MovieChat Forums > Oculus (2014) Discussion > Mirror killing device

Mirror killing device

posted 8 years ago by Overanalyzer
3 replies | jump to latest

After seeing the crude dangerous device in the movie, I started thinking about how to design something better.

Lets assume two core facts that may or may not hold true in the movie universe:

1. The mirror is weak/defenseless until it gets uncovered the first time and starts to feed. If this is not true, then there would be no point in creating any device since the mirror *beep* you up when you get close. Maybe hiring a sniper and hope for an opening from long distance would be the best option in this case.

2. You want to record/demonstrate some of the things the mirror can do before killing it. If this point was not true and number one was, you could just smash it while covered and be done with it.

So considering these two facts, how would you go about designing a kill switch with timed and manual mirror destruction?

My idea below:

While the mirror is still covered, bolt a thick steel backplate to a steel frontal frame with the mirror between. Then weld the bolts so they cannot be opened.

In the backplate there will be a compartment with a mechanical timer set for say 24 hours. This will be the final unavoidable mirror kill timer. The entire back plate will be lined with fairly weak explosives, strong enough to break the wooden backside of the mirror and crush the glass but not much more.

Since there will not be needlessly strong explosives, you could hug the mirror and still have a chance to survive with some cuts and bruises. The front of the frame could also have protruded bars in front of the glass to stop anyone from getting too close.

The second timer, in case the mirror needs to die sooner:
Besides the mechanical timer, rig an electronic one connected to a cellphone.
The cellphone constantly pings a remote server operated by a human far from the mirror control area. If the server stops responding for a few minutes, the second timer blows the mirror up.

The person observing the mirror needs to leave the house every hour and go to a trailer nearby to make a video call to the server operator. At every call, the operator will decide if the mirror observer looks and sounds ok, and if the test can go on for another hour. If not, he will stop the server responses and mirror go boom.

When everything is set up, the mirror observer will cut away the front of the sheet covering the mirror, bring in poor Dog and start the action.

Other ideas? :)

[–] Marc-Kupper 8 years ago

Part of the problem for us is that we have gotten a chance to see the movie and thus have a better understanding of how dangerous the mirror can be. Early researchers of radioactive materials such as Marie Curie, Mihran Kassabian, Clarence Madison Dally, etc. were unaware of a danger similar to that posed by the mirror and paid the price. It took many years, and many lives/limbs lost, before people got a handle on what they were dealing with. They did not get to see the movie.

The movie shows us that mirror seems to be very good at a couple of things.
1) Consuming houseplants, dogs, and people without making it apparent to others that the mirror is the cause of the deaths.
2) It can detect and thwart attempts to destroy the mirror.

However, it seems if the mirror is put into storage and ignored that it does nothing. That seems like the safest way to handle it.

Kaylie was one of the few people in history, if not the only person, who was able to get past #1 above. She underestimated how strong it was at #2 despite knowing that trying to hit it with golf clubs would fail and knowing what it did to her parents.

You propose a steel box with a timer, explosives, etc. Let's pretend the mirror can defeat that by fooling the people attempting to secure the mirror into doing nothing, or sealing up the box while the mirror is not in the box.

We live in an era today where an ordinary citizen can set up radio or wire controlled device that's equipped with cameras, a hammer or simple air-powered gun, perhaps a way to start a fire, spray water, etc. We can control the thing from halfway around the world via the Internet while streaming video to YouTube. Can this defeat the mirror? We don't know.

Something we learned from the movie is that twice the parents were able to stop themselves from killing their children. The dad was able to shoot himself. Was that under the mirror's control or perhaps he had been hoping to destroy the mirror with that shot? Both children escaped the house alive. Can we better understand and take advantage of this?

We also know the glass can be cracked but don't know if that has any affect on the mirror. For all we know, the real enemy is the mirror frame.

I noticed the mirror never bothers the shrubbery and other plants immediately outside the office and so assume it only consumes potted houseplants. Thus, if we can be a shrub, much like a former U.S. President, we could attack the mirror! :-)

[–] KutWrite (1220) 7 years ago

Remember, no matter what you rig, the Mirror can fool you into thinking you did it, when you actually did not... or even rigged something that would kill YOU.

So, yes, eternal storage is the safe way.

I say send it to the US Government warehouse where they sent the Lost Ark of the Covenant.

Store it between the Ark and the box containing all the evidence of deaths caused by the Clintons.

It'll be SURE to be lost there!

[–] foebane72 8 years ago

Bury it under tons of concrete. Only way to be sure. 

Why are you here if you haven't seen the movie yet?