Srorrim

I've just finished watching Mirrors, the most recent effort of Alexandre Aja, director of the fantastic Hills Have Eyes remake and the flawed, but cool as fuck, Switchblade Romance. It stars Keifer Sutherland, Amy Smart, and a whole bunch of people I've never heard of.

The one problem, and only problem is, Mirrors is a film that doesn't know what it wants to be. It reminded me of so many films throughout, some good, some bad. Mainly it reminded me of the fantastic wave of late 90's/early 00's films that I watched as a 13/14 year old that freaked the shit out of me, such as Thirteen Ghosts, and House On Haunted Hill. But, sadly, at times it reminded me of The Number 23, with a manic man trying to convince his family that he's not really crazy, but 'the mirrors are trying to get him', just like Jim Carrey and his bit number.

It ticks all the boxes when it comes to freaking people out. It has an abandoned building which was formerly a hospital. It has scary kids. It has demonic hands trying to escape from behind walls. And it has pigeons. When I mentioned scary kids, it should not surprise you it is a remake of a Korean movie.

It opens with a rather disgustingly graphic murder sequence, and then lulls you into a safe zone with Keifer and his torn family. It then throws the most intensely graphic display of gore that I've seen since the eyeball-cutting in Hostel. This bit makes Saw look like the Moomins. It's fantastic, it throws a curveball right at the audience, and really REALLY keeps your attention.
The film slows down again, in the 'Number 23' type section of investigation, and reminds me in parts of Robert Thorn's plight in The Omen (which I know The Number 23 should also remind me of, but Jim Carrey's acting was dire, where as Keifer's is good and Peck-like: Arrogant, yet broken)

Having gone from Hostel to The Omen, the final sequences that overlap, showing Keifer's fight, and simultaneously that of his wife Amy, are a mixture of ghost movie and straight up horror. They are atmospheric and tense, if not a little obvious, but still really good.

I'd reccomend watching it if you've enjoyed and missed the 'mental asylum' movies such as HOHH and Thir13en Ghosts (to give it it's proper name), or if you fancy seeing something with enough spooks to keep you going, enough gore to make you wince, and enough talking to kiss a lass through. Or if you fancy a wee spook.