This is basically not a bad movie; it is interesting to watch, it keeps the tension, and there are some emotional scenes in it. But it suffers from major problems with logics and plot holes in a way which does not allow it to be a good movie. Shortly said, the script is so full of implausible turns, especially regarding the psychology of the characters, that the movie had no chance whatsoever to come out as a coherent and consistent story.Besides, I wonder how so many here call it a new and original story. The plot is as old as the world. A magical mirror is a motif best known from myths and fairytales. A family moving to a new home which soon becomes threatening in one or another way is an age-old story. The device of blending present and past, showing figures simultaneously as children and as grown-ups is nearly as old as the cinema itself. So what is new or original about this plot or this device?.. Neither the development oft he events nor the ending are surprising as well, they follow as expected under the given circumstances. And now to the script failures: in the first five minutes of the film, it is revealed to us that a young man has been released from a mental asylum where he has spent more than 10 years for murder. And here the problems start: This murder was out of self-defence - would a young boy ever be shut in a mental asylum for self-defence?? We are being told that he received psychological help, but his sister did not. How come that in modern days America a little girl who survived a family tragedy never received any psychological help?.. Now the story goes on with this same sister, taking her brother to the home of their parents almost immediately upon his release and confronting him with the evil mirror story. Would a loving and caring sister, which she is constantly shown like as child, upset his brother in such a brutal way just upon his release? Well, after all that has happened to them (you will see) she might not be the same loving and caring person any more. But the question still is: if you know from your own experience that the mirror is that evil , would you really risk staying tete-a-tete with it? Such problems spin further, on and on. It's a pity that today's script writers do not seem to care about credibility at all. It destroys many movies with good potential. Not to mention this film relies heavily on "Shining" but has nothing from Kubrick's masterpiece accurate, compelling plot and lead act genius.

Huh? Made no sense at all. Good luck trying to figure this one out, especially the end.

It's had an xfiles vibe w a skeptic and a believer and I like that in a movie. It's not really. Exposition if they are debating the topic.

It is far to be the right word defining "Oculus" but it is a real surprising film. first , for the story. simple and tragic and reminding old Greek tragedies. second , for the performances. not the last, for the great art of director to explore and use and give tension and seduction force to a film who is more than a horror but a remarkable one. for the wise use of illusion. for the science to give unity using the fragments as a sort of yellow bricks road. and for an idea not exactly unfamiliar. about family, fears, sibillings and the evil. and the enemy is too familiar for ignore the references about it. short, a good film. a special one. and little more.