Directed by Mike Flanagan. Written by Flanagan and Jeff Howard. Starring Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Annalise Basso, James Lafferty, Miguel Sandoval, Katee Sackhoff and Rory Cochrane.
Plot: a brother and sister try to prove that an antique mirror is to blame for the deaths of their parents.
This movie exhausted us. Sure it takes place in different timelines, but that’s not the confusing bit. The who, how and why are much more difficult to understand. Tim (Thwaites), the brother, has been sent to a mental hospital for his involvement in the deaths of his parents. His sister, Kaylie (Gillan), is convinced that the mirror caused the deaths and has been working dilligently to figure out how to prove it. The mirror is supernatural though – maybe haunted, magical, demonic, doesn’t matter – and it really won’t let them succeed. From effecting what the siblings do to altering what they see, it manages to protect itself from being caught. Worst part is, you, the viewer, never find out why it’s able to do that.
We had a really hard time liking anyone in this movie, except maybe Kaylie’s fiance, Michael (Lafferty), who didn’t really sign up for the bullshit, but sadly winds up a tragedy anyway. The characters were also inconsistent. One minute they are scared to death of their mother and the next they are breaking into a room to see if she is okay. The motive was unrealistic and unclear. There are no rules and there was definitely no Freddy Claws. The story made us angry. DJ found himself looking at the clock about 30 minutes in just to be thoroughly disappointed that it had so much longer to go.
Though there were a couple rather creepy parts, we were too frustrated to even enjoy them or to be truly scared. The effects were on point however, so points for them. But the movie still loses so many points for leaving us with so many questions. Aside from the movie giving you no clear indication of what is real or not, and aside from never explaining why the mirror affected the phones the way it did (or the lights or the cameras), and aside from the stupid siblings going to doctors and neighbors, but never the police, the movie is really proven to be complete shit when it ends the way it does. What’s worse is that we saw it coming, were hoping it would surprise us, and when it didn’t, we just sighed and gave it a very, very low score.
I suppose I could list my favorite movies here, but instead I'll give you a strange glimpse into what makes me TaraRomero.
1. I met George Romero. He was the kindest and sweetest man. He talked to me for longer than he should have with the line getting longer. He also held my hand. And when he noticed the ladybug I have tattooed on my wrist, he said he liked it and asked me it's name. Till then, it had not had a name. Now, I call him George.
2. I love stickers. All stickers. I just adore them. I even ask for stickers for Christmas! As a matter of fact, the birthday that just past, every member of my immediate family gave me sticker packs as gifts. Affordable and extremely appreciated.
3. I have never put much stock in astrology or horoscopes, but I LOVE the magic of the MBTI. Omg. I am an INFP and it actually sounds just like me. Introverted mostly. Creative always. Heart before head and not the most logical. Totally me! For better or worse.
4. It's no surprise I count horror so high up on the list of things that make me, me. However, it's so within my soul that I was part of the Horror Club in college. Interesting bunch. And even took a Horror Lit class as an elective. I got an A.
5. Coffee always makes me happy. Always. I'm particularly fond of caramel macchiatos. But I'll drink black coffee if it's the only thing available.
6. I hate shock for the sake of shock and endings that depress me. I always mention the movies Within (2016) and the Eli Roth produced, written and starred in, Aftershock (2012), as proof of this distate I have. I abhor the idea that just because I like horror, some people think I'd actually praise a movie that lets you think the "Final Girl" just made it through the night, only to slap her in the face with a tsunami.
7. We are big time animal people. I mean, if I could, I'd have an elephant, a bear, a zebra, a penguin, an otter and a meerkat, living with me. Seriously though. We have 2 dogs right now and 2 cats. Both cats we picked up when they each came to our front door hungry. And both dogs we got from 2 different sets of neighbors. Both who, unfortunately, don't know how to care for pets long-term. But they're happy and healthy now!!
8. Revisiting my love of horror, one of the above cats, my cat, is a little black guy named Church. Because Pet Sematary. His middle name is even Pascow. To give credit where credit's due, the name was DJ's idea. But he loves horror too!
9. I'm big into art. Along with movie posters and an Anne Frank quote, I have some actual paintings on my wall. I really think Dali paints beautifully when he wants to. And if I don't get to see Michaelangelo's Pieta in person some day, I will be very disappointed.
10. Lastly, I find Emily Dickinson's poetry intriguing. I took an elective course about her as well. But do you know I injected horror even there? I was given a poem to dissect and I picked one on death, of course. Then, I researched old "Death Photos" and even printed out copies for everyone in the class. They were so interested in looking at them that it stopped them from all looking at me, and I was able to deal quite well with my stage fright. Haha
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2 thoughts on “Oculus (2013)”
Agreed! Such a disappointment! I do not understand the praise this movie gets! Is is too predictable, you can see how this ends about 10-15 min. in. And don’t get me started on the characters! The lead female drove me crazy with her silly plan!
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Agreed! Such a disappointment! I do not understand the praise this movie gets! Is is too predictable, you can see how this ends about 10-15 min. in. And don’t get me started on the characters! The lead female drove me crazy with her silly plan!
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OMG I saw the ending coming the whole time but i was hoping that that wasn’t how it was going to go but they fed me that bullshit. Ridiculous!!
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