Title: Mirrors
Cast: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Cameron Boyce and Amy Smart.
Directed by: Alexandre Aja ( The Hills Have Eyes )
Scores: Technical:85 , Story:75 , Acting:85 , Overall Score: 72
Mirrors: where the executives at the movie studio Castel Film Romania looking past what was right in front of them, including the string of flops of recent Asian horror remakes and director-writer Alexandre Aja’s last horror/thriller, P2, when they decided to release this movie?
During the campaigning for Mirrors, it seemed as though its success would heavily rely on the popularity of actor Kiefer Sutherland instead of on its content, as was the case with P2 and the remakes of One Missed Call, The Eye and Shutter. But Mirrors, the remake of the South Korean movie Into the Mirrors, ultimately proved that movies aren’t always as they appear.
Ben Carson (played by Sutherland) is a recovering alcoholic and a former New York City detective who was suspended a year ago for shooting another officer. To get his life back together, he takes a job as a security job at the Mayflower, a department store that was set on fire five years ago and was never fixed.
Ben starts to see things in the mirrors that aren’t actually happening, and just brushes them off as hallucinations from the medicine he’s taking. However, after doing research on the building, he discovers that a demon is actually living inside the mirrors. The demon won’t leave Ben or his estranged wife, Amy (played by Paula Patton), and their children, Michael and Daisy (played by Cameron Boyce and Erika Gluck), until he figures out why it’s there and how he can stop it.
While Mirrors doesn’t live up to the psychological twist of Aja’s previous writing-directorial effort, High Tension, or the realization that hits audiences during his The Hills Have Eyes remake that this plot could indeed happen in real life, he deserves praise for taking a chance in the world of the supernatural.
Mirrors skillfully draws attention to the belief that mirrors are the gateway to other worlds through the eyes of a common, working-class family. Aja relies on telling his story more through Sutherland and Patton’s emotional performances, rather than on special effects, which shows that they just want to get past their troubles and get back on their feet.
Mirrors is a great pick for anyone interested in learning what lies in the spirit world behind their reflection. However, since it is rated R for strong violence, disturbing images, language and brief nudity, parents should think twice before letting their young children who enjoy looking at themselves in the mirror see this movie.
By Karen Benardello
