Mirrors (2008) R - 3 Stars

I have to say this movie did give me the creeps a few times but the storyline is pretty unbelievable. Sutherland basically reminded me of another episode of 24 though Angela's death scene was pretty out there and I had to cover my eyes for that one. Not the greatest but, if you are into horror movies you'll probably like it and after all, you could do worse.

Ben Carson (Kiefer Sutherland), worked as a detective for the NYPD until he was suspended for the fatal shooting of an undercover officer. Since that time, Ben's life has felt very meaningless and he has alienated himself from his family, and life in general. But he still needs to pay his bills and takes on a night job with a security company, patrolling the burnt out shell of the once famous department store, the Mayflower.

The Mayflower, once a rich symbol of commerce on the streets of New York City, now stands as a horrible reminder of a fire where several people lost their lives. The building still houses many floor length ornate mirrors that miraculously survived the fire. The old night watchman used to shine and polish the mirrors as a tribute to those who had died until he himself as found dead in front of one.

As Ben tries to pull his life back together, he sleeps on his sister Angela's (Amy Smart) couch in Queens, as his drinking and anger has made it impossible to go back home with his wife and children. Instead, he is focused on trying to rebuild his life and do his job. Each time he makes patrols of the Mayflower, strange things start to happen. The mirrors remain flawlessly clean and when he finds a hand print on one, he tries to clean it off. But the smudge is from within the mirror and as his image begins playing tricks on him, he discovers there is something starring out at him as well. As Ben stares back into the mirror, he sees himself being tortured and feels the pain it is having on his body. Once free from it's spell, his tells his sister who thinks this new job is having an effect on Ben from lack of sleep. But when the images start reaching out to his family members and takes the life of Angela, he turns back to his wife and kids to warn them to cover up all mirrors or reflective surfaces in the house. His wife Amy (Paula Patton), thinks Ben needs to stay away from the home and his children as she feels, his depression and drinking and imposing a threat to their safety. But when Ben discovers their lives are all in danger, he must convince Amy to believe in him again in order to save their lives.

New Regency Productions, 20th Century Fox
Director: Alexandre Aja
Writers: Alexandre Aja, Gregory Levasseur, Joe Gangemi
Producers: Alexandra Milchan, Marc Sternberg, Gregory Levasseur

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