Upon seeing the trailer for this film I got the distinct impression that it was going to be yet another remake of an Asian horror film. I did a little bit of looking around and could not find anything. This led me to have that sinking feeling that Hollywood had moved on from remaking Asian horror to flat out taking the style and presenting it as their own.

Then I found out that Alexandre Aja was going to be at the helm. This restored a little bit of faith, with a French filter on the Asian style. Now I come to discover that it is indeed a remake, based on a Korean film called Into the Mirror. Still, even with this progression of revelations, I went in hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. In other words, I was attempting to guard against disappointment. As I left the theater, I am glad I erected that wall; it helped soften the blow of what is assuredly not a good film.

Mirrors opens with a deliciously gruesome scene that helps set the stage for what is to come. We see a man feverishly running from something, an unseen pursuer. As he runs, he comes to a dead end in a locker room. The lockers open, each revealing a mirror. On the far wall is a floor-to-ceiling mirror, and this is where it gets interesting. Want to know what happens? You will just have to subject yourself to the film. While it does a nice job of getting you into the film, it ultimately does not prove terribly important; but it is cool.

That is the biggest problem with the movie, it is more interested in the cool than in the story. This is a double-edged sword. On one hand this interest in the cool leads to a pervasively eerie atmosphere filled with jump scares that actually work. On the other hand it is all at the expense of a story that makes sense; it lacks any sort of internal logic. It is almost like Aja rewrote the script (assuming it made sense to begin with) on the set as cool possibilities presented themselves.

At the heart of our story is Ben Carson (Kiefer Sutherland, looking for work in during the long 24 break). Carson is an ex-cop who had killed a fellow law enforcement officer in the line of duty. This tragic event has sent his life into a downward spiral; he is off the force, living with his sister, Angela (Amy Smart), after becoming estranged from his wife Amy (Paula Patton). He has found solace in the bottom of a bottle, which does not help matters. However, he is working through his issues, even taking a new job as a night watchman at a burned out department store that has the distinctive feature of being filled with mirrors. Now, we all know what that means. That's right... trouble.