Mirrors, as more than one horror movie has taught us in the past, can be creepy. Especially if you’ve just woken up after a bad night. Or, even worse, when they become portals for something utterly terrifying that wants to steal your soul. That’s the problem that Karen Gillan and Katee Sackhoff face in Oculus.
Co-written and directed by Mike Flanagan and based on a short he made, Oculus digs deep into our fear of scary mirrors.
Here’s the setup: ten years ago, tragedy struck the Russell family, leaving the lives of teenage siblings Tim (Brenton Thwaites) and Kaylie (Gillan) forever changed when Tim was convicted of the brutal murder of their parents. Now in his 20s, Tim is newly released from protective custody and wants to move on with his life. But Kaylie, still haunted by that fateful night, is convinced her parents’ deaths were caused by something else altogether: a malevolent supernatural force – unleashed through the Lasser Glass, an antique mirror in their childhood home.
Determined to prove Tim’s innocence, Kaylie tracks down the mirror, only to learn similar deaths have befallen previous owners over the past century. With the mysterious entity now back in their hands, Tim and Kaylie soon find their hold on reality shattered by terrifying hallucinations, and realize, too late, that their childhood nightmare is beginning again...
Oculus is set for release in the US on April 11. We’re looking into our magic mirror to see if there is a UK date yet, but when we tried that in the past, our eyes fell out. It’s getting annoying.