the house set is creepy, good pacing and it had me captivated the whole way through. The acting is hit and miss for everyone but loved the two actresses playing Kaylie, the father and of course Katee Sackhoff. Saw the twist coming a mile away but everything after the twist leading to the ending was so fitting.
7.5/10
So Good
From The
Flanverse.
Another Banger
by the horror
Legend, the master
of jump scares
Mike Flanagan.
This movie is pure
Flanagan and therefore
frickin awesome, it's
got all his trade marks
right the way through,
all the things that made
Hill House and
Bly Manor a god damn
Masterpiece and yes
including his wife
in real life
Kate Siegel who he has
in 98 percent of his
projects.
(did you see the 3
hidden ghost images
in the static TV of the
sister, like I said
classic/trade mark
Flanagan).
What more can i say
if you are a fan of
Mike Flanagans works
as I am then you will
Love this movie because
it's all him and what makes
Him so Great, this guy
can create and write
Horror.
Stephen King
and
Mike Flanagan
are the GOATS of Horror
no coincidence they are
both really good friends
and immensely enjoy
and appreciate each others
Work.
When it comes to
Horror movies/tv shows
Mike Flanagan
always delivers
and never disappoints.
My 31 days of
Horror continues
(October 2023)
Still one of the best horror movies I’ve seen.
Intense and atmospheric, Oculus is a chilling horror film. After getting out of a mental ward, Tim Russell is confronted by the demons of his past when his sister reminds him of the pledge he made as a child to destroy an antique mirror that drove their parents insane and killed them. The script is incredibly well plotted in the way that it parallels past and present, and sets up the sister’s intricate plan to expose the mirror’s powers and destroy it. And, Karen Gillan gives an excellent performance that really sells the danger and urgency of the situation. A disturbing psychologically thriller, Oculus delivers some chilling horrors.
Refreshing twisted story with excellent performances.
Yesterday I say this one . Maybe the plot got me excited, maybe it was simply my infatuation for Karen Gillan (it can be XD) but I expected way more from it. It's not a bad movie, far from that, but it's neither a great movie. The story it could have been much more interesting if more infos about the mirror were given instead of a simple list of victims. Actors has been good enough (nothing to be excited about tho) and the rhythm sometimes irritated me : for long moments it was slow, but not "slow slow"... that kind of slowness that is just a tad away from being soporific but at the same time not that kind of slowness that you know it can lead to better and bloody moments. Nope, just plain and irritating "neither fish nor fowl". Honestly nothing gave me chills (a world of difference from, for example, The Conjuring) .Anyway you can give it a try
“A Netfux rental selection for the 31 Days Of Horror, figured we should give it a go. Fingers crossed.”
Not as scary as you might think. No where near horror
Better than expected.
I easily get scared and The Conjuring, Insidious both chapters and many other good scary movies, scare the bejesus out of me. Oculus did not scare me for one second. This movie was bad and very poorly made. Somehow they did all wrong and nothing felt scary or atmospheric to me. Yes Katee Sackhoff scared me a little but she already scared me in Battlestar Galactica!
Same old horror story they need to change a lot,a family moving into a new home gets terrorised by ghost,been done a million times the horror films these days are just awful I used to love horror films the most now they are just poor
Sinceramente a piece of garbage.....
Better than I thought it would be. F-reaking creepy s-tuff!
Meh... Expected more from a trailer that hyped me so much.
a modern horror masterpiece! =)
Shout by splendaBlockedParentSpoilers2015-04-29T07:19:29Z
It's an okay film. The performances by the cast and the way the story was told i.e. the flashbacks merging with the present, not knowing what was real and what wasn't, was done well. But it was so incredibly predictable it was hard to find it scary.