MFM Writer Mike Flanagan Completes Production on Intrepid/Focus Feature of Oculus (News)

Posted by on Nov 3, 2012 | 0 comments

Oculus Feature Cover

Oculus Feature Cover

Readers of MFM doubtless know Mike Flanagan, who’s won more feature film Best of Show Awards here at MFM than any other filmmaker in our magazine’s history. In addition to being a stellar filmmaker, he’s contributed a number of articles to MFM (including his ever-popular crowdfunding article: Kickstarted) and helped new filmmakers learn valuable lessons through his critiques. (In fact, with a momentary lull in his production cycle, Flanagan will be critiquing Bryce Lin Williams film, Aberrations, for MFM in the months to come!)

After his masterful release of the Kickstarter funded and DSLR filmed Absentia–which won best feature film at LA’s 2011 Shriekfest and was distributed by Phase 4 films to RedBox, Netflix, VOD, and direct sales.

After his masterful release of Absentia–which won best feature film at LA’s 2011 Shriekfest and was distributed by Phase 4 films earlier this year–his Oculus franchise was picked up by Trevor Macy and Marc D. Evans of Intrepid Pictures for the major Feature treatment. (The original Oculus short is a cult classic that was made for $1500, garnered a 9.5 from MFM when it came out, and used a single room, a single actor, and a cowled mirror to strike fear in the heart of viewers everywhere.) Intrepid is a production company that seems to be taking a page from the origins of New Line and focusing on films that have very targeted audiences. While they’re most recently known for producing James McTeigue’s (V for Vendetta) film, Raven, starring John Cusack, they’ve also produced or presented such varied works as The Cold Light of Day, Crush, and Balls of Fury.

Credited in some areas as Oculus 4 (as the prior short was labeled: “Oculus 3: A Man With a Plan”) , it’s assumed that the feature is somewhat after Oculus 3 chronologically, although an inside tip that Scott Graham is in the film may make this assumption incorrect. (Graham portrayed the central character in Oculus 3 and the previous film’s conclusion would make it difficult for Graham’s character to show up in a future time, unless it was in a recorded image or as a twin.)

Production wrapped just this past month and stars Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Gallactica), Brenton Thwaites (Home and Away, Blue Lagoon: The Awakening), Rory Cochrane (CSI: Miami, Argo, Public Enemies), Karen Gillan (Doctor Who), and Katie Parker (Absentia). The plot begins a decade after a terrifying family incident left two young children orphans. Although her brother was charged with murder, Kaylie (Gillen) is convinced a haunted antique mirror is the real perpetrator and years later wants prove that the mirror was responsible for destroying their family.

The script was written by Mike Flanagan and Jeff Howard and is directed by Flanagan. The feature film is slated for a 2014 release through FilmDistrict for U.S. Distribution and Focus Features for International Distribution.
Again our hearty congratulations to Flanagan as he continues to inspire microbudget filmmakers everywhere!

To see the original trailer for Oculus 3, which started it all in 2005, go to:

Tune in next week for a short interview I conducted with Mike Flanagan about the film!

The director of two feature length films and half a dozen short films, Jeremy Hanke founded MicroFilmmaker Magazine to help all no-budget filmmakers make better films. The second edition of his well-received book on low-budget special effects techniques, GreenScreen Made Easy, (which he co-wrote with Michele Yamazaki) is being released by MWP in fall 2016. He's curently working on the sci-fi collaborative community, World of Depleted, and directed the debut action short in this series, Depleted: Day 419 .

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Straight Talk with Oculus Feature Director, Mike Flanagan (Interview) - MicroFilmmaker Magazine - [...] ← MFM Writer Mike Flanagan Completes Production on Intrepid/Focus Feature of Oculus (News) [...]

Post a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *