An ex-cop takes a job as a night guard for a burned down department
store and is targeted by a ghost that dwells within the store's mirrors. HORROR
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Mirrors (2008)Directed by Alexandre Aja
Written by Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur Starring Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart, Jason Flemyng, Cameron Boyce, Erica Gluck, Mary Beth Peil, John Shrapnel, Julian Glover Remake of 2003's Into the Mirror |
Mirrors is another one of those American made remakes of a superior (probably) Asian horror film that fell under the radar because it lacks the staying power of films like The Ring or The Grudge. Instead, Mirrors boasts the star power of Kiefer Sutherland and Paula Patton, two actors with the combined range of drywall. This film suffers the ultimate problem that can destroy a horror film. It simply isn't scary. It tries too hard to be a memorable ghost movie and ends up being predictable and kinda boring. I haven't seen the South Korean original, but I'd bet money it's scarier than this.
I mock Kiefer but he doesn't totally suck as the lead. He does a decent job as an ex-cop going through some stuff that's never actually explained to us. As he discovers the demon hiding in the mirrors, a mystery is introduced to us. What is the demon after? This engaging storyline culminates with Kiefer kidnapping a nun and pretty much forcing her to led the demon inhabit her in order to save his family. In most movies, when a character kidnaps a nun and forces them to swallow a demon, they're the bad guy. I will give credit where it's due, though. This film boasts one of the most brutal death scenes in modern horror, with a character having their jaw ripped open in a scene that was done with some crazy practical effects. The scenes where characters' reflections would stay still when the characters themselves moved also gave me chills. If only the whole movie could've had that kind of creep factor. In the end, Mirrors collapses under the weight of its own lazy writing and lack of scares. Its ending, while unsettling, makes zero sense. To me, it's the horror equivalent of the President Ape-braham Lincoln finale of Burton's Planet of the Apes. This film explored all the wrong points of interest and left out scenes that sounded creepy and worth a look. Hell, this film barely utilizes the fact that the department store is built on an abandoned mental hospital. That's horror movie gold right there and because of this film's laziness, it'll never get mined. |