Short Review: 'Mirrors 2' (2010)

In 2008, French “splat pack” filmmaker import Alexandre Aja directed the Kiefer Sutherland horror vehicle Mirrors, a supernatural tale of a murderous spirit that was loosely inspired by the Korean film Into the Mirror. Despite some jaw-dropping (literally) gore sequences the film was almost laughably bad, largely due to copious glaring inconsistencies within the screenplay and a ridiculously over-the-top performance by Sutherland, who seemed to be channelling his character Jack Bauer from 24 on more than a number of occasions.

Three years later arrives this straight-to-video sequel by director Victor Garcia, the man responsible for the god awful Return to House on Haunted Hill and the upcoming Hellraiser: Revelations. Like the original, the film is still backed by Twentieth Century Fox, however after viewing it becomes quite clear no one behind the making of Mirrors 2 really gave much of a damn about the movie they were making.

After his girlfriend dies in a car crash, Max (Nick Stahl) is understandably depressed and seeks the counseling of a professional psychiatrist. His father (William Katt) offers him a job at the Mayflower department store as a security guard and Max accepts, albeit hesitantly. Soon Max begins seeing glimpses of a young female apparition trying to communicate with him from beyond the store’s mirrors. When people connected to the company’s operations start winding up dead, Max finds himself teaming up with local waitress Elizabeth (Emmanuelle Vaugier) in a search to find her missing sister and solve the mystery of the Mayflower mirrors once and for all.

It’s safe to say that right from the get go Mirrors 2 doesn’t take any risks with regard to its plotting, acting, twists, turns or anything that could potentially set it apart from your average horror cash-in. In fact, the film is so formulaic in structure that one could even run the mistake of confusing it for a midday movie with gore. Despite a fleeting reference to its murders, screenwriter Matt Venne’s script makes no connection to the original film whatsoever - at least regard to story or mythology – which in a way is perhaps a wise decision, as Aja’s film continuously broke its own internal logic to the point where it practically self-imploded from stupidity. Funnily enough, even though the sequel’s clear and uncomplicated approach to the material make it an easier movie to understand than its predecessor the result is more yawn educing than it has any right to be. A case of in-name-only recognition? Truthfully, I wouldn’t be surprised.

With regard to the Mirrors 2 cast, Stahl’s languid performance feels more like a reflection (no pun intended) of the inherent banality of the movie than an honest embodiment of his character’s inner turmoil. William Katt slums it all the way through also, as does Vaugier in an utterly insipid portrayal of ‘grief’ that is likely to do her career no favors. Even the victims in the film phone in their pain like it were a rehearsal so it’s difficult to highlight anything positive about a film that takes the expression ‘by the numbers’ as a phrase of pride.

One could argue that going into Mirrors 2 viewers are automatically setting themselves up for disappointment, and perhaps that’s true. However, one thing any filmmaker should at least attempt to do when making a follow up to a moderately successful horror film is to inject it with a healthy dose of enthusiasm, or at the very least conjure up some creative kills for the gorehound demographic. Sadly, neither of these things are attempted here, making this one mirror that should have stayed broken.



Dir: Victor Garcia
Writer: Matt Venne
Cast: Nick Stahl, William Katt, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Evan Jones
Country: USA
Run Time: 90mins
Rating: MA15+