Directed by Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes), Mirrors is an American horror based on the Asian movie Into the Mirror, regarding an evil force that manifests itself in the reflection of mirrors, causing all manners of mayhem.
Mirrors begins with security guard Gary Lewis (Josh Cole- The Descent part 2), begging his reflection in a mirror for his life before the reflection puts a mirror shard up to his throat and slices.
Ben Carson, (Kiefer Sutherland- 24 TV series) is a suspended police detective on medication forced to find work elsewhere to support his estranged wife and young children. He takes up a newly appointed security guard role at the Mayflower, a burnt out department store. The Mayflower had been set ablaze by a disturbed arsonist five years previously, killing dozens of people.
On Carson’s rounds at his new job he discovers an odd hand print on a mirror. A hand print which seemingly cannot be removed as it is on the other side. Investigating his new place of work, things quickly begin to take a turn for the worse as Ben discovers that Gary Lewis, his predecessor as security guard, died in mysterious circumstances. His death was officially regarded as suicide, but Ben begins to suspect that it was connected to the mysterious mirrors within the Mayflower.
The department store was built on the site of a former psychiatric hospital and that, as a result of an exorcism carried out on one of the patients at this hospital, a demon had become trapped in the mirrors. Ben soon finds out that he and his family are in danger from this demon which can threaten them not only through the mirrors in the store, but through any mirror or surface capable of giving a reflection. Ben must find a way to destroy the demon and ensure his family shy away from any reflection possible.
Mirrors biggest strength is the premise. It’s extremely difficult to avoid your reflection completely and the fact that whatever the mirror images do to themselves happens to their real life counterparts, only heightens the hopelessness of Carson and his family.
There are quite a few jumpy and freaky moments, mixed with some gore and some decent jaw-splitting death scenes.
Mirrors isn’t an amazing movie and definitely isn’t for everyone, but it is definitely much better than what one would expect of a typical Korean horror movie remake. I would suggest it for a DVD night in.
WICKED RATING: 5.5/10
Title: Mirrors
Director: Alexandre Aja
Writer(s): Alexandre Aja, Gregory Levasseur
Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart
Year: 2008
Studio/ Production Co: Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Luna Pictures
Budget: $35,000,000 (estimated)
Language: English
Length: 110mins
Sub-Genre: Mystery, Thriller
