Mirrors (2008)

5/10

"Mirrors" is an Americanized version of the 2003 South Korean film "Into the Mirror". Both movies deal with a department store that terrorizes nighttime employees through mirrors. I have not seen the Korean version of this film, so I cannot compare the versions, but I have seen many comments stating that the Korean version is superior.

The film was written and directed by Alexandre Aja (2006's "The Hills Have Eyes"). Our main character is Ben, a suspended cop and now night security guard, is played by Kiefer Sutherland ("The Lost Boys", "Flatliners"). He has a wife, Amy, two children, Michael and Daisy, and a sister Angela played by Amy Smart ("The Butterfly Effect").

The film starts off with a frantic man apologizing to a reflection of himself in a mirror. As he watches in horror, his reflection picks up a piece of jagged glass and slashes its own throat open. The real man's neck spurts blood, and as he dies the reflection watches.

We switch to Ben being given a tour of the building. It used to be a psychiatric hospital where dubious experiments occurred. In the 1950s a mass killing took place, shutting down the hospital. The building reopened later as the Mayflower, a department store, before that suffered a large fire which closed down the building once again.

Ben notices that the mirrors are all very clean. It turns out that the previous night watchman, Gary, was obsessed with keeping them clean. I wonder what happened to the previous watchman? As Ben does his rounds, he begins to see odd things and finds Gary's wallet. He also receives a package in the mail from Gary, mailed a few days before he died. After finding some more clues, including some spooky crime scene photos from Gary's death, Ben begins to think that the mirrors may be up to no good.

Ben tells his sister about his suspicions, setting up one very freaky scene involving Angela and her bathroom mirror. A very disturbing why to die. Ben keeps investigation the history of the Mayflower building, especially the psychiatric hospital and its patients. He finds one patient that had a rather remarkable stay at the hospital. He tracks her down, and she explains why the mirrors at the Mayflower seem evil. Basically, they are. Meanwhile, reflective surfaces at Ben's home begin assaulting his family.

We eventually get to the climatic ending, and the obligatory final twist. The final showdown is a bit weak, though the twist is decent.

There are graphically violent scenes, but they are not very gory. The FX are good. If you get scared by mirror tricks, such as seeing things in the mirror but not in the real world, or mirror images that act like they want to swallow your soul, this is the movie for you. I personally am spooked by such mirror tricks, and this one has plenty. The acting was average. The cinematography, especially in the mirror scenes, was well done. The film tends to plod along. Overall, a decent spooky thriller with a bit of a let down at the end.