By Kati Dann

The much anticipated horror movie Oculus came out this past weekend to impressed audiences everywhere. The film, with its mixture of horror, psychologically thrilling and dramatic elements, met and even exceeded expectations of horror-movie lovers.

The film opens with an immediately bone-chilling scene as two young children hide from their gun-toting father. Fast forward to the present as the young boy seen in the previous scene, now an adult (Brenton Thwaites), is released from a mental institution where he had spent the last 11 years recovering from the horrible night of his parents’ murders. He meets up with his sister (Karen Gillan), who tells him that after years of searching, she has finally acquired the mirror that she believes is the reason the tragedy happened. She plans to destroy the mirror once and for all with her brother’s help.

What follows is 105 minutes of pure confusion, terror, and dread as the siblings attempt to hold on to reality as the mirror plays its tricks. With especially chilling final minutes, the film leaves audiences astonished, terrified, and most of all, satisfied.

The film has left the door open for sequels and even prequels, much to the happiness of many movie-goers. I would highly recommend this film for anyone who not only loves horror movies, but also for people who like the psychological aspect as well.

Rating: 8/10 stars.