Movie Review: Oculus

Have you ever seen a movie that just has a super familiar plot/twist, but you just can't seem to place it?
That's about how "Oculus" is. Essentially, it's a horror film about a mirror that warps people's minds and can force them to do horrible things (including, but not limited to, starving themselves, committing acts they can't recall later, and attacking others.) I feel like I've seen this movie before (with different characters and such, of course.)
A lot of the movie just seems so stupid. The dad, for instance, hangs this super huge, super ornate mirror in his OFFICE--why? Is he that conceited? The daughter risks her life for stupid reasons, even though she's had years to recover from a traumatic childhood, and she brings her brother (her recently released-from-the-psych-hospital brother, at that) along for the crazy train ride. The mom is just weird, just everything... Everything seems so half-thought-up or ridiculous.
Granted, it does have its moments. We get a bit of comic relief from one of the title characters, Kaylie, naming her dog "Dog" and her brother questioning this; Dog is used a few more times for some lightening, and I think I honestly enjoyed those scenes the most. The film is just not scary, and the few moments it had the opportunity to be, it just didn't pull through.
The only saving grace this film has was a very interesting title character in Tim. We learn at the beginning of the film Tim has been living in a mental hospital for 10-11 years, because he evidently killed his father for killing his mother (or something like that.) Tim is a pretty solid, dimensional character, and by the end of the film, you really are rooting for him to come out on top. His sister, Kaylie, I could do without, but I guess she works as a good foil to him.
Overall, don't waste your money. "Oculus" was a dud for me, and I so wanted to like it, but it just could not redeem itself in my eyes.

Final Judgement

Pros: Occasional comic relief, good lead character

Cons: Half-assed, completely un-scary, familiar story, un-connectable characters, etc etc (the list goes onnnn and onnnnn)

Rating: 1/5