Mirrors
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Movie Reviews of Mirrors
Movie Review: SHOULD'VE done for reflections what Jaws did for the water(2.5 stars)
Summary: 3 Stars
... but instead it did for Alexandre Aja's stock what the economic recession did for the car industries-- dropped it harder and faster than a hammer onto a sleeping and sexually abusive stepfathers skull. Much like my aforementioned(and tastless) comparison, Mirrors is such a forced mess that it makes you wonder just what the man behind two of the best horror offerings from the new millenium was going for? The film tells the tale of an ex-cop(played by Keifer Sutherland in complete Jack Bauer of TV's 24 mode) who takes a night security job at a burned up department store. We're not talking about just any run-of-the-mill Macy's here though, it's got a grisley and mysterious past! You see, during one particularly "creepy" Fall sale, the store decided to sell mock-neck sweaters under the false pretenses of being full turtle necks... AND ALL SALES WERE FINAL! Okay, maybe the movie isn't THAT bad, but it's plot from this point on is about as compelling. In actuality it turns out that the store was built over the remains of a mental hospital accustomed to shady going-ons(are there any other kind?) and it's up to our anti-hero(he's a pill and alcohol abuser and generally bad husband and father, hence the "anti" before the "hero") to figure out what's going on before his life completely unravels. From here on we get some great and genuinely unnerving moments involving the mirrors in the building, unevenly split with some extreme(and excellent) moments of grue. Here lies the films main problem-- direction. Not direction as in how it was filmed(Aja can shoot a great looking movie no doubt), but rather; direction as in where it's going and what it's deal is exactly. Is it a ghost story, a demonic possession film, a slow-burn haunted house tale, a brooding mystery? Oh it's all that and more! The thing is, it's not only highly noticable everytime the movie does a 90 degree turn and reinvents itself, it's also jarring(including a Hollywood style, action-packed, CGI-laden final showdown that's pretty lame). Calling Mirrors a movie(singular) would be a mistake, because it's actually movies(plural) rolled into a watchable but ultimately unmemorable 110 minutes(even though 109 of those minutes feature Keifer screaming at inanimate objects, which never gets old!). 2.5 stars, not one of the worst horror films of 2008, but far from one of the best(here's to Alexandre Aja bouncing back with his next offering Piranha-- although it is his 3rd remake in a row?!).Movie Review: A Hodgepodge of Hauntings
Summary: 3 Stars
I wouldn't exactly say that "Mirrors" reflects badly on its producers. It does deliver a few genuine scares, including one really shocking scene involving a woman, naturally, in a bathtub. (It's amazing that any of us ever bathes or goes in a basement, considering the lessons of horror movies.)
However, the hauntings in this movie are a completely implausible muddle. It's no use trying to figure out exactly how, why, or where the avenging entity appears as it does.
Also, the movie doesn't take advantage of its own projected setting. The epicenter of the haunting is supposed to be an old, burned-out department store. There's no accompanying commentary on the disc, so I don't know where these scenes were actually shot. However, most aspects of the store look like extravagant, unconvincing computer generations. If some actual abandoned building could have been found as location, the movie would have had much more atmosphere. This sort of film cries out for its location to become another character in the unfolding action - just as the old, abandoned Danvers Mental Hospital in Massachusetts became such a portentous character in the thriller "Session 9."
This film does try to capitalize on the inherent eeriness of mirrors, and on the suspicion many of us fleetingly entertain - that the reflection we see in the mirror has a life of its own. Again though, "Mirrors" ends up with less by doing more. There have been a few movies and TV episodes that played on this concept, but that featured reflections that moved just subtly out of synch with their fleshly counterparts. Just this shade of lag time made the reflections truly riveting and unnerving. However, here the reflections go off on radically different tangents. The obviousness of the mayhem they are going to launch detracts from the suspense.
So "Mirrors" suffers from too many demonic manifestations that are too flagrant and ubiquitous. Nevertheless, this movie is good for a few chills and shudders.
Movie Review: (2.5 STARS) A Little Disappointing Horror Flick from the Director of "High Tension"
Summary: 3 Stars
A former NYPD detective Ben Carson (Kiefer Sutherland) is hired as a security guard doing a night shift at a ruined department store that burnt down five years ago. Ben, still traumatized by one tragic accident, starts to see weird things there at midnight. And those things have something to do with mirrors that still remain in this dilapidated building.
The story of "Mirrors" may be based on a Korean film made in 2003 named "Geoul sokeuro" (which I haven't seen), but the thriller's touch is definitely that of Alexandre Aja, known for his "High Tension" and the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes." Remember that his latest film as director includes more than one gruesome (and gory) death and some disturbing images.
Unfortunately it seems Alexandre Aja is not interested in other parts of the film. Though the images of the run-down New York department store and its interiors (actually shot in Romania) are very spooky, "Mirrors" relies on a familiar tactic to scare you such as sudden big noises. Yes, I jumped in the seat several times, I admit, but this is not exactly what I had expected form the one who directed "High Tension."
I am not perfectly sure that "Mirrors" was really the right choice for the director. The mysteries surrounding the mirrors and the strange visions Ben has are not very interesting. In fact Ben doesn't have to think much to get the answer. Besides, the film shows only half-hearted effort in its protagonist's character in spite of Kiefer Sutherland's energetic acting. I couldn't understand why he had to be so obsessed with these creepy mirrors when all he has to do is just quit the job.
The film is not bad as some people say, but not great either. I hope Alexandre Aja will do better next time.
Movie Review: Formulaic horror provides scares, poorly crafted ending
Summary: 3 Stars
'Mirrors' is not too different from many a horror film that graced the screens in 2008, with the exception that it had a (sorta) marquee name with Kiefer Sutherland. That being said, it's a little bit better performed than most of your weekly multiplex scarefests. That doesn't neccessarily mean it's a better movie overall.
The movie follows ex-cop Ben, played by Sutherland, as a security guard for a burnt up department store/former hospital that is tied up in the courts because of insurance claims. The setup follows standard issue horror films: It's night, it's lonely, it's haunted..by something in the mirrors. The scenes in the store provide a good share of scares, and Sutherland isn't as dimwitted as typical horror protagonists.
But aside from acting and some good scares, there's little else going on here. The story has a good setup, as we try to figure out why the mirrors are all haunted. While the movie tries to serve up an answer, there seems to be holes in the explanation. In an effort to create a shocking conclusion, the film makers settle for a weak puzzler of an ending that features a big visual goof that provides little closure. I won't spoil it here, but will say that the "shocking" alternate ending doesn't help at all.
Mirrors is a slightly better than average horror film, but it's still going through the motions. Really, it's nothing more than an excuse to make mirrors seem scare, just as similar films have made basements, phones, and videos forever seem frightening. If that is its sole purpose, it's mostly effective.
Movie Review: Could have been a deep movie, but as shallow as a mirror
Summary: 3 Stars
Ben Carson [Keifer Sutherland] is a policeman stripped of his badge, punished for his accidental shooting of a police officer during an undercover assignment. Undercover detectives go deep to hide their real nature, and that can create problems when you take a job in a place that thrives on showing you what it sees as your dark self, amongst other things. Carson takes a job in a burned-out building filled with mirrors, mirrors that trap evil spirits. To free the spirits and save his family, he must discover the secrets that put them there in the first place.
This movie is the sort in which each comment seems to require some qualification. Mirrors is a simple movie; much of the story line could have been dropped entirely, not even serving as an effective red herring. The Dorian Gray-like mirrors are suitably creepy, but we are never fully drawn into Carson's world. It's entertaining, but there are no big messages, or maybe the message it tried to take on, about the self in the mirror and the real self, was too big for the movie. Mirrors never wind up standing for anything very interesting. In short, it's a decent attempt, but it feels as though Mirrors could have been something more.