Before writer-director Mike Flanagan reimagined Shirley Jackson for a new generation with “The Haunting of Hill House” and put his signature style on a Stephen King adaptation with “Doctor Sleep,” the filmmaker made a wonderfully spooky film called “Oculus.” The 2013 movie follows two siblings, Kaylie (Karen Gillan) and Tim (Brenton Thwaites), as they face down the horror that they believe is responsible for all their family’s misfortunes: a cursed mirror called the Lasser glass.
While Tim has spent a decade in a mental hospital convincing himself the Lasser glass curse isn’t real, Kaylie has been prepping to take it down once and for all, proving its powers in the process. Needless to say, the sinister mirror has other plans.
“Oculus” is razor-sharp horror, with smart, prepared protagonists and a logical center that makes each of its well-earned supernatural moments feel even scarier. “Oculus” is an excellent, character-driven story all on its own, but it would also be thrilling to see what it would look like for Flanagan revisit the enduring power of the Lasser glass again, with a decade of creative experience under his belt since the first installment.
