Mirrors

As a remake of a Korean film of 2003 this film tells the tale of a guy that picks up a job as a night-watchman in what is left over of a burned down department store. What starts as a somewhat dull somewhat creepy job quickly turns into a living nightmare.

There have been at least a dozen horror films where the evil lived on the other side of the mirror - nothing new here. Most of them share the same build up as this one: get to know the victim(s), get to know the evil(s), see them getting maimed/slaughtered/eaten one by one - nothing new here. In effect, this film is like nothing new all over and it would be a standard run of the mill one if it weren't for the fact that most of the settings used are worked out pretty nicely and that the ending isn't the normal sloppy one.

I haven't seen the original but I am interested into seeing it now that I have seen this one. It might be even better.

7 out of 10 mirrors on the wall

The story keeps you present, and Kiefer Sutherland (although I am not a fan), does a great job of carrying this entertaining and well-written film.

The problem is that in terms of acting on the part of Paula Patton, who plays Sutherland's wife, it cannot get any worse. I wanted to scratch my eyes out and stab my ears each time she was on-screen. How this person ever booked anything in Hollywood that was more than a gig where she asks if you want to "supersize that", is beyond me. Not too much better, was the acting by Amy Smart, who I normally love. What a mess.

If you, however, can overlook really bad acting to enjoy a suspenseful movie with a strong story, then you might like it more than I did.

Another over-the-top American horror movie based on an Asian horror movie. Kiefer is alright but the other actors are pretty bad and the dialog is quite poor. Only the first third of "Mirrors" is any good. It's downhill after that as Kiefer tries to unravel the mystery of the mirrors. Instead of genuine creepiness, things jump out at every moment. And then there's the over-the-top finale which is unnecessary and awful.

I like the idea of abandoned places as the setting in horror movies. I watched the horror film "Session 9" after this and it was quite a bit better. The director knew what the director of "Mirrors" didn't know. Setting is crucially important in horror movies. "Mirrors" used the abandoned department store in its first third and then abandoned it for more scares outside. The film should have taken advantage of this setting and used it more. The film does backtrack to the abandoned store at the end of the film, but by then all mystery and suspense is gone from the place.

A man and his family are terrorised by a supernatural force that is using mirrors as a way access their home.

I welcome Kiefer Sutherland with open arms as he's in the land of TV far too often. Although he seems to lack the great range of his father Donald, he is a great underrated actor. Mirrors gives Kiefer plenty to play with, but as with so many Asian horror remakes that have been spat-out recently and while Mirrors is one of the better re-workings, the story twist is something we've seen too many times.

No stranger to remakes director Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes re-do and 2010's Piranha 3-D) takes the viewer though paint by numbers stuff as Ben Carson (Kiefer), a former undercover detective, is forced to take a night time security job at a department store that was gutted by a fire. However, there is an evil lurking in the mirrors, an entity he must stop to save his family.

Lately, I wish all the PC's in the world were stolen so I wouldn't have to see another dodgy effect detract from an actor's performance. While some effects are modest it's the bad CGI that spoils some moments of scariness. When practical effects are used there's one moment that would stop you ever looking into a mirror and taking a bath again.

Jason Flemyng shows up for a brief moment but seems to take his pay cheque and disappear as fast as some of the eerie atmosphere. Between Paula Patton and Amy Smarts (almost a cameo appearance) the acting is above average right down to the child actors who are at no time annoying.

Overall, Kiefer leaves his mark and it may not be the most original horror but at times it is certainly is creepy, not since Poltergeist and Poltergeist 3 have mirrors been so chilling.

I hadn't seen this in several years and I do remember some of the graphic violence was pretty crazy, but my that bathtub scene. It was pretty well done, I just thought it was a little too drawn out. I feel like Keifer as usual does great with his role, but overacting especially towards the end was a bit eh. Oh and I actually thought they did pretty good tying up the ending. A lot of people complain the last part ruined the film or wasn't good, but it surprised me as I thought it would be much worse. I say it's worth checking out if you haven't. It wasn't groundbreaking or anything but managed to keep me focused for a few hours. I give it a 6. I liked it better than Aja's High Tension. Now to me that was a bad ending.