I’m a big fan of good horror films, and there have been quite a few good ones in the last few years. This one belongs on the list. I’m sure those who disagree with me will complain “nothing happens!” Even if this were true (it isn’t), “Seinfeld” showed us that there can be success in entertainment about “nothing.” Of course, what they really mean is there wasn’t a lot of maiming and slashing and gore and…you get the idea. No, this is much more of a psychological film. It blurs the line between reality and illusion just as it blurs the line between past and present.

The story seems slightly familiar to me, but that may be because there’s a similar segment in Dead of Night, which I just reviewed a few days ago. It also made the ending a little predictable. But let’s face it—there’s very little originality in horror films anymore. Most of the fun comes from the execution. And this has some genuinely creepy moments. I noticed some guy on IMDB kept harping on people to compare this to The Exorcist, which—I guess—is what he thought was the best horror film. So let me oblige. Much like The Exorcist, this is a slow burn. It takes time to develop. It builds, layer upon layer, and each layer increases our difficulty in discerning reality from illusion. And like The Exorcist, this film makes use of sound to intensify the fear factor. However, Oculus tends to overdo it. I found if I turned the volume up loud enough to hear the dialogue, the sound effects became loud enough to hurt my ears. Oculus also doesn’t quite provide the level of fright that The Exorcist has, but it should be enough to creep you out for the night.

I’m glad to see Rory Cochrane working, but I thought most of the performances were a little underdeveloped. I guess I don’t always need that in a horror film, but it helps.

IMDB has it at a 6.7. That seems a little high. It’s a good film, but not great. I’d give it a solid 6.0, though. (running time 1:44)