Film Review #31

Over spring break I went to the movies with a friend and saw Oculus. It is an independent thriller/horror film with an interesting plot. This is a synopsis I found online:

"Two siblings haunted by a childhood tragedy learn that the source of their horror is a mysterious mirror with a dark history. Tim and Kaylie were merely teenagers when both of their parents were brutally butchered. Convicted of the killings and sentenced to protective custody, Tim serves his time while Kaylie drifts into a deep despair. Years later, a newly free Tim does his best to lay the past to rest. Meanwhile, Kaylie is certain that her brother was innocent all along, and that the antique mirror their parents used to own holds the answer to her darkest questions. Upon locating the long-lost looking glass, Kaylie's deepest fears are confirmed -- a menacing force inhabits that mirror, and it has plagued every owner who has come into possession of it. Now, as curious Kaylie reacquires the mirror, the nightmarish cycle of horror returns with a vengeance."

Initially, when I saw the trailer for Oculus I thought the concept of playing with perception was really cool for a horror film, but when I got into the theater I realized it was more of a psychological thriller than a horror film. The concept was still cool, but the film itself was a bit confusing. Throughout the film, the time constantly switches from past to present so it was sometimes really hard to figure out what was actually happening. Although that was distracting from the plot, it may have been intentional. In the film, the characters struggle to decipher what is reality and what is not, so perhaps the filmmakers wanted the audience to feel just as confused as the characters did. Overall, it was a pretty interesting movie and I'd recommend it.