MIRRORS (Fox, 2008) D: Alexandre Aja, w/ Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton. Rating: NN DVD package: NNN Rating: NN
Something evil lives in the mirrors at the old burned-out department store, and only Jack Bauer can stop it in time to save his imperilled family.
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Sorry, that’s Ben Carson, not Jack Bauer.
This isn’t 24, but you might be fooled. Kiefer Sutherland plays Carson, a disgraced cop turned night watchman, but his brusque manner and “trust me” dialogue are pure Jack Bauer. You get the feeling that this is a man for whom kidnapping a nun at gunpoint is S.O.P.
The big nun-vs.-gun finale actually works better if you keep Bauer in mind. It’s wrong for the movie but ideal for the overblown context of 24.
This might have been an okay supernatural horror at 90 minutes, but Alexandre Aja, who did well with High Tension and The Hills Have Eyes remake, drags out his repetitive shock sequences too long and offers nothing between but clunky exposition, paint-by-numbers drama and cardboard characters.
On the plus side, he delivers some cringe-worthy gore, a few shocks and the beautifully eerie department store set.
In the well-made making-of doc, Aja talks like he’s made a profoundly scary and emotionally resonant movie. I don’t think so. Mirrors don’t scare me or rouse any psycho-spiritual yearnings. I suspect I’m not alone in this, so I’m grateful for the 20-minute doc on the mythic and psychological meaning of mirrors. It’s fun, informative and provides some clue to the filmmaker’s intentions.
EXTRAS Making of doc, mirror mythology doc. Widescreen. English, French Spanish audio. English, Spanish subtitles.
