I know what you’re thinking – but don’t jump the gun after seeing a WWE Studios title card flash before the very first Oculus trailer. Sure, they haven’t put together a stellar reputation just yet, releasing movies like See No Evil and the latest Scooby Doo cartoon, but the Blumhouse Production title card displayed shortly after should instill a little faith. Will April 11th bring an early birthday present to this die-hard horror fan?
After watching the trailer, I think there’s a chance here for an enticing and terrifying horror experience. Starring Karen Gillan (Doctor Who), a young girl (Kaylie) and her brother Tim (played by Brenton Thwaites) are forced to battle some other-worldly force who is released from an evil mirror of sorts – all while Kaylie is trying to clear Tim’s name after being accused of killing their parents. Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the bloodiest of them all? If this spook-filled trailer is any indication, it won’t be very hard to answer that question by the end of Oculus.
Let’s not forget that Oculus took the Toronto After Dark Film Festival by storm, where it won the runner up prize for the Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award. Writer/Director Mike Flanagan is making quite the splash and getting people pretty excited for a story about a malicious mirror, sporting the tagline “You see what it wants you to see.”
Well, apparently people are indeed seeing what they want to see, as Oculus currently has a 100% over at Rotten Tomatoes (albeit with 5 reviews). Jason Gorber from Twitch claims Flanagan’s film is a “slow burn film with a deliciously creepy mood, yet at the same time it remains exhilarating throughout…This isn’t just a great Midnight Madness film, this is a great film, period,” while Dennis Harvey from Variety says “Oculus succeeds in keeping the viewer’s bearings unsettled as the helmer’s effective building of dread curdles into a series of narrative twists as dislocating as an Escher-drawn staircase.” The hype is there, but will it be warranted?
Tell you what – I’ll let you decide. Be sure to check out the trailer for Oculus below, and let us know if you’ve been chilled to the bone. Once people start throwing words around like “original” and “unique,” I personally get a little excited fantasizing about horror material I’ve never seen before, but we’ll have to wait until the film’s April 11th release before such praise can be proven right or wrong.