10 Underrated Horror Movies With Unexpected Twists
9. Oculus
Instead of a horror movie about a killer VR headset - which, if it hasn’t already been made, should definitely get made - 2013's Oculus is actually about a haunted mirror.
A brother and sister, played by Brenton Thwaites and Karen Gillan, investigate the cursed wall hanging that's been giving them grief ever since they were kids. As a boy, Tim (Thwaites) was taken into custody over the death of his father, but he has always maintained it was the mirror’s fault. It's up to Kaylie (Gillan) to prove him right.
The mirror’s whole schtick is that it causes people to see things that aren’t actually there, which is a nice thematic beat, and the inability to establish reality ultimately leads to the siblings’ downfall.
Towards the end of the movie, Tim goes to destroy the mirror by releasing a giant anchor stored in the ceiling. Whilst he is successful in smashing it, his tormentor plays one final cruel trick on him. Kaylie was in the path of the anchor, obscured from Tim’s view by the mirror, and she too is killed.
Tim ends Oculus being arrested once again, still claiming that it wasn’t his fault.