A guy who survived a terrible tragedy in which he lost his parents, is discharged after many years of treatment from a mental hospital. He is met by a sister who also survived the massacre. And she wants revenge, but the problem is that the person responsible is not the person. The killer, in her opinion, is a mirror.
They say that a person cannot but succumb to the temptation to look into the abyss for a moment and imagine his fall. The main characters of the film are drawn to recreate the conditions of that terrible night and look into the eyes of the nightmare - to establish the truth or kill the monster. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about otherworldly forces or just dangerous memories – in itself this situation is extremely dangerous. But it seems that the heroes are ready to go to the end.
What is especially impressive in this film is that what is happening seems to be some kind of witchcraft, until the end it is never clear where the real and what the imaginary are. Objects are no longer what they appear to be, every thing, every room is a threat. Hallucinations or machinations of evil spirits? Danger from the outside or from the subconscious? Heroes play with a nightmare, not knowing where it lives - in an old mirror, or in their heads. It is this psychedelicity, reminiscent of ancient legends about people who fell under the influence of dark magic, bribes and makes you forget about the shortcomings of the tape. The fact that the cursed mirror - "bayan" with experience in several centuries. About the not very obvious, but easily traceable, influence of King's "Shining". Yes, “Oculus” is a completely typical mystical horror film, but the main thing in this case is quality.
The result: a good mystical horror, not bearing revelations for the viewer, but quite worthy and moderately original. It is quite worthy of viewing, and for a fan of the genre it is a holiday.
8 out of 10
Original