We often hear of people being possessed. However, in Mirrors, an evil spirit is trapped in reflecting mirrors of all sorts. Or, at least, that’s what Ben (Kiefer Sutherland), a suspended undercover detective who pops strong pills to get over his alcoholic problem would like everyone to believe.
Taking up the job of the night watchman of what was once a mental hospital can itself be a little scary. Things get better when you hear that the previous watchman slit his own throat with a broken piece of mirror. Bill comes home after the first night on the job with a mind full of weird experiences. His estranged wife, who still loves him, thinks he needs psychological treatment.
That’s the thing about being hooked onto substances. You know you’re not funny in the head. And everyone else knows that you are. When non-existent people start staring at you from within reflecting mirrors, with an evil intent, there are two things you can do about it: down a few more pegs, or start an investigation.
One expects something special in terms of acting when a majority of the images is dominated by a single actor. That’s missing. Introducing two kids Michael (Cameron Boyce) and Daisy (Erica Gluck) in the supporting roles, seems like a fine idea. The young characters lend warmth to the film and create some drama.
To get the audience to jump out of their seats every few minutes, the elements of cinematography, editing, acting, sound, and music need to be deployed in a particular manner, failing which the intended effect is not achieved.
The filmmaker has extracted the required from the sound and music departments, but the camerawork is mediocre and the cuts have not been properly timed. The pace of the script, which apparently has been adapted from a Korean film, Into the Mirror, alternates between the extremes: dragging scenes and moments of broken mirrors and gore. The climax, though, is quite interesting, and opens up a lot of possibilities.
Alexandre Aja’s horror film thrills without the frights. Though blood and glass bits splash all over the place as people commit “suicide” and evil emerges from all sorts of reflecting surfaces, water included, chances are that you won’t be biting your fingers or shivering in your seat. It’s so uninspiring, that you won’t even encounter any scary devils under your bed, even if you’re alone at home and watching the film at midnight.
