By Melissa Garza
“What do you want from me”- Ben Carson (Kiefer Sutherland)
Ben Carson (Kiefer Sutherland) is an ex-cop who was released from duty after becoming an alcoholic. Though the addiction was the result of killing someone while on-duty his wife Amy (Paula Patton) separates from him. He moves out of his home and onto his sister Angela’s (Amy Smart) couch. He seeks medical treatment and is put on a drug to stop drinking. Soon, he finds work as a security guard.
His new job entails patrolling “The Mayflower,” an old department store that was burned in a fire years before. Inside, mirrors cover every wall. Upon first entering, Ben finds it odd that the mirrors are still polished and mentions it to Sapelli (John Shrapnel) the senior security guard who is training him. Sapelli notes that it was another guard that had kept the mirrors clean. He states that the man was obsessed with them.
Soon, Ben begins seeing odd things in the mirrors. He sees his own reflection defying what is actually happening. He sees near dead bodies in the mirror, when in reality there are none there. He then learns that the other security guard Gary Lewis (Josh Cole) had been found dead. He supposedly killed himself by slitting his own throat with a broken piece of mirror. Ben is instantly suspicious.
He seeks out his wife for moral support, but she doesn’t believe him. She fears he is going crazy, and part of him fears this as well. Those fears subside as more and more evidence mounts that the mirrors are a gateway into an alternative and much darker reality.
Generally, I hate horror movies based on Asian films. I think the translation over is awful. The use of gray CGI effects when displaying ghosts doesn’t scare. The entire productions fail because they lack character development, a decent plot, and credible actors. The difference with “Mirrors” is that it is an “Alexandre Aja” film. If the world was a fair place, Aja would be placed in charge of all modern horror movies. He understands what horror is and he always delivers.
From the very original “High Tension,” to the American remake “The Hills Have Eyes,” to his suspense thriller “P2” and now for the Korean based film “Mirrors,” Aja confirms there is nothing he cannot do in the horror industry. His movies radiate with the audience because of the focus placed on interactions between the characters. Not only are the characters fully developed but the relationships they have with the other main players humanize them even more. Therefore, when they are placed into predicaments where they are afraid or in danger, it relays the same feelings of trepidation to the audience.
“Mirrors” was held together not only by Aja’s brilliance but by an excellent cast. Kiefer Sutherland excels in the role of someone who is desperate to save his family from this unknown danger. He not only shows Ben as a great father who had a tough run of it, but displays a sympathetic hero without the recognition deserved. When the rest of the characters believe him to be insane, the viewers know he isn’t. The internal struggle of Ben to communicate what he knows to be true to a wife, who has learned not to trust him, was done marvelously. The conversations are true to life and allow the viewers to relate and subsequently feel more for Ben.
Paula Patton also is perfectly suited as Ben’s fearful but loving wife. The chemistry between both Patton and Sutherland is rock solid throughout. Patton portrays Amy as someone who if not for her kids would be right by Ben’s side regardless of the situation. Her anxiety surrounds her children and the impact that Ben’s (what she sees as) erratic behavior has on them. It isn’t until she is forced to face that Ben is not crazy and instead in an insane situation that the devoted wife is fully shown.
Overall, the movie is fantastic. The plot is intriguing, the suspense builds throughout, the characters are strong and the conclusion is actually unexpected, which rarely happens nowadays. More than any of that, the characters react in a realistic manner. It isn’t a big stretch that an ex-cop would venture into territory that others would shy away from. Furthermore, when things do reveal themselves as supernatural, Ben is the first one to say, “Fuck this place,” and attempts to leave. This isn’t a movie where the characters choose to be in hero-like roles. Neither Ben nor Amy want any part of the situation, but when the demonic force goes after their children, they are without choice and act in a way that any parent would. Ben goes as far to take people hostage and threaten the elderly to protect his family.
Once again, Aja reminds me that mainstream horror isn’t dead, but that the great ones are few and far between. “Mirrors” definitely falls into that category and is one to be remembered.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10
