When I hear the phrase “HAUNTED MIRROR MOVIE,” I don’t exactly jump up and down with glee. The last time there was a haunted mirror movie, we got the film Mirrors, featuring Keifer Sutherland in Jack Bauer-lite mode, yelling such lines as “DON’T LOOK AT THE MIRRORS!!!”

But Oculus has a lot of good things going for it. For one, it’s being ushered in under Blumhouse, Jason Blum’s production company specializing in modern horror films such as Insidious, Paranormal Activity, and Sinister. For another, the film is directed by Mike Flanagan, who directed the incredibly creepy indie horror film Absentia. But what this film really has going for it is an incredibly feisty, energetic performance by Karen Gillan, of Doctor Who and super cute red hair fame, and some really well-done editing.

Gillan stars are Kaylie Russell, a young woman who works at an auction house. Her younger brother Tim (Brenton Thwaites) has just gotten out of a mental institution after being sent there for murdering their father (Rory Cochrane), after their father murdered their mother (Katee Sackhoff). But Kaylie knows (or at least thinks she knows) the real truth: their father was possessed by malevolent spirits that dwelled in an antique mirror he owned. Right away this could come off as silly, but to the film’s credit, it takes its haunted mirror plot 100% seriously.

The recently released Tim thinks Kaylie must be out of her mind, however. He says that they made up the haunted mirror story when they were kids to deal with the trauma of their murderous father. Kayliee sets out to prove Tim and everyone else wrong and, in the process, destroy that cursed mirror once and for all.

Oculus relies more on atmosphere and dread than gore, but there are one too many jump scares where an utterly harmless character will appear out of nowhere and say something like, “HERE’S THAT THING YOU WANTED!” as a giant musical sting blares. But when the film is working, it’s working well.

Besides the creepy ghoul effects and the ghostly backstory, the film shines most with Gillan’s performance and the tight, clever editing. Gillan plays Kaylie as a fast-talking, obsessive, slightly unhinged person. For the first hour of the film there are hints that maybe Tim is right: there are no ghosts, and Kaylie is just making all of this up to deal with her emotional trauma. A part of me wishes that this actually were the plot of the film, because that would be something new and interesting. Instead, the film wants to go the tired and true route of ghosts who grin creepily and have scary eyes. The editing, which was actually done by director Flanagan himself, is fantastic. The film frequently cuts back and forth between our present-day story and the story 11 years ago when Tim and Kaylie were kids, dealing with the mirror destroying their family. This could come off as confusing and slightly tiresome, but Flanagan’s quick, intelligent editing keeps things concise. There’s also a wonderful scene in which Kaylie, in rapid-fire succession, lays out the long and bloody history of the haunted mirror. It’s to Flanagan’s directorial and editing credit (and, again, Gillan’s acting) that a scene comprised literally of a person talking and holding up old timey photographs can come across as thrilling.

The film does have its setbacks, though. Brenton Thwaites, as Tim, is rather bland and pretty much has one expression—wide eyed, mouth slightly agape—the entire film. The kids playing the younger Kaylie and Tim (Annalise Brasso and Garrety Ryan, respectively) are fairly irritating with their constant bickering and frequent high-pitched screams, and any time the film cut to them, I found myself a lot less interested. The film also doesn’t entirely earn its ending, and it feels almost arbitrary at this point to leave room for sequels—not every new horror film needs to be a franchise. Also, as the film’s “villain,” the haunted mirror itself is a little too vague. I’m not saying I need an explanation for why this mirror is so haunted and evil, but some sort of clue or hint could help. And the fact that the mirror is seemingly unstoppable makes it a somewhat boring enemy.

Oculus doesn’t set the horror-film world on fire, and it doesn’t exactly break new ground. But it’s a fairly creepy, well-made film with one big stand-out performance, and sometimes that’s all you need.

7/10

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