Oculus Review

Good horror movies are hard to find. Very hard to find. Considering the “horror” market is dominated by exorcisms and different spins on zombie/virus outbreaks, even the good ones that come out of those sub-genres are hard to take seriously because there are just so many of them and they each have just a subtly different core mechanic working for them. It’s like if Pitbull made horror movies.

Oculus is not a good horror movie because it isn’t really a horror movie. It certainly provokes a sense of dread and suspense, very efficiently at that, but it’s seldom “scary,” so it’s harder to categorize. I guess the best label I could give it is “supernatural thriller” or “Inception for Beginners (and also it’s scary sometimes).”
Honestly, I didn’t want to give Oculus a chance. It seemed interesting but when I saw a trailer, I felt bored. I only saw it after it came out and awarding reviews came pouring in, and at one point it had 12 articles on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes that were all positive, gaining the film a perfect 100% score. Eventually it went down to 71%, but that’s still impressive, especially for a scary movie in April (or ever).

After watching the trailer and being unimpressed, I was unimpressed for the wrong reasons. I thought to myself “this doesn’t look scary, it looks low-budget and it looks like it’s trying to capture the horror crowd at a time when there are no other scary movies to see.” I could just imagine the TV spots: “Oculus is the #1 Horror Movie in America.” But then again, I thought “actually, I hate when trailers show all the good stuff.” This is especially true for a horror film where the best parts are the parts you don’t know are coming yet. So between that and the reviews, I gave it a chance.

Oculus is, literally, about a haunted mirror. An old, antique mirror is passed down from owner to owner, all of whom suffer gruesome deaths that are explained by “police” and “scientists” with really simple causalities, like starvation and depression over failed gardening projects. Kaylie and Tim are children when they move in to a new house (shocking), and the mom, being the eccentric connoisseur of glassware that she is, purchases the damning gateway to Satan’s vanity. Slowly but surely, the mirror starts complicating everything: makes the dog crazy, convinces the husband to cheat on the wife, convinces the wife that the husband is cheating, but the real crazy part is when the mirror starts whispering things. Whispering things.

Anyway, events unfold and Tim is forced to shoot the dad because he goes on a violent whisper-fueled rampage. The son is whisked away to jail/counseling and his psychiatrist decides “Hey, he’s not as fucked up as you think, let him go.” Tim is released and allowed to feel sunshine on his skin, freedom in his soul, happiness in his mind once again :)

Then Kaylie completely ruins his life.

Kaylie convinces Tim that they have to retrieve the mirror and prove that it was the mirror that made their mom and dad crazy and it’s because of the mirror that Tim had to shoot their dad. She is hell-bent on clearing their family’s name and even Googles an entire history of the mirror’s (called the Lasser Glass) previous ownership. Tim thinks she’s crazy, and plays along with her ruse to prove her wrong. After all, he had spent years being told that his dad was just an abusive, cheating crazy person (as most software programmers tend to be) and that the mirror has nothing to do with anything. He finally feels content with his life and has closure, but Kaylie won’t have any of it.

So, being sane and not obsessed, she sets up a 3-camera reality show to observe the mirror, she installs sensors in the walls that detect when the temperature drops or rises and in the MOST sane and not obsessed display of normalcy, she rigs a Poean “kill-switch” device that is set to smash the mirror every 45 minutes unless someone resets the timer. The caveat here being that it is impossible to harm the mirror intentionally. It has force fields or some shit.

The film is clearly pretty low budget, save for some excellent cinematography, but that’s an admirable aspect of horror movies (if they work). Luckily, Oculus excels at making you say “What the actual fuck” every few minutes. It spirals out of control, on multiple levels, inviting you to question what is real and what is not, what is in the past and what is in the present, what is done on purpose and what is done by demon-mind-control.
It’s the film’s greatest strength but also its greatest weakness, because it essentially creates an all-powerful rule for itself, like that one kid in Kindergarten always did. You’re told “the mirror can make you do and think whatever it wants.” So, there’s never really a sense of hope or victory because any time you think something is going the protagonists’ way, the mirror just does whatever it wants.

BUT, it’s very clever about it. It’s not until about maybe 70% of the way through that you realize how all the different perceptions of reality start melding together. This isn’t a story about two kids who grew up and are challenging their demons, it’s something completely different. If you realize what’s happening before the end, it’s like Oculus is the cool kid filling you in on an inside joke. Although it panders a bit at certain parts, and while most of the focused shots aren’t wasted, there are a few random moments that are elaborated without having any lasting or important effects.

Nothing about the mirror is really even explained (nor is it particularly necessary), but the ending leaves options open for a sequel. The ending also can be the ending, which surprised me. I’d be content with a sequel but I’d be content without one, which is a perfect ending to me.

Oculus is frantic, tragic and purposely energetic. It’s an OCD patient’s nightmare, but it keeps you on the edge of your antique oak wood rocker by altering time, space and reality. It has its spooky moments, and plenty of chilling build-ups (even if some of the scares are accompanied by unnecessary non-diegetic scores), but Oculus is simply a suspense story. The scares are predictable but the twists are not, and I’ll take a magic mirror over zombie vampire priests… for now.

The Good:

+ Chilling and dreadful
+ Subverts horror tropes
+ Refreshing and original
+ Frenetic

The Bad:

- Cheats
- Panders slightly
- Some focal points have no real impact

8/10

My demons are better than your demons,
Kyle

Paranormal Activity Review: Puts the "Super" back in Supernatural.

Paranormal Activity may have one of the least creative movie titles ever produced, but what it may lack in name quality it more than makes up for in its execution. Long have I waited for a “good” horror flick, considering most of the J-horror rehashes are just plain annoying, and I’ve finally got what I’ve been waiting for. Paranormal Activity may be a hit-or-miss for many people, especially considering its direction style, but if you’re a fan of scary films in general or at least loved Cloverfield or The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity may just be right up your alley.

Personally, nothing scares me more than phenomena pertaining to ghosts, demons, or otherworldly figures, which is primarily why I was so excited for Paranormal Activity. It tells the story of a couple living together, Katie and Micah, who experience strange, unexplained happenings in their two-story home. As a fun experiment, Micah buys a high-end video camera and sets it up in their room (along with walking around the house with it) to officially record evidence, although he doesn’t take it too seriously. Katie explains that whatever is haunting them has been following her ever since she was a child, so no matter where she goes, she hears strange noises and has horrible nightmares. After doing some research, Micah discovers that her haunting is actually the work of a “demon,” a creature who solicits joy from the torture of others.

Paranormal Activity will scare you.

That’s simply it. I went into the film looking for a fun and scary thrill ride, but what I got was so much more than that. This is possibly the best form of the hand-held digital camera style of filmmaking I’ve seen yet for multiple reasons.

Paranormal Activity does what most other horror films don’t: it involves the audience. What many horror films try and fail to do is tell a coherent story and rather than put you in the shoes of the victims, they act more like forgettable campfire ghost tales. Paranormal, on the other hand, treats you like a member of the couples’ experience, which is where the pacing of the story sets in so well. While many might find it annoying, the film starts off with Micah buying the camera, playing with it and teasing Katie; this kind of footage goes on intermittently throughout the film multiple times. The nighttime scenes, however, are where the gut of the film lies, demonstrating the demon’s haunting of the couple while they’re asleep. As I said, the interweaving of dull, daytime playful behavior amongst the couple may be boring and annoying compared to the incredible suspenseful scenes that occur at night, but the film would be nothing without them. You can’t have a horror film that scares from beginning to end; there has to exist a normal world that you can feel comfortable in, in order for shock value to take its place. It’s a lot like being in a relationship with someone; you can’t see them every second of every day because you won’t have time to long for them and be thankful for when they’re actually there.

Paranormal also sets up its own scene-by-scene formula which becomes obvious by the 2nd nighttime scene: daytime shenanigans, nighttime scares, daytime shenanigans, nighttime scares, etc. There are a few twists that break up that seemingly monotonous cycle, though, which definitely help. Even if you’re not a fan of the way Paranormal plays out, you have to admit it’s creative in its approach, intelligent in design, and original in that it knows exactly how to sway your emotions.

Acting is extremely well done, even for the “act like yourselves” mindset these actors retained. At all times, Paranormal feels like an experience or an actual documentary rather than a “movie.” In fact, there are no narrative parts to the story at all; it’s all told in its documentary-style realism. Anyone younger than 17 will most likely believe that Paranormal is actually a true story and will wet themselves repeatedly for fear of the same occurrences happening to them. Even if you don’t believe the story, though, it sticks with you and instills that realistic fear in you anyway. Director Oren Peli is masterful in the way he pulls the audience and manipulates them every which way, specifically with the actual characters. You begin to actually care about them because they do feel real and not like they were conceived artificially in a production studio. By way of the everyday comedy that ensues between them, the angry squabbles they get into and the pure emotion of fear they evoke, you not only care about their situation but you relate and connect with them.

The horror aspect of the film is fundamental at times, but enthralling overall. I would've liked the film to be a little bit longer and perhaps have a little more back story (there's a small explanation that goes deeper than what the film is on its surface, but its barely touched on and inexplicably introduced). Like I said, Paranormal involves the audience in ways rarely seen in cinema. Because it feels so real, it transcends the idiotic time-wasting efforts of modern-day horror flicks and enters a realm where it sets its own bar. Paranormal, above anything else, is smart. It rarely devolves to lowbrow cheap scares or predictability; in fact, most of the scares are predictable only in the sense that you know something is going to happen at some point, but you don’t know what, how, or where, exactly. Then again, that was the whole point of its own formula…you knew as soon as you saw the bed with the door open and the time stamp in the corner that you were in for something freaky to happen, but you didn’t know what. Especially fitting with its October release, it’s the perfect way to break up the monotony and drudgery that “horror” films have been giving us. It’s time to wake up, get scared and have fun; Paranormal Activity is low-budget filmmaking at its absolute best.

9.0/10
-Kyle Shelton

P.S. Steven Spielberg viewed the film on DVD at his home where he believed the DVD was haunted because moments after watching, his doors locked by themselves and he had to call in a locksmith to get himself out.
P.P.S. The entire film was shot, edited, and finalized in one week.

Saw VI Review: And you thought Hypodermic Needles were Bad?

Oh Saw, Saw, Saw. When will you end? To some, the Saw series is a never-ending gorefest riddled with inane story twists and preposterous concepts. To others, it’s the same thing…except they love it. Donning the 6th entry into the franchise this year, Saw has managed to stand the test of time and rake in the flow of cash year after year after dreadful year. But, we all know that just because a film makes good money and reels in audiences doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good (Transformers 2, I’m looking at you). Yet, there are the films that are both critically acclaimed and beloved by the average movie-goer (The Dark Knight). Saw’s track record hasn’t exactly held up prominently in either of these spectrums, considering people complain year after year about how “stupid” or “ridiculous” the films are, yet they still see them and critics still pan them.

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? Films with multiple sequels, historically, fail little by little as time continues. Yet, in some cases (as with trilogies), the sequel can be just as good, or even better than the original. To this day, I hold the original Saw film in high regard for what it accomplished and how it embedded itself into pop culture and retained its shock value. The odds that any of the sequels will be better, or good in any regard, are low. I’m here to say, however, that 5 bone-snapping, skin-melting, eyeball-exploding, needle-stabbing, jaw-cracking, electrifying, shotgun-to-the-head films later, they got it right. They went back to the roots of the original Saw, and, albeit a new director, it’s helmed fantastically.

Unfortunately, even the original Saw wasn’t exactly a “great” movie. The sequels have only bludgeoned the merits of the original to death with what the people want: more gore. In fact, the tag-line for the second film was “Oh yes, there will be blood.” That’s pretty much the ultimatum given for the rest of the series in that every new entry has to do things bloodier, more disgusting and even more creative than before. Creativity is one of Saw’s strong suits; even if you hate the films, you have to admit that the contraptions and methods of execution are well-played.

Everything I just stated pertains to Saw VI in pretty much every way; it’s more vile and revolting than the last few entries. Of course, that’s completely debatable amongst the opinionated torture-porn enthusiasts among which film, or even which scene, is the most atrocious. Many may speculate that the film has absolutely no merit nor purpose of existence other than to cheaply disgust you as many ways as possible. This may be true, but it’s 99% of what Saw is supposed to be, and if you can enjoy a cheesy romance flick for the stereotypical and formulaic plot it retains, you can’t exactly knock Saw for what it’s doing.

So let’s get down to what Saw VI gets right and wrong. I won’t even touch the story; by now, as anyone who’s vaguely followed the series will surely vouch, plot holes remain abound. There are just too many things going on in the story that don’t make sense or are just so mind-blowingly improbable. Specifically, Jigsaw’s death has had pretty much no effect on the overall film’s plot. Yes, other people are technically carrying out his works and it moves the plot forward about as much as a baby can tip over Stonehenge, yet it still feels like it’s stuck 5 films back. The exact same things are happening and it has fallen prey to its own formula: teeth-grinding suspenseful nastiness in the beginning, title and opening credits, police investigation, introductory torture scene, then it fades in and out between the police’s involvement and the characters involved in the actual “game.” In this film, a man by the name of William Easton (Peter Outerbridge) who is a corrupt insurance salesman is pitted against various people in his life in a self-reflecting marathon of macabre choices. He has a “formula” of sorts to predict whether any given prospective investor in his company will live a healthy life, thus ensuring the success of that customer, or a risky life in which lawsuits and other trifles await. After denying a man insurance coverage for a surgery that would potentially save his life due to faulty information on his application, he becomes the next target of Jigsaw’s legacy. Because of his method of decision-making, he is given the ultimate test to let live or kill these specific people.

Now there is a fun twist at the end of the movie, but it feels a little cheap. That’s all I can say about that. While the background plot and the current story are wishy-washy at times, what matters is how it’s all carried out. From beginning to gut-wrenching end, Saw VI officially masters one element of its genre that none of its predecessors did so well: suspense. Every single scene has you in a state of constant deliberation inside your head of what you think is going to happen, how it’s going to happen and why. Sure, the ideas at large are pretty simple, but mix in the excellent execution of suspense and payoff with the creativity of it all, and Saw VI ends up being just as entertaining as it is preposterous.
Acting is sub-par, per usual, with the usual cast of nobodies playing the leading roles. Tobin Bell, however, remains fantastic and just as creepy as ever. Dialogue is a pretty dumb mix of expletives, yelling, and basic information-giving. Again, per usual, there’s no real attachment to any of the characters in the franchise. Perhaps at first, you felt a little remorse and sympathy for Amanda, but we all know how she turned out to be.

The film has an overall bleak tone. I’m not a fan of films that utilize a strange sort of tungsten filter while shooting (to give it that industrial and depressing “blue” look). Saw is a pretty ugly film to look at, from the dilapidated buildings to the unoriginal police. The only time Saw really shows its beauty, ironically, is when it’s at its ugliest. What you may be able to make out through your interweaved fingers or the corner of your eye is some really well-done bloody gory special effects. At times, it’s a bit ridiculous, but hey, that’s what Saw is about. In fact, it feels as though Saw has a sense of horribly dark humor which, ultimately, makes it that much more enjoyable. The film pokes fun at itself with its toe-deep, disposable characters, and it has every right to. For those of you who pan the film for being stupid, you’re in the right but you also have to be able to suspense your disbelief for a while. At least Saw keeps consistent with its inconsistencies; its brains lie within the scenes depicting the suspenseful doom-to-be, not the conspiracy-riddled back-story.

All-in-all, Saw VI is pretty much just going to be exactly what you’re expecting. If you hate the films thus far, you’ll probably despise this one just as much. If you’re like me and love the Halloween mood that Saw centers itself around, you’ll enjoy it. The Saw franchise is just one of those hit-or-miss deals; you either love it and stay with it or you loathe it and stay away from it. Either way, Saw VI is much better than the last few installments. I still hail the first as the best so far, but Saw VI just might be the best sequel. This could be attributed to new Saw director Kevin Greutert (who edited the past Saw films). The people behind the film know what they’re doing and certainly know how to rip the money right out of your wallet. As a standalone feature, Saw VI is just as bad as the rest of the series has been, but if you like Saw, it’s a breath of fleshy fresh air. The edge of your seat is your new best friend.

6.0/10
-Kyle Shelton