The most unexpected horror film in recent memory is also one of the best. Its premise is so aggressively novel that I didn't even understand the trailer, rather like a lot of people, and so I wasn't expecting much. But this picture is so fresh and so hauntingly elegant that you'll not soon forget it. Remarkably complicated and satisfyingly scary, this movie also features strong acting and excellent camerawork.
Karen Gillan (of Doctor Who fame) plays opposite Brenton Thwaites (Maleficent (2014), The Giver (2014)) as siblings, working through a purgatory of shifting memories and illusion. Kaylie and Tim, respectively, have reunited eleven years after the death of their parents. Tim has spent that time in a psychiatric hospital, undergoing therapy that convinced him that his parents' deaths were not the result of supernatural phenomena; Kaylie has spent the years tracking down that same phenomena to exact revenge. The crux of the film, then, is a large, ornate mirror that apparently hypnotizes its victims and induces hallucinations.
Director/writer Mike Flanagan brilliantly delves deep into the world of this mirror in a truly brilliant artistic move: almost half the scenes of the film are hallucinations in themselves. What the audience sees is not often different from what the characters are seeing, so we are very much in the moment with our heroes, suffering the same illusions. That's not really giving anything away, so don't worry that I've spoiled some big secret. The horror of the film is profoundly psychological, but it isn't the (familiar in horror films) psychology of serial killers or demonic activity; this disturbing material is primarily effective because of its unsettling presentation by Flanagan. The almost unbearable tension is held just under the surface, in what we are afraid to see and what reality is hidden by the illusions. Ultimately, we are not even sure what is illusion and what is delusion, which is far more horrifying.
One central way in which Flanagan sets up this netherworld of nightmares is by designing a parallel plot: we see the present-day story of Kaylie and Tim plotting revenge on the mirror simultaneously with the descent of their parents into murderous madness, eleven years previously. Katee Sackhoff and Rory Cochrane play the parents, and their performances are brave ventures into chilling territory. The editing phase of the film must have been torturous, but the product is superbly cut together, with deliberately off-beat emotional pacing and a plodding progression through an almost academic study in dread.
While most of the film is wildly unpredictable, the ending is a little obvious. But it also takes an emotional turn that had me fighting back tears, which I certainly did not expect. Satisfying and haunting, the ending also leaves a door wide open for any possible sequels, hopefully only attempted by the same filmmakers. Continuations of this story could go off the rails quickly, if in the wrong hands. Of course, this one has plenty of sudden scares and a few gory shocks, but the heart of this movie is in its focus on appearances and reflections. Pay attention to what you see, even if it's not real, because the craftsmanship here is uncommonly good.
Oh, and good luck sleeping afterwards.
IMDb: Oculus
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