OCULUS

Jeri Jacquin, Movie Maven

Coming to theatres this Friday from director Mike Flanagan and WWE Studios is a different kind of horror with OCULUS.

This film tells the story of Tim Russell (Brenton Thwaites) and sister Kaylie (Karen Gillan). Tim is recently released from a mental institution after spending over ten years of his life receiving treatment. Met by sister Kaylie upon release, she seems focused on finishing childhood business.

There mother Marie (Katee Sackhoff) and father Alan (Rory Cochrane) are both dead and Kaylie blames the house they lived in that held an evil mirror. Now with cameras set up around the entire house, Kaylie convinces Tim to stay and see for himself that there is something evil.

In the midst of it all a young Kaylie (Annalise Basso) and Tim (Garrett Ryan) replay the family’s history along side their grown up selves. Yes, something is turning their minds inside out.

Looking at them is a mirror that knows their deepest fears!

FINAL WORD: Gillan as Kaylie is a woman obsessed with keeping a childhood promise. She is tense as well as intense with the research and technology at her disposal. Gillan plays this character well and with the jump between ages until they finally meld together really brings it all together.

Thwaites as Tim is now the calm sibling after his years in captivity. Trying to convince his sister that their memories are all jumbled, it only takes a short time in the house to begin questioning everything. Thwaites does a really good job of trying to keep his sanity when everyone else is losing theirs. The ending is nicely done!

Sackhoff as Marie goes from happy wife to emotional wreck and it takes some toll on her beauty. Cockrane as Alan is at the center of all the mayhem with a mistress that no one wants to mess with.

Basso as young Kaylie is wonderful and equal kudos goes to Ryan as young Tim. These two together really did a fantastic job and their roles as siblings was totally believable.

Other cast includes: James Lafferty as Michael Dumont, Miguel Sandoval as Dr. Shawn Graham, Kate Siegel as Marisol Chavez, and Scott Graham as Warren.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give OCULUS three and a half tubs of popcorn out of five. This is an evil and twisted GROUNDHOGS DAY with a creepy Mirror of Erised that even Harry Potter would stay away from. Normally I’m not a fan of flashbacks but it works here because of the pretty cool way director Mike Flanigan made it work.

The film has the right amount of eerie, a dash of creepy but never forgetting the storyline. The cast is absolutely perfect giving performances that had me rethinking ever having a mirror in my house again – let alone plants or dogs!

So grab some friends and if football or blue birds aren’t your cup of tea then head out to have a fright or two with OCULUS!

In the end – you see what it wants you to see.