Director: Alexandre Aja
Running time: 108 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 18
Watched on Sky+ Sunday 10th January 2010.
PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.
I really shouldn’t watch so many scary movies, but sometimes I can’t help it. Fortunately I had the good sense to watch this one (mostly) during daylight hours, otherwise getting to bed could have been a creepy experience. The film is set in modern day New York.
Ben Carson is an ex-cop who has been battling alcoholism after an incident that’s not really explained in the plot, but I guess it’s what made him quit the force. He is living with his sister, Angela, having split from his wife Amy and his two kids, Michael and Daisy. He takes a job as a security guard at a former department store that had been badly damaged in a fire some years previous. There is some problem with the insurance and so it has remained empty. Ben is working the night shift and soon realises the creepy old building is holding a secret behind its many mirrors. He starts to see things in the mirrors, like, for instance, a door opening and when he turns round, its shut. He sees victims of the fire burning in the mirrors; it’s all pretty creepy stuff. All is ok, though until one day he realises the visions are following him and he can see strange events in mirrors everywhere. More worryingly, these events are beginning to affect his family. He asks whoever, or whatever it is behind the mirrors what they want and they scratch the name ‘Esseker’ into the glass. Only after his sister is murdered, does Ben realise it’s only a matter of time before they move on his children and so he has to act fast and find the mysterious ‘Esseker’ before it’s too late! I think that’s enough spoilers for one day, hope that’s whetted your appetite.
First of all, I must say it’s nice to see Kiefer Sutherland playing a character who is not Jack Bauer. Don’t get me wrong, I love ‘24’ and have watched every season, but I only ever seem to see him playing that CTU operative. But I digress, this is a pretty well made film with some OK effects, obviously they didn’t have a massive budget. Having said that, it’s reasonably well made, the tension is built up well and there is a nice twist at the end. Decent performances for all of the major cast, Kiefer Sutherland as Ben Carson, Paula Patton as Amy Carson, Cameron Boyce as Michael Carson, Erica Gluck as Daisy Carson, Amy Smart as Angela Carson and Mary Beth Peil as Anna Esseker.
As I’ve already said, a reasonably well made horror that has a couple of scary bits in it. I think my main problem is, I was never truly convinced by the demons, or entities, or whatever they were supposed to be, behind the mirrors. I guess I know they don’t exist in real life and hence weren’t as scary as they were meant to be. Maybe in a setting other than contemporary New York, they might have been slightly more menacing. There is a good twist at the end though which is worth watching for.
My score: 5.9/10
LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0790686/
Official Site: http://www.mirrorsmovie.com/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi1518141721/
Running time: 108 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 18
Watched on Sky+ Sunday 10th January 2010.
PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.
I really shouldn’t watch so many scary movies, but sometimes I can’t help it. Fortunately I had the good sense to watch this one (mostly) during daylight hours, otherwise getting to bed could have been a creepy experience. The film is set in modern day New York.
Ben Carson is an ex-cop who has been battling alcoholism after an incident that’s not really explained in the plot, but I guess it’s what made him quit the force. He is living with his sister, Angela, having split from his wife Amy and his two kids, Michael and Daisy. He takes a job as a security guard at a former department store that had been badly damaged in a fire some years previous. There is some problem with the insurance and so it has remained empty. Ben is working the night shift and soon realises the creepy old building is holding a secret behind its many mirrors. He starts to see things in the mirrors, like, for instance, a door opening and when he turns round, its shut. He sees victims of the fire burning in the mirrors; it’s all pretty creepy stuff. All is ok, though until one day he realises the visions are following him and he can see strange events in mirrors everywhere. More worryingly, these events are beginning to affect his family. He asks whoever, or whatever it is behind the mirrors what they want and they scratch the name ‘Esseker’ into the glass. Only after his sister is murdered, does Ben realise it’s only a matter of time before they move on his children and so he has to act fast and find the mysterious ‘Esseker’ before it’s too late! I think that’s enough spoilers for one day, hope that’s whetted your appetite.
First of all, I must say it’s nice to see Kiefer Sutherland playing a character who is not Jack Bauer. Don’t get me wrong, I love ‘24’ and have watched every season, but I only ever seem to see him playing that CTU operative. But I digress, this is a pretty well made film with some OK effects, obviously they didn’t have a massive budget. Having said that, it’s reasonably well made, the tension is built up well and there is a nice twist at the end. Decent performances for all of the major cast, Kiefer Sutherland as Ben Carson, Paula Patton as Amy Carson, Cameron Boyce as Michael Carson, Erica Gluck as Daisy Carson, Amy Smart as Angela Carson and Mary Beth Peil as Anna Esseker.
As I’ve already said, a reasonably well made horror that has a couple of scary bits in it. I think my main problem is, I was never truly convinced by the demons, or entities, or whatever they were supposed to be, behind the mirrors. I guess I know they don’t exist in real life and hence weren’t as scary as they were meant to be. Maybe in a setting other than contemporary New York, they might have been slightly more menacing. There is a good twist at the end though which is worth watching for.
My score: 5.9/10
LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0790686/
Official Site: http://www.mirrorsmovie.com/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi1518141721/
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