Name: Oculus (2013)
IMDb: link to Oculus page
Genres: Drama Country of origin: USA.
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.
Directed by: Mike Flanagan. Written by: Mike Flanagan, Jeff Howard.
The initial tableaux:
Tim is on a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. He discovers a method for convincing his overseer that he has embraced reality and accepted responsibility for events of the past. So they let him go from managed care to a well-organised external support group including his sister Kaylie.
Kaylie reminds Tim to keep in mind what really happened, and that they have a task that they have agreed to complete. The dreams and hallucinations start early on. Kaylie has spent the years growing her experience and reputation in auctions and properties. She retrieves what she thinks will be needed to settle the issue. Kaylie thinks that she is sufficiently prepared. Tim is willing to help her record any weirdness that might occur.
We flashback to the time when Tim and Kaylie lived as children with Marie and Alan, their dear parents. The flashbacks detail Kaylie and Tim dealing with their parents descending into madness and death.
Delineation of conflicts:
Much of the action centers about an old mirror (the Lasser Glass) that Kaylie retrieves in the present, and their parents owned in the past, notably near the time when they died. Kaylie traced its history back to 1754, and documents deaths associated with it over the centuries.
The Lasser Glass does what it will, which is to kill its owners, often by dehydration or starvation. Kaylie intends to record its actions and figure out what really happened to Alan and Marie. Kaylie has that in mind. Tim has accepted deeply the more rational explanations given by his psychiatrists.
Resolution: Which model is correct? The rational one, or the supernatural? Kaylie's detailed plans should show something definite, unless someone interferes, of course.
One line summary: Brother and sister challenge the supernatural.
Statistics:
Cinematography: 8/10 Bright and sharp. Most of the shots are of interiors, but quite well-done.
Sound: 8/10 The music is often foreboding, which is a nice touch for this sort of property. The actors were well-miked.
Acting: 9/10 Sackhoff, Cochrane, Gillan, and Thwaites all did excellent jobs.
Screenplay: 9/10 During the first half of the film, the screenplay is just brilliant. All events, past and present, are interpreted in both the rational and the supernatural models. Neither Tim nor Kaylie can convince the other of their argument. Both have had years to analyse and interpret the facts of the case. During the second half, it becomes unclear whether Kaylie's rational methods to prove the supernatural will convince anyone else than herself and Tim. It's quite a nice piece of writing.
Final rating: 9/10
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