Summary
In Mirrors the story centers around Sutherland's character Ben, who is a New York Police officer, on leave of absence for a shooting involving an undercover detective. His relationships with his wife, children and friends are all strained due to this incident. Ben gets a job as a night-shift security guard at an old department store where he must make frequent rounds of the building. The store was the scene of a massive fire years back which claimed the lives of numerous people and has since been vacant. As soon as he settles into his job he begins to hear screams and sees disturbing images in the mirrors of the old building, images that can affect him physically. As things become more intense he begins to discover the mystery behind the strange occurrences and what the mirrors want from him. He does everything he can to solve the mystery before it's too late and the evil kills both him and his family.
Plot?
If a horror film can make one squeamish then usually it's a good thing. But not so much if the person is squeamish remembering how the movie didn't work. This film, although visually pleasing does little to stick to a strong plot. The film's title only goes so far to pertain to the story. Yes, there are things in the mirrors that can do harm but as the story moves forward these evil beings seem to be able to cause effect wherever there is a reflective surface. Anything from a hatch in a morgue room, a reflective door handle, even water on the floor, no longer are mirrors their only means of influencing things. Understanding this it would seem pretty obvious that no one anywhere is safe from these beings. On top of this, as the film moves forward, information comes out that there was a horribly fire in the building that took the lives of many people, Ben even sees a woman on fire reflected in the mirror, catching on fire himself at one point. This all has little significance for what is actually taking place, having no consequence at all to what Ben must deal with.
Positive Qualities
Aside from the lack of any coherent plot this film does have a few highlights. For one, there is a really gruesome bathroom scene that does much to push the envelope for a horror film death. In this scene Ben's sister has just looked at herself in the mirror before getting into the bathtub. Her reflection continues to watch as she gets into the water (no, the evil stays in the mirror this time) and then proceeds to make her rip her entire jaw off. In a typical horror film there would be cuts and things of that nature to mask the brutality of what's taking place, not so in this film. The director stays with the action through it's conclusion, providing the viewer with a very difficult and horrifying scene to watch. In addition, at the end of the film, the viewer is treated to a pretty nasty demon that Ben must face before he can escape the building.
Horror Quality
Unfortunately, a few scary, groundbreaking scenes don't make a film and this is certainly no exception. For a horror film to be truly good there has to be those terrifying scenes that are never forgotten but also a plot worth remembering. Sadly Mirrors falls short of this making it a film to pass up.
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