Mirrors (2008)

Synopsis:
Kiefer Sutherland stars as Ben Carson, a disgraced former New York City cop who attempts to put his checkered past behind him by taking a job as a security guard. Carson is required to take the night shift in a department store in the city. The store closed down after a fire put an end to its business, and Carson soon discovers that malevolent spirits are lurking behind its walls. The spirits connect with the human world through the mirrors in the store, and when they discover Carson's presence they go after his ex-wife, Amy (Paula Patton), and his kids (played by Erica Gluck and Cameron Boyce). Carson attempts to figure out the meaning of a cryptic message carved into one of the mirrors, hoping it will save his family and cut off contact with the malignant lurking presence.

Review: A characteristic of truly great horror fiction is it's ability to believably transform some aspect of our world from a reassuring pillar of certainty into a doorway to hell. In the case of "Mirrors", this process is applied to the fact that reflections in glass can simply never have a life of their own. The plot centers on an ex-cop named Ben Carson (Keifer Sutherland) who takes a job as a night watchman at a burned-out department store. This apparently easy gig turns into a nightmare after he attracts the attention of an evil presence that dwells in the mirrors that somehow survived the fire. To make matters worse, his family are also targeted by this entity -which can exert it's influence through any reflecting surface- and Carson is running out of time to save them.

The pace is relentless and the atmosphere of terror only escalates as the film reaches it's climax. This is one of the few horror films ever made that is truly and deeply frightening. An undisputed classic.

Genre: Horror | Mystery | Thriller
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart, Jason Flemyng
Language: English
Runtime: 110 min | 1 hr 52 mins
Director: Alexandre Aja
Writers : Alexandre Aja (screenplay) & Grégory Levasseur (screenplay)
Release Date: 15 August 2008 (USA)
Company: Castel Film Romania
Rating: Rated R for strong violence, disturbing images, language and brief nudity.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10