Despite some creepy scenes and superb special effects, Mirrors is let down by a ludicrous script and some dodgy acting, though it remains watchable on a so-bad-it's-good level.
Mirrors (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:79
Fresh:12
Rotten:67
Average Rating:3.9/10
Consensus: Inconsistency and listless plot make this K-horror remake a less-than-frightening time at the movies.
Theatrical Release:10-10-2008
Synopsis: French director Alexandre Aja adds to his growing canon of horror features with this remake of the Korean feature GEOUL SOKEURO (2003). Kiefer Sutherland stars as Ben Carson, a disgraced former New... French director Alexandre Aja adds to his growing canon of horror features with this remake of the Korean feature GEOUL SOKEURO (2003). Kiefer Sutherland stars as Ben Carson, a disgraced former New York City cop who attempts to put his checkered past behind him by taking a job as a security guard. Carson is required to take the night shift in a department store in the city. The store closed down after a fire put an end to its business, and Carson soon discovers that malevolent spirits are lurking behind its walls. The spirits connect with the human world through the mirrors in the store, and when they discover Carson's presence they go after his ex-wife, Amy (Paula Patton), and his kids (played by Erica Gluck and Cameron Boyce). Carson attempts to figure out the meaning of a cryptic message carved into one of the mirrors, hoping it will save his family and cut off contact with the malignant lurking presence. Aja successfully replicates much of the tension and edge-of-your-seat moments that he managed so skillfully in HAUTE TENSION (2003). The film begins with an unnerving set piece in which Carson's predecessor takes a shard of mirror and slashes his own throat, and it's an indication of the gore-filled fun that awaits intrepid viewers. Aja creates a palpable sense of unease by shooting dim-lit set pieces in the department store. Sutherland makes for a convincing lead in a character that closely resembles his turn as Jack Bauer in 24. There are plenty of genuine scares in the film, and the director ultimately spins MIRRORS as a cross between a psychological thriller in the vein of the POLTERGEIST movies and a no-holds-barred splatter flick. [More]
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart, Jason Flemyng
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart, Jason Flemyng, Erica Gluck, Cameron Boyce
Director: Alexandre Aja
Director: Alexandre Aja
Screenwriter: Alexandre Aja, Gregory Levasseur
Producer: Alexandra Milchan, Marc Sternberg, Gregory Levasseur
Composer: Javier Navarrete
Reviews for Mirrors
Te story is efficient but strangely uninvolving and not nearly as scary as the Korean version.
Some credit for this stylish screamer goes to Sutherland, forming his doughy-handsome features into an emotional punchbag. More credit goes to Nemec, sowing a harvest of dark invention in the vast spaces.
On reflection, Mirrors may have been better going straight to the DVD shelf.
This lame supernatural horror screams straight-to-DVD, with little in the way of scares, but yawns aplenty.
The script fails to come up with a convincing reason for the mirrors behaving as nastily as they do, and the final twist is effective only if you don't, as it were, reflect upon it.
There's a crippling sense of familiarity about the whole shebang that no one seems remotely bothered about fixing. Let's hope they all get seven years bad luck.
Entertaining dross, but could be another seven year’s bad luck for Keifer’s big screen career.
Kiefer Sutherland's bad days in 24 are frolics in the park next to the nonsense he endures in this scandalously poor supernatural horror.
The remake retains the sensationally creepy ending and it's all reasonably done, but no real chills.
It's not the worst entry in Hollywood's catalogue of Asian horror remakes, but is Aja's most disappointing film to date.
This is without question the dumbest horror movie of recent years. There is simply no way to piece together its fractured shards.
The main problem with Mirrors is its truly clunky screenplay, which fails to support the often stylish visuals.
Not since Star Wars' furry Chewbacca has a male screen character made as much pointless noise as Kiefer Sutherland - either in this movie or as Jack Bauer in 24.
at some point Aja appears to have decided that he cannot be bothered with all this remake malarkey, and instead he just goes completely ape with his plotting...could well go on to become a cult classic.
Clunky dialogue sets up the film, unlikely backstory drives it along, and it all concludes in a ludicrous cataclysm of cinematic hyperbole.
As Joe Bob Briggs used to say: "too much plot gets in the way of the story."
I love a good horror movie, and this offered something different from slasher remakes and zombie flicks.
Latest News for Mirrors
October 10, 2008:
Exclusive: Alexandre Aja talks Mirrors and Piranha 3D
We caught up with Aja for his only UK interview to learn more about the movie as well as his latest project, a 3D remake of Joe Dante's classic Piranha. More...
September 02, 2008:
RT's Summer in Review: The Best, The Worst, and Our Favorite Films!
The summer movie season of 2008 ended last weekend, and boy, was it a good one. Led by box office smashes like Iron Man, Wall-E, and The Dark Knight, Hollywood raked in the... More...
August 22, 2008:
Supernatural troublemakers and psychos under glass in an endlessly dreary, disappointing remake having less to do with keeping you awake at night than struggling to stay awake during viewing. ![]()
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August 22, 2008:
Supernatural troublemakers and psychos under glass in an endlessly dreary, disappointing remake having less to do with keeping you awake at night than struggling to stay awake during viewing. ![]()
More...
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