Exploring Oculus - Through the Lasser Glass 

Flanagan's brain works on another level than most directors. The way he weaves two timelines together without killing the shows pacing was expertly done. He demonstrates this skill with the Haunting of Hill House. Cant wait to see more.

Outright shocked by how great this was.

I did not realize the director went on to such success. Thats really nice to hear! He piad his dues, stuck to his horror principles and is making good content. It nice that we have a craven or a barker for this generation

I wasn't aware this was considered a bad movie by anybody. Thought everybody loved it.

The Director's statement about Movie studios not giving audience's enough credit is painfully obvious. I love the big movies that come out; but I would love that there were a balance between big action flicks and smart engaging thought provoking movies

The 13 minute long scene is one of my favorites in the movie. Glad he decided to keep it in.

I loved Oculus, and it was the film that finally pulled my wife into the horror genre. Probably one of my top 10 horror films.

I really think this is one of the best, most underrated horror movies of the last decade. Very scary also!

I absolutely hated this movie but I loved your deep dive into it. Makes me appreciate something I am not a fan of, which says something about your content.

Mike Flanagan is a modern master of horror. Everything he's made is amazing IMO.

Oculus was so cool on how the timelines merged! And Mike Flanagan became my new favorite director with a steady stream of awesome varied films. Before I Wake is highly underrated I think, it's a great dark fairytale.

I love this movie because of the fact that they didn't explain why or how the mirror was evil it just was. It leaves ur mind open to all the possibilities that our minds can come up with which is great because then when talking to friends about the movie it makes for a great conversation that u can have with friends and that's what makes a film especially horror an awesome film. 😎

Genuinely one of the best horror films I've ever seen, what a work of art. So unique, so tense, so trippy.

Actually one of the scariest movies when I first watched it. I loved everything about this movie

Mike Flanagan is one of the best modern day horror directors

Watched it because Karen Gillan was the lead, loved it. One of the few modern horrors I actually found compelling and not as predictable.

Oculus deserves more attention! This was a really good film! Is it perfect? Not at all. But it's still a great movie! I also do agree on Mike Flanagan, in the near future, he could stand out being one of the greatest horror film directors alongside with John Carpenter, Wes Craven and many others like them! Thanks for exploring Oculus, GoodBadFlicks! This movie deserved it!

Oh thank god you did one on Oculus. It's so good and honestly Mike flannigan is super underrated.

This fact was overlooked in this otherwise great video, both Mike Flannagan and his Wife Kate Seigel's voice acted as the leads in the No sleep podcast story, the NoSleep Podcast production of C.K. Walker's "Borrasca". Which was an amazing story and fit his style of directing. "Borrasca" written by C.K. Walker. Awesome video by the way I am glad that Flannagan is getting the respect he so much deserves. Occulus reminded me of a no punches pulled horror film Burnt Offerings by Dan Curtis, the disintegration of the family is a theme in horror that has always scared me, and Flannigan nailed it out the park with Occulus, Glad this movie was covered here.

I love it when a horror movie has characters who treat supernatural events as a any normal person would. By which I mean they are sceptical, and try and find a logical explanation for everything right up until the point that it can no longer be denied. That's truly scary

The only horror film that rightfully needs a sequel

It opened with $44 million... Damn the studio for thinking it was a bombed movie despite earning more than half of the budget.

Employee: I have the flu. Any normal business: Stay home. Don't bring that crap here. Actor: I have the flu. Movie industry: Excellent! We can use that. Call time is 4 am.

Such a good film and the history scene was one of my favourites.

I saw Oculus for the first time and loved it so much that I saw it again the next weekend with my friends. It's such an incredible movie and I am so happy that productions like this exist!!

Flanagan is becoming one of my favorite modern directors. I need to see more of his work. This is one of my favorite horror movies and Haunting of Hill House is perhaps my favorite series to date

I was a big horror movie fan growing up in the 80's. Of all the scary movies I watched, there were only two which gave me nightmares or affected me in any way. One was a stupid low-budget affair called Shocker, about a serial killer electrocuted in the chair who becomes an 'electrical ghost' and continues murdering. The other wasn't even a movie, it was an episode of a tv series called Amazing Stories. In this episode, a man starts seeing a figure behind him in the distance whenever he looks in a mirror (any mirror - not a specific one). Every time he see the figure, it appears to be slightly closer. He starts going mad, locking himself in his house and destroying or covering every reflective surface in there. In the end, his love interest spends the night with him and, while staring lovingly at her, he sees the figure right behind him in the reflection of her eyes. He freaks out and jumps out the window to his death. Ever since then I've had a horrendous fear of mirrors. After all these years (30 or so?) it still sticks with me to some extent. As you can imagine, this movie has piqued my interest, lol.

Love this film and your characteristically great deep dive into its creation.

I loved Oculus. One of my favorite recent horror movies. I remember the hollow feeling I had when my friend and I were leaving the theater after it was over. The silence of the ending and how hopeless it feels was a great decision. My mom doesn't like it, but I'm not sure about her taste in horror movies. The actors did a fantastic job throughout and I'm glad it wasn't a typical horror movie.

I personally loved this movie. No need for an overload of jump scares or blood and guts. I hope to see a second film.

I've probably seen a million horror movies and I went into Oculus thinking it would be a jumpscare fest without any redeeming qualities... have to say, after watching it a couple times it's really a good movie, it can sometimes be formulaic but overall a very original story and a fresh take on cursed objects. Also love the fact that they go about it in a scientific way! Keep up the good work Cecil, your channel is simply amazing.

I rented this movie from a red box out of a whim. I was so shocked at how good this movie was. Truly one of the most unique horrors of the 21st century.

My favorite Mike Flanagan films are Oculus, Hush and Doctor Sleep

I always had a genuine liking to this movie.

How is this channel not at a million subs yet?

My friend’s dad is Bruce Larsen! The mirror used to hang in her room for years!

one of my favourite horror movies. One that does not follow the tired old tropes

I have my own pet theory that this story drew inspiration from Moby Dick and that Kaylie is our Captain Ahab. * SPOILERS BELOW * Kaylie is obsessed with hunting and killing her White Whale - which took away something dear to her in the past (for Ahab it was his leg, for Kaylie, her mother and father). But in spite of all her efforts, she still underestimates the power of the whale/mirror and continues to pursue it, ultimately, dying an Ahab-like death (complete with being pinned onto her Whale, just like Ahab) because of her obsession and taking her doomed crew (Her husband and brother) down with her. Then there's the use of the anchor itself, which planed a "nautical" reminder in my head. Oh, and for good measure, Kaylie smashes Tim's phone the way Quint, another Ahab character, smashes the radio in Jaws, cutting off any possible help from outside..

The first youtube advice I followed. I went and watched the movie, loved it and came here to appreciate the research and well-delivered story about the making of the movie.

I remember my wife and I renting Absentia with the expectation it would be a schlocky, campy mess (based on the box art of the woman crawling on the ground). Imagine how surprised we were to discover it was an intelligent, thrilling suspenseful horror film. It is now one of our all-time favorite horror films, and we compare indie films we watch to it often (with most of those films failing to measure up).

“The wig could’ve been worse” Did Vlanigan predicted Fant4stic?

Mike Flanagan is the Hitchcock of our generation. I'm not even kidding.

Thanks for recommending this one Cecil!! Oculus is the best example of how to create a truly scary, modern horror masterpiece! We need more directors like Mike Flannigan! Another gem from Blumhouse. Nowadays, Blumhouse seems to be the best place to turn for horror.

*Oculus and Hereditary are some of my favorite modern horror films*

Oculus is awesome. Pretty much all of Mike Flanagan’s work is great.

Im curious why WWE studio’s wasn’t brought up. Or was the involvement so little that it wasn’t worth bringing up.

Oculus is a classic. One of the scariest horror movies ever made. The film had good acting. I met Karen Gillan in 2015.

I really didn't like this movie, but I appreciate your take on it.

I love these deep dives. It takes your appreciation of films you already love to a whole new level.

When this movie came out back in 2014 I have been following Mike Flanagan's career as a filmmaker. Since then he has made numerous movies/tv series I loved and became one of the best horror voices to come out 10 years ago.

This movie is a masterpiece. The mythology is amazing and on par with other horror masterpieces like 13 Ghosts.

He Did Dr SLEEP? Thats one of the very best movies Ive seen in a minute and a a respectable tribute to Stephen King's genius. This is my favorite youtube channel. Movies come to life with these videos. I also appreciate how he said Flannegan told the studios audiences aren't as dumb as the studios think. I hope this kind of film and film making picks up traction and we see more work like this in the future.

I stopped this 5 mins in to watch the movie and it was great. I the finished this vid and hadn't realised how successful the Director has been. I loved Hill House and Doctor Sleep. I also didnt know the cast so enjoyed seeing Robin and Nebula team up.

I saw this in the theater with a dumb guy I was dating at the time, I remember liking it and thinking it was really well done with the time jump editing, but he just said “meh”. We broke up soon after and I have gone on to love Hush and the Haunting of Hill House 😁 an upgrade in my opinion.

Haunting of Hill house was really good too. A must see, as is Oculus, if you have not.

The twist at the end shocked and angered me. And that's how you make a great movie

I feel this has done a much better job of selling me the movie, than the trailer I saw.

"Weren't too many mirrors used as a device in horror films" *Candyman:* "Am I a joke to you?"

Such a great movie, done in such a clever way. I love the horror genre, but I feel that genuinely scary (not jump scary) horror films like Oculus are far and few between.

I saw the original oculus film at a local festival in RI . Bought the DVD and rewatched it so many times. Was so happy to see a feature length version in the theater years later.

Good Bad Flicks an amazing constant in my life. Don't even have to get past the first 5 seconds to "like" the video. Lol

Thank you for doing this one. I have loved this movie for years, and was hoping you would do it eventually.

This is an amazing movie that totally surprised me! And I really love your videos. I find it absolutely fascinating to learn the backstories to many movies and the process of how they were made. (Your videos have actually changed my view on some movies just knowing how much passion and work went into them.)

I just watched Doctor Sleep. Flanagan definitely will go far in the horror genre. He handled King’s material masterfully! If King allows more adaptations of his work, it’s obvious Flanagan is the one he’ll work with. :) Once again, thanks for all of the great and insightful videos!

I was home from work sick and flipping through channels. This movie had just started. I'd never heard of it, but I decided to watch. It's not amazing, but its definitely entertaining. At least, if you've got a bunch of Nyquil in you.

I watched this film on netflix and absolutly loved it. Showed it to a couple of friends who thought it was shitty. I couldn't understand how they thought that. For me, it was just as good the first time as the second. Another great video Cecil, thank you!

"Some of the distributors didn't like that there was no explanation for the mirror - where it came from or what it was. They assumed the audience would want answers. Flanagan insisted that audiences are smarter than studios give them credit for, and if they're respected and treated intelligently, they'll appreciate something not being spelled out for them _way_ more than an easy answer. By not explaining the monster, the themes will stick with them beyond just the movie." I couldn't agree with Flanagan more! 👏 I loved _The Haunting of Hill House_ and _The Haunting of Bly Manor_ as well. He's an incredible storyteller.

Your Exploring-series are so god damn good! You're doing a tremendous job!

I watched Goonies at the Fargo theater in about 2000. They were playing it and other throw back movies and the place was packed. People were screaming and really getting into the movie. One of the best movie experiences I've had.

Mike Flanagan is a Modern Horror movie POWERHOUSE of a Director. As far as horror goes, he has become a national treasure. He has (for me, anyway) single handedly restored my hope in modern horror film storytelling by SIGNIFICANTLY raising the bar on the quality of horror films, redefining immersion with his cinematic character building techniques and pushed the boundaries of horror movie narratives and storytelling to ascended levels beyond what I have rarely seen take place in modern horror. His ability to help you forge an empathetic connection to the characters in his films through thoughtful and compelling dialogue and storytelling whilst driving the mystery and horror of what's happening through EXTREMELY unique and effective scares and memorable moments is utterly masterful, beyond what most Horror directors could even DREAM or even care about doing. Mike Flanagan has made horror movies scary again. One of the BEST Directors to happen upon horror movies since John Carpenter. In my opinion, EVERY Stephen King movie adaptation should be IMMEDIATELY handed to him.

The film was good in not removing the mystique of the mirror, but i had to say i saw how it will end 30 minutes into the movie.

My great great grandparents had a house built pre civil war .. they had a mirror in the music room that was similar. When Oculus came out, I saw the poster for this film, and it was horrifying.. I was scared of that mirror. It had a crawling way of making me (at the age of 6 years old), feel like someone was watching me from behind the glass.. I never ever walked in front of it. I saw a dresser walk, an Armoire - a big cabinet with wood feet, WALK.. and never thought about it until this film came out.. Great episode thanks for your hard work on your channel.

Absentia is such an underrated gem! Don’t let the low budget look of it fool you!

It’s great to have a director like Mike Flanagan for the modern horror genre. His movies are really interesting

One of my favorite films. I'm a diehard Mike Flanagan stan.

best birthday present ever! i love this movie its one of my favorites of all time

I really enjoyed this movie. I didn't know about the 1408 inspirations, though I shouldn't be too surprised seeing how I also really enjoyed that!

Loved this movie since it was released. I actually found the Blu-ray 4 days ago in a pharmacy bargain bin for 4 bucks. And now this video. This must be my week! Love your work Cecil. Keep it up my man

i watched this vid when it came out before watching the movie. Now I finally went and watched the movie - so so good. Thanks for the recommendation

The only question i have where does WWE studios fit in

Saw this in the theatre. It was myself and 2 other people. I loved it, I spent a good 2 hours figuring it out.

i remember really liking this movie! it wasnt lowest common denominator horror. i didnt realize mike flanagan had done so many other things ive loved too!

Man I respect the shit outta this dude, oculus sounded so dumb when kids at my lunch table in high school talked about it but after seeing it years later I was so surprised at how cool and scary it was with really fascinating creepy lore. Would love to have a sequel or prequel someday.

I *love* your longer videos! :-) Can't get enough of your stuff. Greetings from Germany.

One of the best horror movies I've ever seen!

I have been watching horror since I was about 7 years old. That's over 30 years of horror. Oculus is one of my very favorite. An excellent movie all around. Thank you for this deep dive!

I actually went and watched this after your preamble warning. I'm glad I did! It was a fun concept and it had great pacing. [spoilers below] I was really rooting for Gillan's character and her well-laid plan! Definitely bummed when it didn't exactly work out. I'm a little surprised there hasn't been a sequel. I'd like to see that mirror get what's coming to it!

The mere fact that the producers wanted to remove the best scene of the film (the Lasser Glass explanation monologue) is a testament to the vast dissonance between audiences and those that believe they understand them. Above all else, the monologue adheres to the basic childhood wonder of one of humanities most deeply rooted fascinations: the possibility of a scary story being true, no matter how horrible the story might be. It doesn't matter that it's in a movie, or is clearly fictional - that's not the point. Instead, for just a little while, the audience wants to sit back and let imagination do what it does best. It still baffles me that those holding the purse strings have been allowed to spoil so many films that could have been so much more.

I appreciate you giving some more attention to this baby. As someone who's read the book Doctor Sleep twice, the first trailer to the film had me worried. Then I seen it was directed by Flanagan and went from worried to EXCITED! Oculus was my first Flanagan experience, and that scene where they play the tape back to see themselves moving shit around while talking was so goddamn chilling it has stuck with me. Flanagan has inspired other filmmakers, one of whom made another favorite of mine called They Look Like People. I feel like that movie should have gotten more attention, even though I believe it was considered a success. I can't say much about it without giving something away, but it was tense, scary, and damn near had me in tears by the end. Flanagan inspires in all the right ways. Will it make money? Hopefully, but not at the expense of treating the audience like dummies. Why not work hard to make it be both scary AND profitable?! They Look Like People -anyone reading this please go watch it now, I believe it's still on Netflix? I hope?

Your channel is so amazing I’m always shocked.

Well now I understand why I so thoroughly enjoyed all these movies, thanks to this wonderful director.

I liked it and it also introduced me to Karen Gillan which was also nice.

@GoodBadFlicks thanks for pointing out a director I overlooked so far, despite him producing my favorite horror films: scary over gore

Such an excellent movie. In many ways a perfect modern take on Color out of Space. Love it.

dude haunting of hill house is one of the best horror movie/short series thats come out - the actual horror is only on the side and the long term effects of trauma explored is the true horror - he also used his jumpscares really well in that show

One mirror horror movie you missed: Amityville 7 (aka A New Generation), part of a trilogy with the fourth one with the evil lamp and the sixth one with the evil clock.

One of my favorite recent horror films, so glad you covered it!

5:30, I saw that film, where a young woman and her friends encounter a haunted tunnel that once you go in, you don't come out

I loved this movie. It was so well thought out and kept you fully invested in the movie from beginning to end. I would love to see a sequel or prequel.

This is one of my favorite horror films of all time; I can’t stop thinking about it and its eerie themes and ideas.