Into the Mirror and Mirrors Review

*Repost from 11/01/2008

Into the Mirror

Directed by Sung-ho Kim

Availability on Dvd in non Us regions

This is the original South Korean movie that the Keifer Sutherland vehicle Mirrors is based on. Most of the reviews ive heard were negative but after watching it I didnt think it was that bad. One problem is that its billed as a horror movie but it's more of a police/investigation drama.

The movie starts one year after a department store has been burned down, rebuilt and set to reopen shortly. The head security guard is an ex cop that quit the force because he got a hostage killed and couldnt deal with it. One female worker thats preparing the store to be opened stays late one night to steal some merchandise when all of a sudden she is killed by her reflection in the mirror. Very quickly in the movie you find out that a girl that was killed in the fire is trapped in the mirror and wants revenge. The rest of the movie is the search to find out why and how to stop her.

Theres only a handful of people die and when they do its not really gory and its in plain daylight. Still for the most part the story kept me interested even though I was hoping for more of a horror vibe. I can easily see why they picked this movie to base an American remake on. All they had to do is take the basic premise and build from there. Lets see if they did that.

Mirrors

Directed by Alexandre Aja

Starring Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton and Amy Smart

Availability on dvd 01/13/2009

I read a lot of negative reviews beforehand so I wasnt expecting much. I think a lot of it has to do with Asian ghost remake fatigue. Everyone's seen the long haired Asian girl too many times now and I can understand it. It wouldnt be so bad but a majority of the remakes arent very good. The Ring got it right but its sequel and The Grudge, One Missed Call, Dark Water were either shitty or not near as good as the original.

The movie takes the basic premise of the original and puts more of a horror twist to it. The story is about a cop that shot someone and is off the force for the time being. He takes a job as overnight security at an old burned down department store. Everything inside is burned except all the mirrors. Soon after he starts to see ghostly images in the mirror and even himself feels the pain of the people who perished in the fire. Soon after the evil force starts to follow his family around and eventually kills his sister in the much talked about jaw ripping scene as seen in most of the trailers. Soon after Kiefer goes on a quest to find out what happened and how to stop whats going on.

While very similar and the twist ending is nearly identical in both movies I though this remake was a little more solid and was edited a little better. I might be biased cuz I love Jack Bauer but I didnt think that it was that bad of a movie. Yeah it was kinda cliched and predictable in some parts but I thought it has solid special effects, acting and deliberate pacing. Another major difference between the movies was in the original only a mirror contained the "evil" but in this movie anything reflective like a door handle or water would also work which kinda didnt make that much sense considering the story.

Im not sure what to think of Alexandre Aja as a director. I liked Haute Tension even though it had a shitty no making sense ending. I thought both this and The Hills Have Eyes were solid remakes but neither imho were spectacular. I would like to see him write something else original (as long as its plausible) or branch off and try his hand at some other genre. I think he has potential but I dont really see any growth.

Overall both movies were worth watching and recommended for the Asian horror fans still left. On a scale of 1-10 I give Into The Mirror a pizza cutter to the throat 6.1 out of 10 and I give Mirrors a ghostly hand print 6.8 out of 10.

Into the Mirror Trailer