What I watched this week: Oculus and the Gift

• Oculus (2013): Oculus is about a haunted mirror that eats dogs and makes people do horrible things. That was all I knew about it and so I assumed this was just a shameless rip off of the direct to video Amityville Horror sequel. I didn't like the Amityville version so why bother with this? But then I realized that this was from the same guy that made Hush, Mike Flanagan. I love Hush... particularly because of Mike Flanagan. To clarify, aside from the basic concepts, Oculus is not a rip off of the Amityville movie. It is a well told story that shares the characters journey & confusion with a sinister empathy. The cast was great, and the story was nicely developed, but the relationship between the director and editor made this movie stand out. This movie is available on Netflix, but an hour into it I bought the DVD. 

• The Gift (2015): Last Blumhouse movie for a season... I promise. Although I did not love this movie, I did appreciate what this movie did. It was an interesting story that took the viewer on a journey with the characters. It was quite a ride with some interesting and some sick turns on the way. The character work was impressive and well handled by the lead actors. The movie ended with a question. There are theories on the answer. SPOILERS: I don't think it matters though. I think that the only thing that matters is that a seed of doubt was planted that will stay with Jason Bateman's character. This is what most of Joel Edgerton's character's dialogue pointed to. As an audience, we're left with that seed too... but by the time we get there, we are so far removed from any trust we could have for them that we probably don't know who to root for. Yeah I say the actual gift was not the baby but the seed. That said... END SPOILERS: I love Bateman and I love Edgerton. They did a great job. Edgerton wore several hats and he did great across the board. As with everything Joel Edgerton, I find myself at the end of the movie thinking that I can't wait to see what he does next. And as with everything Jason Bateman, I find myself at the end thinking that I can't wait to go back and see an episode of some old show he used to do. I recommend streaming it, but I'm wouldn't want to own the DVD.