Oculus is a horror movie about a haunted mirror. I know, I know. It sounds like a hackneyed plot - something out of a Stephen King spoof - but it's also one that, if you give the premise a chance, is rife with potential. And it's potential that newcomer Mike Flanagan taps into successfully, crafting a fiendish, creepy and effective horror film.
Oculus stars Karen Gillen and Brenton Thwaites as Kaylie and Tim Russell: siblings whose family has been plagued with tragedies ever since their parents acquired an old mirror known as the Lasser Glass when they were children. Tim and Kaylie become convinced that, somehow, it's the mirror's insidious effect that's responsible for the horrors that befall their family. As a result of these tragedies, Tim is institutionalised, but not before he and Kaylie promise to reunite upon his release and destroy the mirror once and for all...
