Darlings, you know we are big fans here of Mike Flanagan, the creative mind behind Absentia and the short film Oculus. After much anticipation, a teaser trailer and release date for the feature length version of Oculus has been released. Starring Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica) and Karen Gillan (firecracker Amy Pond on Dr. Who), the story centers on two now-grown children orphaned by a murder that may be related to a haunted antique mirror.
Although the trailer below leaves a little something to be desired, Oculus has consistently been named as one of the creepiest shorts we’ve featured here, and the low-budget but effective Absentia was lauded as one of the best horror films of 2011, so I am still beyond enthusiastic about the feature length release. Director and co-writer Mike Flanagan offers further reassurance recently in an interview with Dread Central, explaining the nearly ten year wait between the release of the short film and the feature length as a desire to find just the right production group and very emphatically not wanting to go in the direction of a found footage film. He explains his approach to the film below:
“Somewhere along the line people stopped being able to tell the difference between something that is scary and something that is startling…I love things that make you feel like you have this intense feeling of dread but you’re not even sure why…We went into Oculus to make it a real pressure cooker…so that it feels as if it has its foot on your neck and keeps applying pressure until the credits. We never give anyone a chance to breathe, which makes for a really intense experience. It’s really exciting and it was really fun to do.”
Even without his previous work, a quote like that has my attention. Watch the teaser below and let us know what you think in the comments. Oculus has an announced release date of April 11, 2014.
Read the full interview with director Mike Flanagan at Dread Central.
Related Posts:
– Friday Night Features: Our Top Five Horror Shorts of 2013
– Dead Bodies in the Cellar: The New Evil Dead Trailer
– Beheld with Burning Eyes: 5 Horror Trailers on the Horizon
Categories: Trailers
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The Year of Halloween 
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Katee Sackhoff can bodyslam anything she wants. Rawr.
I’m really looking forward to this movie, Eva Halloween : )
Me too, darling. The early screenings have been very positive. 🙂
I will totally watch this!
This is the movie you showed me that makes me ALWAYS watch what you post. Good stuff. But I am not sure this looks as good as the original, you know?
I think you’re right about the teaser – it didn’t really grab me either. However, I thought Absentia was very good, and in the linked interview, the director said he waited ten years to find a production partner that would make the film the way he wanted, with the same kind of dread and tension that were the hallmarks of his earlier films. Based on that, I’m in for opening day.
I am soooo in girl love with Karen Gillian. I can not wait to see this!!!
I’m surprised we haven’t seen her make an appearance for Woman Crush Wednesday!
Oh don’t rule her out just yet. I was on a ginger run for a bit. Coming back around to it. I adore her.
Good to see Karen Gillan getting some meaty post-Who roles, too many of the good Dr’s assistants just fade away
I can’t wait to see what she does with this part. I’m crossing my fingers for more strong female characters in horror!