Overall: MEH
One of the more frustrating horror debuts in recent times, Jeremy Lovering's In Fear gradually blows a compelling set-up and premise with a whole lot of logical problems. It is a hefty irritation that so many films in this genre continually, time after time, make the exact same mistakes. This film more than dips its toes in this continually present problem both with a slew of absurd decisions its main characters make and an enormous level of disbelieve that is expected of us to accept where the bad guy's behavior, motivation, and abilities are concerned. Lovering wisely yet not wisely enough builds up our trust with a very well done, gradual state of dread which makes it possible to assume that the film exists in a more realistic world than it ultimately does. By the end though, far too many moments do not add up and seem incredibly far-fetched as well as incompetently presented. If you are looking for one of those horror movies you can get aggravated at going "how is that possible?" or "no one would do that, ever" then sadly this is not schlocky enough to be enjoyable in said context. Instead, it has excellent potential as a minimally set, severely creepy slow-boil piece, but then degenerates due to the script's unfeasible specifics.
Dir - Mike Flanagan
Overall: GOOD
Mike Flanagan is quickly becoming one of the most prolific filmmakers as of late, particularly in the horror camp. He made three such movies in 2016 alone and is perhaps unfortunately about to unleash yet another adaptation of The Haunting, this time as a miniseries for Netflix. His first full-length Absentia was very solid and thankfully Oculus likewise delivers. Based off his own short film Oculus: Chapter 3 - The Man with the Plan, this one admittingly makes a few mistakes here or there. Brenton Thwaites is somewhat miscast as he distractedly looks too much like a Disney princess to take seriously. There is also a "here's some expository dialog all at once" scene that rides the line of being a bit too convenient and silly. Unfortunately, the main characters keep the supernatural episodes they repeatedly witness from each other as well, yet another all-too-common, obnoxious horror trope. Still, the film ultimately goes in a bold direction, taking some effective, nightmarish chances. The results are appropriately nerve-wracking and spooky and as opposed to many other genre films of its kind, Flanagan actually lands the ending quite well.
Dir - Mari Asato
Overall: MEH
There are times when holding the audiences hand during your movie's profuse twists and turns becomes something borderline comical and Mari Asato does this methodically in Bilocation. Based off Haruka Hojo's novel of the same name, it starts rather eye-brow raising and silly, but then grows almost impressive in how "let's make sure the viewer is 100% caught up" it becomes. At one point, a character whose name may as well have been Mr. Expository Dialog Man looks at the main character after posing a riddle and proclaims "Figured it out? That riddle...is for you to solve." In case it is not already elementary-style clear, said main character acts as the viewer themselves. This stylistic route taken by Asato is by no means a work of pure ingenuity, (Japanese horror in particular is often prone to such spoon-feeding), but it is the defining factor from the experience. As far as anything creepy or unsettling transpiring, the movie unfortunately comes up empty handed. It does offer up some compelling conflicts and posed a satisfying if not laboriously persistent take on the doppelgänger mythos, but it is a bit too distracting in its dumbed-down, frightless approach.
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