Oculus
They do it with mirror
Release Date: 20 October
2014 | 15 | 103 minutes | £ 25.99 ( Blu- ray)/£ 20.99 ( DVD) Distributor: Warner Home Video Director: Mike Flanagan Cast: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff,
Rory Cochrane, James Lafferty
This horror
turns a simple mirror into a genuinely scary villain, as Karen Gillan’s Kaylie sets out to prove that it was the creepy looking glass – and not her brother Tim – who was responsible for their parents’ deaths.
As the mirror toys with Kaylie and Tim’s minds on their return to the family home, Oculus relishes the fact that what you imagine is usually much scarier than what you see. Mike Flanagan thrives on the small budget that’s become the trademark of Jason Blum productions, and keeps the effects to a minimum in a tight, spare production that could almost work as a play. Flanagan’s camera work is sublime, cutting expertly between Kaylie and Tim’s fight for survival and flashbacks to their parents’ death. You may see the dénouement coming, but even so, Oculus is brilliantly played, inventive and genuinely chilling.
Extras: Nothing on the DVD. The highlight on the Blu- ray ( rated) is Flanagan’s 2006 short “Oculus Chapter 3: The Man With The Plan” ( 32 minutes). Much of it feels familiar after watching the main attraction, but it’s a real treat to see the movie’s minimalist origins. The “Inside The Mirror” featurette ( 10 minutes) is too brief but hits the key beats of journey from short to feature, while the six deleted scenes would have added little to the movie – especially the Candyman- esque coda. Richard Edwards Oculus director Mike Flanagan is currently working on a screenplay for an I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot.