Oculus
Movie, 2013, Directed, Set in A haunted antique mirror
Oculus is #2 of 16 in release order and #2 of 16 in chronological order in the Mike Flanagan.
The story
A woman tries to exonerate her brother's murder conviction by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.
Oculus recap
Oculus (2013) is Mike Flanagan's feature version of his own short film, with Karen Gillan and Brenton Thwaites as Kaylie and Tim Russell, siblings convinced an antique mirror destroyed their family. In 2002 their father bought the mirror for his office, and its hallucinations drove their parents to madness: their father shot their mother, then forced ten-year-old Tim's hand on the trigger to kill himself, and Tim was institutionalised. Eleven years later Tim is released, cured of believing in the supernatural, and Kaylie has tracked the mirror down through her job at an auction house. She fills the old house with cameras, timers and an anchor rigged to smash the mirror, to record its power and clear their names. The two timelines play side by side as the mirror turns their own senses against them.
Oculus ending explained
The past and present blur until Tim and Kaylie relive the night their parents died. Tim releases the anchor to destroy the mirror without seeing that Kaylie is standing in front of it, and kills her. Police arrest Tim, who insists, as he did as a boy, that the mirror is to blame, and as he is taken away he sees Kaylie's ghost in the house with their parents.
Where to watch Oculus
Oculus is streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, Kanopy, and Fandango at Home Free in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 75%
Where it fits
Cast
- Karen Gillan as Kaylie Russell
- Brenton Thwaites as Tim Russell
- Katee Sackhoff as Marie Russell
- Rory Cochrane as Alan Russell
- Annalise Basso as Young Kaylie
- Garrett Ryan as Young Tim
- James Lafferty as Michael Dumont
- Miguel Sandoval as Dr. Shawn Graham
- Kate Siegel as Marisol Chavez
- Scott Graham as Warren
- Justin Gordon as Supervisor Mark
- Dave Levine as Robert Clancy
Directed by Mike Flanagan.