OCULUS (2014) Movie Review
Tim and Kaylie Russell are a haunted pair of siblings, indeed. When they were children, Tim shot his father after watching him torture and murder his wife and their mother. The poor boy is immediately arrested and institutionalized until he turns twenty-one.
His intense therapy leads him down a path of acceptance and the desire to move forward. In the meantime, Kaylie suffers in the foster system with no therapy and no guidance. The entire time of Tim’s incarceration, Kaylie fuels her obsession over her parents’ murders.
But who or what is responsible?
Kaylie lays responsibility before an inanimate object know as the Lasser Glass, a mirror that once hung in her father’s home office. Years of obsessive research show her a pattern of gruesome murder/suicides caused to and by the Glass’ owners over the Centuries.
Coincidence? Perhaps. However, the story of the film suggest the mirror is a harbor to a powerful supernatural force that collects the souls of the people who come into contact with the mirror, including the Russell siblings’ parents.
What does Kaylie hope to accomplish upon stealing the mirror and recruiting her brother the moment he is released? She claims her desire to clear the family name and prove Tim’s innocence. However, as Tim clearly states she could clear the family name by rebuilding it. There is no need to dig up her dangerous past. It is more likely she fails to overcome her obsession with the Lasser Glass.
Her obsession leads her down a very destructive path. She fails to count her blessings. The very fact that she survives the mirror as a child is completely miraculous. Instead of living her life with gratitude, she throws her fiance, her brother and herself into its violent path, thus giving the mirror the power and opportunity to finish its job.
Proverbs 4:25-27: “Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.” (NLT)
Kaylie is unable and unwilling to move forward, and that cost her everything in the end. Her obsession becomes not only her doom, but also the doom of her fiance and her brother.
We have all suffered injustice in one way or another. It causes rage, despair, and irrational behavior. It causes unhealthy obsession. Let this film be a lesson. It is an ultimate example of the danger of obsession. Learn to let go and move on with life. Find a constructive way to move forward. Live well.
