MovieChat Forums > Oculus (2014) Discussion > staying AFTER it's clear the mirror is i...

staying AFTER it's clear the mirror is in their heads.

posted 10 years ago by CrimsondoubleChin
19 replies | jump to latest

I mean I've seen a lot of boneheaded decisions in horror movies. That's part and parcel for the genre, but here we had an example where the protagonist was supposed to have a thoroughly detailed plan to usurp any challenges. So...

How the hell do they not get out of dodge as soon as they realize the mirror is working them subconsciously? They just look at themselves on the playback, go "Hey, do you remember doing that? No? Okay." And continue on. Are you kidding? That should be game over! That's checkmate if the mirror can do that. You cannot trust anything further on while you're in that house, and you can't trust yourself in it either. You still have the kill switch. GTFO.

Really, I felt bad for Tim, but at that point I was honestly rooting for the mirror over Kaylee.

[–] zombieentranced 10 years ago

Even if they wanted to leave the mirror could have easily made them believe they were gone. If you recall Tim going "outside" to make the phone call in reality he was sitting by the door doing nothing. Once the mirror ate the dog (which made them believe they released it) it was over for them. The mirror was in control. :) Also with the killswitch the mirror could have EASILY made them turn it off without them knowing it, same with the electronics themselves. It can't affect those, but it can (and did) make the characters do things with them.

[–] fire-baby 9 years ago

whoa whoa whoa.... what makes you think they didn't really release the dog?

It's mercy, compassion and forgiveness I lack. Not rationality...

[–] jpkrunch 9 years ago

hahaha, the mirror does not eat dogs!

I would say my memory is not what it used to be. But I don't remember what my memory used to be.

[–] azureebluedaisy 10 years ago

I personally think that the mirror would have been better off being put in a coffin and buried 6 feet underground. Obviously, if they had left once they saw that it was fully capable of screwing with them, there wouldn't have been a movie, and besides, she didn't tell anyone what she was doing. She could have stopped it from being sold at all just from sharing the information she had found with someone since there seemed to be so much of it. My question is why would anybody want that mirror anyhow? It's so old fashioned that you can't do much with it. But I think that they went back in because they saw themselves standing in front of it and they had no idea if they were actually standing there or if they were really outside. So even if they walked away, they wouldn't have made it very far.

[–] king_of_bob 9 years ago

A better plan would be to put it in a metal box and sink it into the Mariana Trench. But then how could you possibly know you actually did that? The fact that the mirror affects perception means it's virtually impossible to deal with.

The new home of Welcome to Planet Bob: http://kingofbob.blogspot.ca/

[–] dargorrof 9 years ago

The area of effect was 30ft right? Have someone put it somewhere while you watch from a distance and shoot it with an rocket launcher along with whoever carried it there if they don't go away due to the mirror's influence. Problem solved. Then you probably have to get away with murder.

[–] king_of_bob 9 years ago

The area of effect was 30ft right?

It's impossible to actually know for sure. We can't trust anything we see after she pulls the sheet off the mirror at the auction house. Not to mention it's entirely possible, in fact likely, that the area of effect grows as the mirror absorbs more energy.

The new home of Welcome to Planet Bob: http://kingofbob.blogspot.ca/

[–] dragonbane44 9 years ago

Getting rid of the mirror wasn't their prime motivation, its to clear the name of their father and prove to everyone that its was the mirror all along. Hence, all these plans, cameras, alarm clocks, plants at various points and, lastly, the kill switch to guarantee their safety.

[–] jpkrunch 9 years ago

Getting rid of the mirror wasn't their prime motivation

actually it was. She kept reminding her brother of the promise they made to kill it. But she decided to try to clear the family name in the process. But how exactly? By showing plants die? That proves nothing. Making a dog sick? These could all be her tricking he audience watching the tapes. And she could have presented all of the historical evidence before even acquiring the mirror. The premise was seriously flawed in that regard. If the mirror's powers were real, the only conceivable outcome was that someone was going to die. Liely both of them.

I would say my memory is not what it used to be. But I don't remember what my memory used to be.

[–] king_of_bob 9 years ago

The problem with the overall idea you're presenting is that once it's influencing them, they can't leave if it doesn't want them to.

That's part and parcel for the genre, but here we had an example where the protagonist was supposed to have a thoroughly detailed plan to usurp any challenges.

See, the problem with her plan and the reason it has so many issues is because she doesn't know what the mirror is actually capable of. She was an outside observer with what happened to her parents. It never affected the perception of the kids. She didn't know it could compel them to do things while at the same time making them think they were doing something else.

How the hell do they not get out of dodge as soon as they realize the mirror is working them subconsciously?

To your question a question: How the hell are they supposed to get out of Dodge(Dodge is a place and thus a proper noun) when they can't trust their own perceptions? Tim tries physically leaving the house to make a phone call but it turns out he just walked over to the door and sat down in front of it.

That should be game over! That's checkmate if the mirror can do that. You cannot trust anything further on while you're in that house, and you can't trust yourself in it either. You still have the kill switch. GTFO.

Except as I explained, they can't escape anymore than they can trust their perception.

The new home of Welcome to Planet Bob: http://kingofbob.blogspot.ca/

[–] PreachCaleb 9 years ago

She didn't know it could compel them to do things while at the same time making them think they were doing something else.

Yes, she did. She remembers how they tried to smash it with the golf clubs but missed every single swing.

Can't stop the signal.

[–] jingizu_z 9 years ago

Yes, she did. She remembers how they tried to smash it with the golf clubs but missed every single swing.

True. She did know of the mirror's power to distort reality and make people do things against their will, while misleading them as to their actions. She also knew the history of the Lasser Glass.

What she did however get wrong, is the extent of the mirror's power. She underestimated the mirror and was arrogant in her assumptions.

[–] Angelboreanaz89 9 years ago

The only "fool proof" way of dealing with the mirror is to set up a trap ahead of time, so you are not near the mirror. Without telling anyone about the trap, have movers bring the mirror to the location of your choosing. Tell them to hang it on the wall where you have marked an X or something, doesn't matter. Have them call you once they are done, you will be miles away with your hand on a button to trigger the trap. Press button.

I put quotes around fool proof because it is my understanding the mirror isn't omniscient, it just reads minds.

[–] prokop43 9 years ago

I seriously hope you're joking.

Who says the mirror couldn't make the movers think they put it in a certain spot?

[–] bcjester 9 years ago

It could do that easily, but why would it?
If I remember correctly it appeared as though the mirror was trying to get back to the girl and had manipulated people into doing just that. I am pretty sure this is briefly covered. Could be wrong, but either way the mirror could have gone to anywhere it wanted without a problem. Even when it was set up with the obvious trap right in front of it, it was actually still placed on the wall.

I'd wager if movers were putting it in the house it's not going to know that they were instructed to put it into a trap unless that was spoken about in front of the mirror itself.

mind you...I could be completely wrong so there's that.

[–] peterbetts 9 years ago

you could try

A) hiring a long range sniper to shoot the mirror from a distance (if you know where it's going to be) alternatively

B) use a quad-copter (drone), given that they have a range of a couple hundred feet. fly it at the mirror full speed (smashing it on impact).

either of these options would have meant the destruction of the mirror

[–] SBL84 9 years ago

How the hell do they not get out of dodge as soon as they realize the mirror is working them subconsciously? They just look at themselves on the playback, go "Hey, do you remember doing that? No? Okay." And continue on. Are you kidding? That should be game over! That's checkmate if the mirror can do that. You cannot trust anything further on while you're in that house, and you can't trust yourself in it either.

Not only can they not trust anything... but if the mirror can do that, there's absolutely no reason to continue with the plan to document it. At that point, they should be aware that the mirror works by manipulating minds, so there would likely not be any physical evidence of anything the mirror is doing.

If the mirror can manipulate their minds, making them do things that they don't remember doing, best case scenario they'll just capture themselves on camera running around crazily as they hurt themselves and each other. They can blame the mirror for it all they want, but that didn't work so well for Tim 11 years ago, so how well do they think it'll work now?

[–] comerb 8 years ago

You act like they could have gotten away if they wanted to. They were *beep* from the moment set set the anchor trap. The mirror was never going to let them go.

[–] crissttigaldames 8 years ago

Wven if they couldn't leave, cause the mirror would just make them THINK they had left, they could have shown them trying!. Their reaction to seeing what the mirror could make them do should have been *beep* let get the *beep* out of here, NOW", show them leaving, only for them to see in the next scene that they're still inside.