Oculus (2013)

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HALLOWEEN REVIEWS 2021

Director: Mike Flanagan

Writers: Mike Flanagan & Jeff Howard, based on a short screenplay by Mike Flanagan & Jeff Seidman

Stars: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane, Annalise Basso, Garrett Ryan



A woman (Karen Gillan) enlists her younger brother (Brenton Thwaites), recently released from a mental institution, in a scheme to document the paranormal characteristics of an antique mirror that she blames for the destruction of her family.

 


Writer/director Mike Flanagan (with co-writer Jeff Howard) has effectively intertwined two timelines, following both the interactions of the siblings with the mirror in the present and the mirror’s horrific attack on the family in the past. 



Katee Sackhoff and Rory Cochrane are excellent as the parents.

 


The foregone conclusion may rob the flashbacks of some of their power, but this is offset by the quality of acting, characterization, and some very creepy visuals.

 


The present action kept me off balance by blurring reality and illusion right up until the final tragic moments.


Spoiler alert!!! The end of the movie!!













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