REVIEW - OCULUS (MIKE FLANAGAN)

The most effective horror movies tend not to be the ones which make us fear the other, nor the ones which make us fear our environment. They're the ones which make us fear ourselves. The niftiest thing about Oculus' conceit is how it plays on the classic horror device of the protagonist questioning their frame of mind. Here, though, it's not fatigue nor alcohol nor even the most common excuse, insanity, but the very element of the film that also serves as its central force of evil. In condensing these two components into one, Mike Flanagan has devised a film with a singularly impressive structure - it's thoroughly dense, with storylines from separate time periods occurring simultaneously, strategies, reasons and consequences explicated, sometimes at length, yet straightforward in its outcome and direct in its impact. Flanagan reverses the standard order of similar films, establishing a physical space that's plain and simple, fertile ground on which to grow a more complex psychological space. This is where he excels, exploiting the vast capabilities of the mind to interpret, to manipulate and to be manipulated. As seen through the experiences of two individuals, both past and present, both in real time and in recollection, influenced both by memory and by medicine, Flanagan is able to explore an immense amount of possibilities in narrative structure. In keeping us aware of our lack of awareness, he also keeps us on edge throughout, without ever needing to deceive us; in keeping his characters in the same state, he makes them much more likably level-headed than most horror heroes, important if we're to care about their cause, and we do. In the level of technical detail devoted to it, Oculus is an extremely admirable endeavour; in that it is, as aforementioned, straightforward in its outcome, it's less so. Mike Flanagan has taken a simple scenario and trussed it right up, and to spectacular ends, but the function of the film as a whole remains formulaic. He evinces excellent performances from his young actors, which is one among many reasons why Oculus' flashbacks are stronger than its present-day scenes, but their adult counterparts are less convincing.