TMR:

Directed by: Alexandre Aja Written by: Alexandre Aja Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Cameron Boyce, Erica Gluck, Amy Smart, Mary Beth Peil

I don’t know why American filmmakers have this desire to remake foreign films especially Korean and Japanese horror films. It seems every time they try the translation just doesn’t come out quite right. The horror genre itself has its share of pitfalls and bad critic reviews but none more so then the Asian Cinema remake. The horror from Korean filmmakers has a specific flare and style that is specific to that side of the world and It rarely translates to the American big screen.

Mirrors falls into the same category as other remakes such as Ring, The Grudge and the like. French director Alexandre Aja took his previous experience with horror movies and attempted to make something new with the Korean source material. Some critics would say that he failed miserably and I would tend to agree. There was something missing around every turn, things weren’t explained and I felt mystified.

The story revolves around Ben Carson, an ex-cop played by Kiefer Sutherland. The out of work cop was suffering from some unknown emotional issues after a “workplace accident” and a messy divorce. He takes up a job as a security guard in an effort to clean up his act and keep his family together at an abandoned department store that was destroyed by fire. The fellow that hires him tells him not to look at the mirrors but as things play out…he does. Because of his stupid curiosity, he is haunted by images in the mirror and visions of a fiery death. Without a doubt, his life and the life of his family are in danger and the running ensues. There are many plot holes during this process that don’t seem to pan out or make sense including the reasoning behind the mirrors acting strange in the first place. Demonic forces?…seems like a lame excuse to me.

The film does have some nice gore and good scare moments but they seem random and disjointed. The end of the film itself really turned me off. It was like a bad Twilight Zone with no explanation. What happen to him? Why was he cursed? How did get in his present state? Did he die? There was really no explanation for his final state of affairs which was just uncalled for in a film. Blah. It will probably be a good rental when it comes out.