Oculus

Oculus is currently streaming in the US on Amazon Prime Video and Kanopy, and it rewards the patience it asks of you. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. Its 7/10 TMDB score, built from 3,218 ratings, reflects a title that consistently delivers. Karen Gillan leads a cast that never overplays its hand. Put it on tonight on Amazon Prime Video and see for yourself.

There is a reason Oculus keeps coming up in conversation. Oculus trusts its audience to sit with discomfort instead of resolving it too quickly. A woman tries to exonerate her brother's murder conviction by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon. Karen Gillan and Brenton Thwaites lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2014. The writing trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping everything up in a tidy conclusion — it is the approach that separates good drama from great. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Viewers drawn to character-driven storytelling will find plenty to sit with in Oculus. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Karen Gillan carries the material with a performance that rewards close attention. Worth starting sooner rather than later.