Regardless of any supernatural elements, the richest horror films tend to be ones that tap into more earth-bound fears. Jacques Tourneur’s Cat People (1942) and I Walked With a Zombie (1943) hinge on their heroines’ dread of being vulnerable to sexual predators. George Romero’s “Living Dead” cycle plays on the fear that such established social institutions as the nuclear family, the military, and capitalism will prove meaningless in the event of catastrophe.
As in Jacques Rivette’s self-reflexive masterpiece Celine and Julie Go Boating, the two time frames begin to overlap in the movie’s second half, with the adult siblings appearing to interact with people from their childhood. This development might reflect how victims of childhood trauma are condemned to relive their worst experiences over and over, though the movie’s subtext feels increasingly vague the more intricate its plot becomes. Still, compared with Wan’s recent efforts—so devoid of subtext that they cave in on themselves like wet sand castles—Oculus feels like The Turn of the Screw.
Directed by Mike Flanagan
