Today children, we are going to look through the scary window. (Mirrors (DVD))

Member Name: paulhanton

Product:	Mirrors (DVD)
Date:	17/07/09 (192 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: CGI, Plot, Music, Tension.

Disadvantages: Little predicatble.

Mirrors

Cert. 18

This film is an adaptation of a Korean book, and when it comes to horror/thrillers, I have to say, the Koreans know their stuff.


~~The Plot~~

Fresh from '24' series 1,623 we have Kiefer Sutherland, playing a cop, Ben Carson....well, actually, he is an ex cop, resigning after shooting a colleague by mistake, oh well, these things happen I suppose.

We have a few cliché's thrown in; messy 'separation' from wife (gorgeous of course), Amy Carson, played by Paula Patton, kids want daddy, daddy has been drinking, now lives in apartment with sister, takes loads of tablets to calm his nerves, then takes a job as a security guard at a burnt out department store, to make some cash and to prove to wife he is on the mend.

So, first night in the grand old department store, he catches glimpses of things in the mirrors......then it gets worse.....much worse.....and that is all you get from me on the plot.

It is a good plot, nothing out of the ordinary, though not quite 'formulaic', not far off mind. The ending is superb and unexpected.


~~Directing, acting, screenplay~~

The director, Alexandre Aja, obviously had a decent budget to play with as some of the scenic shots are superb. The CGI is actually excellent too and there are plenty of explosions, fires, eerie shots and 'corner of the eye' moments that the director uses to great advantage to build tension and pace. In fact there are some quite tense moments where even though you have a good idea of what is about to happen, they do not disappoint.

The opening sequence alone is fast paced, tense and made me sit up and watch.

My one criticism of the directing is that he seems to have Paula Patton constantly dress in cleavage enhancing numbers, not that I mind as a voyeur, oops, viewer, I meant viewer, but it's just I am not sure how essential to the plot it is.

The soundtrack is very good, and over the opening credits we get like an almost updated Omen feel to it, sets the scene well.

Keifer Sutherland is a good actor in my opinion though he has begun to be a bit typecast. This film gets him back with the supernatural (Lost Boys, Flatline) and this is definitely a good thing. He does what is expected of him here and that means, in all honesty, a competent, but not superb display.

Patton is okay but again, not great., the kid who plays Carsons son Michael, Cameron Boyce is quite good in a good kid/evil kid kinda way, a potential start for the future perhaps.


~~~My opinion~~~

I liked this film, it is not short (over two hours) yet it seemed to be shorter as excitement was not sparse. There are nice changes in pace and tension, going from calm, to tense, to almost manic and that kept me interested too.

Looking at other reviews some people have said the ending was not that good, I disagree, I really, really liked the ending and thought it was well thought out....plus I didn't 'get it' (the twist) until the very end and that is always a good thing.

I liked the mood, the atmosphere, the CGI, the plot, the music and the ideas behind the film. The use of mannequins as props is good, reminds me a bit of a scene in Balderunner, only eerier here.

There is some violence and gore and that is essential to the plot so I won't say that this is a bad thing, in fact some of the gore and make up is actually very good.

I suppose what I liked most about the film is that there are, amongst the violence and gore, plenty of moments where you anticipate the next bit, and whether it is shown or not is not as relevant as what I think is clever directing by making the viewer 'imagine' what is next.

It will never make my top ten films, but it was good, and I'd watch it again, and well worth a watch I'd say.

Summary: Good horror/thriller