Oculus [Film Review]

STORY 

4/5

WRITING 

4/5

ACTING

3.5/5

MUSIC

3/5

CINEMATOGRAPHY 

3.5/5

I almost always hate horror movies. There have been few I've liked (primarily The Shining and Under the Skin). But I have to say... this was one of the most pleasant surprises I've had this year. I was expecting more of the trend that's been going on in horror films - relying on 'boo' scares rather than a horrific story, mistaking slowness for suspense, boring story, badly written script and unstructured characters. Examples of this that come to mind are pretty much every horror film I've been subject to, other than the two listed above. But Oculus succeeds in the ways those films fail.

It took me a while to get into its rhythm, and I of course had my doubts at first. But I was instead subject to an intelligent, genuinely captivating film. Oculus has an excellently structured story with some genuine horror, intriguing characters, an entertainingly written script (with some smooth exposition), and some surprisingly great acting, especially from the shockingly talented Annalise Basso, now one of my favorite child actors. Her counterpart however, Garrett Ryan, was quite the disappointment.

The film features incredibly fluid transitions from past to present. The primary subject of the film is a haunted mirror, with unexplained origins. It seems to alter the reality of the film, and both the characters and the viewer can never really know what's going on. In that way, it effectively uses and nearly transcends the unreliable narrator trope, almost as effectively as this year's Gone Girl.

Mike Flanagan is a name I'm unacquainted with, but I will now work to become acquainted with it... because if this says anything about the rest of his filmography, then I'm hooked. Quality horror films being a norm? WHAAAAAAAAT?!