By now Kiefer Sutherland is so well established as 24's Jack Bauer that it's difficult to accept him in another role. In this thriller, Sutherland plays former policeman and recovering substance abuser Ben Carson, booted off the force after killing a fellow officer. Separated from his wife (Paula Patton) and temporarily living with his sister (Amy Smart), Ben takes a night watchman job in the arson-hit burned-out shell of the city's biggest department store, once a mental hospital. A previous watchman has apparently killed himself over apparitions he saw in the huge mirrors lining the building's walls, and before long Ben begins to suffer similar hallucinations. Yet another American remake of an Asian horror film (the South Korean hit Into the Mirror), the film combines the supernatural horror and police procedural genres as Ben uses his investigative training to search for a rational way to explain the demons in the mirrors. Director Alexandre Aja (who also helmed the recent The Hills Have Eyes remake) crafts some extremely disturbing and unnecessarily graphic sequences, but the gory action doesn't offset the long stretches of tedium typified by Ben's silent (and interminable) walks through the dark scorched hallways of the massive building. Ultimately, the mystery's solution won't be surprising to genre fans familiar with Asian horror movies, and Aja's “twist” ending is anything but. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the 49-minute “making-of” documentary “Reflections,” a 19-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, 16 minutes of deleted/alternate scenes with optional commentary, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a picture-in-picture commentary with director Alexandre Aja and co-writer Gregory Levasseur, as well as a storyboard-to-screen comparison, and “Anna Esseker Hospital Footage.” Also included is a bonus digital copy. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a lame horror remake.] (E. Hulse)
Mirrors
Fox, 112 min., R, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, Jan. 13 Volume 24, Issue 1
Mirrors
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