Oculus (2013)

 

An oculus is an opening in a roof or a wall that is in the shape of circle. Oculus’ were common in Roman architecture, with the most famous example of an oculus being the one in The Pantheon. It only makes sense to make a film called Oculus and have it be about a supernatural mirror. If this mirror functioned as a window, much like the purpose of an oculus, this would make sense. In Oculus, this Is not the case.

Oculus follows related narratives involving the Russell family. One narrative focuses on the Russell family moving into a new house in 2002. Alan (Rory Cochrane) purchases an antique mirror to decorate his office. Not long afterwards, Alan and his wife Marie (Katee Sackoff) suffer from delusions, irritation, and irrational behavior as the mirror slowly gains influence over them. The second narrative takes place 11 years later with the Russell siblings, Tim (Brenton Thwaites) and Kaylie (Karen Gillan), trying to figure out how the mirror works in order to destroy it. But they too become affected by the mirror’s presence, and lose sense of what’s real and what isn’t real.

In full honesty, hating this film for having an odd title is a bit nitpicky. Oculus has the really great elements of a horror film—creepy, atmospheric, and unpredictable. Jump scares are not abundant, and are only used to prime the audience for the next scare to come. There are some shock horror moments, including some fingernail horror and a sequence of mistaking a light bulb for an apple, but they are quite subtle while still being creepy.

The main problem in this film is the plot and story. As far as horror films go, it is not a badly constructed plot. It’s a decent plot. There are some minor plot holes and moments that will leave the audience thinking “wait, why don’t you do this instead?”. The climax of the film attempts to mash both narratives into one sequence, nay, the entirety of ACT III, and the end result is a giant soggy pile of confusing action sequences and overlapping storylines. Eventually this climax leads to a rather disappointing and predictable conclusion.

Oculus is one of the better horror films to have come out in recent years, but it is unlikely to be acclaimed as a classic horror film in the coming years. It’s a good film for scary movie nights and Halloween parties, but despite the good visuals, good acting, and creepy atmosphere, it’s not likely going to age well due to the confusing plot and the weak ending.

	Oculus
Story/Plot	6
Pacing	8
Direction	8
Cinematography/Visuals	7
Editing	8
Sound Design	8
Acting	8
Theme/goal	7
Entertainment Value	8
Rewatchability	7
Final Score	7.5