KR FEATURES OCULUS
Written By The Butcher

Visit The Official Site for OCULUS now!
Visit the official site for Mike Flanagan
Watch the Trailer Now!

Co-writer/director Mike Flanagan contacted me shortly after reading my CHAINSAW SALLY review. He mentioned that he had done the cinematography for the film and asked if I would be interested in checking a short film of his, titled ‘OCULUS’. Well, after viewing the trailer, it was pretty much a no-brainer for me. I immediately asked him to send over a copy and within a week, I was sitting on my couch with the DVD in hand. Nice! I was looking forward to viewing this and hoped that it wouldn't be disappointing. Thankfully for ole Mike (wink-wink) it wasn't.

OCULUS is about a young man named Tim Russell (Scott Graham), who locks himself in a room with three video cameras, TV monitors, food, water and a giant mirror that he believes is the source of great evil. See, Tim lost his father years before and believes that the mirror is somehow responsible. Now, armed with a plan to die for, he is determined to prove his theory is correct.  

The movie opens with two guys delivering the mirror to Tim. They enter the space, unpack the mirror and place it on an iron stand that rests on the opposite side of the room. Tim immediately asks them to cover the ominous object with a nearby sheet. They do just that and quickly leave. After Tim settles in and explains his plan he gives us (the audience) a run-down of the mirror’s history, which dates back hundreds of years. This is what I enjoyed the most actually; the explaining of the mirror’s past. It's like telling someone all the horrific events that took place in your basement, knowing that they have to go down there sooner then later. Now that's some serious tension-building, heavy on the extra creepiness.

I also enjoyed Scott Graham’s performance. The film runs only thirty minutes long, but you can clearly see a change in his personality. As his time in the room progresses he begins to freak out in a major way. He forgets which alarm does what, forgets to change the tapes in the cameras and is basically losing his mind. Scott does a good job with the transition, which is fortunate because everything relies on his performance. I mean, it's just him, some video cameras and a mirror for Chrissake! So, big props to Scotty

The finale also kicks major ass. It doesn't last very long, but I think that's why it works. You have this great build-up, roughly twenty five minutes, so by the time something "happens" it's really effective. If you watch the film in the dark with Surround-sound, you'll see what I mean. The menacingly atmospheric build will suck you in like a giant vacuum and then smack you in the face like a sledgehammer. Ouch!

Overall, OCULUS is a very impressive effort. Quite honestly, it's one of the best shorts I've ever seen. I don't watch too many shorts, but I've seen enough to feel confident saying that. If you would like a copy of OCULUS then you'll need to Contact Mike Directly and work something out. FYI - there is talks of a feature version of the OCULUS tale. We can't wait Mike!