Slightly inventive and, at times, spine-tingling, “Oculus” falls short in respect to fantastic horror flicks such as its predecessors, “Insidious,” and, “The Conjuring.”

“Oculus” depicts the story of siblings Kaylie and Tim, who lost their parents at the mercy of a mysterious mirror called, “the Lasser Glass.”

After his release from a mental health facility, Tim reluctantly becomes a player in his sister’s scheme to destroy the entity residing within the glass.

The film ping-pongs between Kaylie and Tim’s childhood and their present struggle to evade and destroy the deceptive demon.

One domineering element that impressed me was the movie’s ability to maintain a thin line between reality and illusion.

Kaylie, who has dedicated her life to the Lasser Glass’s destruction, thinks she has its tricks figured out and booby-traps their childhood home.

She soon finds she underestimated its influence over her as the veil between truth and lie dissolves.

Unfortunately, this concept has been tackled repeatedly throughout cinema, and “Oculus” brings very little discrepancy and originality to it.

Frankly, it felt like a rip off of Alexandre Aja’s s dastardly twisted “Mirrors.”

It is no surprise the same creators of “Insidious” and “Paranormal Activity” gave us this mildly impressive film.

“Oculus” has an unsettling mixture of “Insidious”’s peculiarity with “Paranormal Activity”‘s lack of depth and reliance upon generic scare tactics.

The storyline did have many shining moments with creepy scenes of trickery and terror, making it an interesting watch and a great horror flick for spooky nights.

“Oculus” commendably shies far from cheap thrills, like graphic gore and misplaced penetration – both of which are great movie additions if vital to the storyline.

Overall, if you are looking for something askew from the traditional haunt, and do not restrict yourself to original cinematic feats, then “Oculus” is the perfect late-night, mind-boggling, adrenaline rush.