Of all the things remarkable about Oculus, and there are many, it's that this is a slow burn film with a deliciously creepy mood, yet at the same time it remains exhilarating throughout. The fact that a "creepy mirror" film proves to be one of the highlights of this (or, frankly, any previous) Midnight Madness slate is a testament to one key fact: this isn't just a great MM film, this is a great film, period.
I had promised I'd work in puns about a film about a haunted mirror proving to be "reflective and illuminating", and I'll stick by that. That said, the statements are apt - it's not often that we can have an inanimate object be the subject of as much dread, and when it's pulled of as effectively as this, it's time to celebrate.
I kind of love that director Mike Flannigan is born in Salem, Massachusetts, it makes his foray into genre filmmaking somewhat predetermined. It's also clear that he's watched his share of Kubrick films, even if he was outed during the Q&A that he prefers the book to the film of The Shining. Still, it's not an unfair or ridiculous comparison - the taught action, the floating camera work, and the sense of coolness that's pervasive in the film is similarly intoxicating.
Visually, the film is extremely strong - a rich palate and glossy yet moody photography is buttressed well against video footage. From the early hypnotic tracking shot following our red-headed lead walking through an auction house, her hair swinging to and fro like a pendulum. Like the mirror itself, the images and Michael Fimognari's camera suck us in, the camera moves deft, the compositions inviting.
Performance wise, the ensemble is uniformly excellent. Katee Sackhoff and Rory Cochrane may have the most recognizable faces, but the rest of the ensemble are more than up to tell this tale with a great deal of conviction.
The key themes of the film, the reflections and distortions caused by the mirror's influence, are shared by a complex yet always coherent editing schema. As we float between timelines, there's always a clear grounding while still providing plenty of opportunities to legitimately freak out an audience. This is a wonderful mix of new and old school cinema, one eschewing the most egregious tricks of low budget horror such as shaky cam or the crutch of "found footage" in order to make up for dreary or incompetently captured imagery. This lack of taking the easy way out, the determination evident in every frame to capture the story with integrity rather than cheap manipulation or contrivance is very much to be applauded.
Oculus proves to be one of the biggest surprises of the fest for me, a silly-sounding premise executed extraordinarily well. Treating the audience with intelligence, this extremely well made film is not only the one to beat in this year's slate, it's also a sure sign to come of an extremely talented filmmaker just at the beginning of what will hopefully prove to be an illustrious career.