Oculus
Link to the image above: https://images.app.goo.gl/Ty6dDWT8iAvP2Ago6
The movie Oculus is the best horror movie which I have seen up to date today. The movie switches back and forth between present and past time stories which are connected. The movie follows the journey two siblings who work together to tackle the main culprit or the antagonist of the story: an antique mirror which produces the effect of hallucinations. One of the key things which I loved about this movie was the fact that it did not take the common approach of making one sibling as the core protagonist who attempts to prove and convince everyone else including their sibling about the effects of the mirror.
The mirror is highly symbolic in the movie because its intent is extremely clear but the audiences emotions are played with as we watch the two siblings work together to take down the antagonist. For anyone who is not familiar with the director of the movie, let me shine some light about that. The director of Oculus is Mike Flanagan and the movie itself is based on a short film called Oculus- Chapter 3: Man with the Plan. Mike Flanagan’s work has been praised by Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino, and William Friedkin since he focuses heavily on developing core themes of the movie as well as characters instead of the traditional jump scares which are present in horror movies.
Link to the image above: https://images.app.goo.gl/AW3pMuSWF5cGn7ZH7
Mike Flanagan has made several of my favourite horror movies such as Absentia, Gerald’s Game, and Doctor Sleep. My main issues around horror movies is the fact that a lot of them rely heavily on gore, excessive horror themed sound effects, and let’s not forget the presence of an absolutely atrocious looking creature which acts as the antagonist. Oculus steps away from these traditional techniques and focuses heavily on delivering a great story line with a major plot twist which will leave you thinking about the ending for days.
I have huge respect for movie producers who take the time to think about the general direction which the audience will take to form their opinions about the story, its ending as well as other characters and then add an unexpected twist to throw us off. Oculus definitely adds an unexpected twist to the audiences general expectations and leaves us with an ending which may leave a sour taste in some peoples mouth or have few audience members saying, "Well that was brilliant! ". I know for a fact that I was in between those two reactions.
On a final note, I hope I have at least made you a tad bit curious to check out the movie even if you are not whole heartedly convinced. I forgot to mention this earlier but Mike Flanagan has also made several horror tv shows like the Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass. I watched the Haunting of Hill House after several friends highly recommended it and one of them said the following, "You will be missing out on what true horror should feel like if you don’t watch this show". I am happy to say that my friend was spot on. I will be keeping up with more of Mike Flanagan’s work that’s for sure.
Link to the image above: https://images.app.goo.gl/Vdp7wFibn8tAgyKH7
Oculus is a very good film, wow it's been so many years since I saw it, I feel old. The Haunting of Hill House is excellent ! Flanagan is a crack.
One suggestion: put the links to the source of the images.
Thank you for the suggestion JC! I will edit my post and do that right now.