Oculus

 

One of the widest releases on our top ten, Oculus is a triumph of the sometimes clichéd haunted house trope. Although hardened horror fans weren’t expecting much from this one – it was an apparently generic, large scale release with a trailer that promised moving mirrors and lurking shadows – this spring 2014 release was a pleasantly scary surprise.

Oculus centres around a pair of siblings; a brother who shot his father and a sister hoping to exonerate him, claiming malevolent supernatural forces were at play. The movie pits the supernatural believer against the logical nonbeliever, making it an intriguing watch even for those who have little time for ghost stories. Don’t expect many jump scares or flashy special effects; for a blockbuster, this is surprisingly slow burning and all the creepier for it.