Mirrors Review [2]
Posted by Erik Luers on 08.20.2008
Aja's first major disappointment.....
Before Mirrors, french director Alexandre Aja was creating quite a niche for himself in the icky, splatterfest horror sub genre. With High Tension and The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Aja seemed to be a daring new voice in the industry, unafraid to be more graphic and un PC than his "gorno" contemporaries. Sometimes nihilistic but always with an undeniable sense of style, Aja was a welcomed breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, Mirrors plays as if Aja had forgotten about all of this, relying on cheap scares, idiotic characters, and a generic music video approach to reach mass audiences. Everything that worked in his previous two films goes out the window; the film quickly dies on its feet.
Mirrors' plot is so convoluted that to explain it fully would be depriving the viewer of the only fun to be had: laughing at how pedestrian the screenplay becomes. Ben (Kiefer Sutherland) is a former police officer, now serving as a night watchman for for an abandoned warehouse (which had previously been a functioning hospital). A fire killed off many of its occupants years prior; ghosts are now inhabiting the area. While investigating the premise, Ben hears screams, sees fingerprints on the mirrors, seems to internally be on fire (much worse than a heartburn), and all around seems to be having a bad day. Appearing on the mirrors is the last name "Essesker". Anyone who knows their genre formulas will here realize the protagonist will have to uncover the secret of this name, encountering situations with the supernatural and oddball character types along the way. Perhaps an innocent soul has to be set free or maybe an evil one has to be locked away. In other words, same old, same old.
I will admit that one scene really got to me. It is disgusting, painful, horrific and sly, and that's why it is so successful. It involves a female character in the bathroom, looking at her reflection in the mirror. As she is preparing to bathe, an evil spirit inhabits her body, forcing her to rip her jaw clean off her skull. Not a crunch is left out as the dark red blood fills up the tub, and Aja's camera doesn't shy away from the agonizing brutality. There is an energy in this scene that is sorely missing from the rest of the film. The opening sequence, in the subway station, is also pretty intense; it depicts real uncomfortable vein slicing that most commercial horror films today would shy away from.
Sadly, when Aja is forced to refocus on the plot, the film loses steam and becomes quite sophomoric. We meet Ben's wife, Amy (the attractive Paula Patton), and she too (along with their son) will factor into the later scenes, as Ben races against the clock to uncover the truth (if you think he will, you're two steps ahead of the filmmakers). Like many films of this ilk, it takes the characters much too long to realize that all is not well in Denmark. The warehouse looks like something out of The Haunting remake, with dark corridors and gothic architecture at every turn. If that's not a warning sign, how about when their child sees a morbid ghost reflected through his television set? Time to paint up the mirrors, no? There are moments in the final sequence which involve people being dragged through the floor when in the presence of water. Where do they go, I ask. We can still see them through the water, drowning, but have they transported to an alternate universe within the floor boards? If the ghosts can attack in any object or element that possess a reflection, why even specifically call the film Mirrors?
I have to say, Mirrors is certainly the best horror films to have mirrors as antagonists since Poltergeist III in 1988, however much of a compliment that may be. This movie is by the numbers, give or take a few gross out moments. It's a shame Aja seems to have fallen victim to Hollywood convention. Sure, Sutherland may bring in more viewers, but is it at the expense of the director's integrity?
The 411: Released to make a quick buck and move on, Mirrors is a bland, lackluster effort. Gorehounds may leave satisfied (especially by that scarred goofy guy who looks like a cross between a Cenobite and Two Face), but all others will leave disappointed. Don't fall for Fox's cheap marketing tricks. Please avoid.
