Finally i return with a new post. Oh wait, i have to introduce myself first. Julian Cannon is back for another movie review and this time it is the horror film Oculus. Oculus is a 2013 American horror film directed by Mike Flanagan. The movie had its world premiere on September 8, 2013, at the Toronto International Film Festival and got a theatrical release on April 11, 2014.The movie stars Karen Gillan as a young woman that is convinced that an antique mirror is responsible for the death and misfortune her family has suffered. The Film was produced by WWE Studios.
Cast and Characters
- Karen Gillan as Kaylie Russell
- Annalise Basso as young Kaylie Russell
- Brenton Thwaites as Tim Russell
- Garrett Ryan as young Tim Russell
- Rory Cochrane as Alan Russell
- Katee Sackhoff as Marie Russell
- James Lafferty as Michael
- Miguel Sandoval as Dr. Graham
- Katie Parker as Annie
- Kate Siegel as Marisol
Plot
Ten years earlier, tragedy struck the family of teenage siblings Tim and Kaylie Russell. Their parents were brutally murdered and Tim was charged with their deaths and convicted.
Tim (Brenton Thwaites), now in his 20s, is released from a mental institution and just wants to move on with his life; but his sister Kaylie (Karen Gillan) wants to clear Tim’s name. She’s convinced the Lasser Glass, an antique mirror in their childhood home, unleashed a malevolent supernatural force that killed their parents.
Kaylie tracks down the mirror and finds out similar deaths occurred to other owners over the course of the past 100 years. With the mysterious mirror back in their possession, Tim and Kaylie find themselves experiencing terrifying hallucinations, and realize, too late, that what happened to them 10 years earlier is starting to happen again.
Production
To me, I thought the special effects and the supernatural scenes were great although confusing. The one that had me the most was when Kaylie ate an apple but to find out in the next few seconds that she ate a light bulb but to only find out that it was a dream. The Camera setup and the way it goes from the past to present took me off for a bit but it was still cool. Final thought here is that I liked how the way the mirror was used during the entire movie.
Closing thoughts
The movie is pretty good but however, if you are not paying attention, you will be lost pretty quickly after about 20 minutes into the movie. There was a little suspense but the scenes that give you the chill factor make up for it. The actors did a mediocre job with the exception of Karen Gillian in which I thought she did pretty great. Everyone must have been thinking “why didn’t they just break the mirror from the start?’. Well there is about a few reasons why they couldn’t do it but you will have to see. The ending of the film felt flat although it made sense. This movie is best to just watch it in you’re house when you want to kill time. I give this film a rating of 6 out of 10.
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