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"Director: Alexandre Aja Screenwriters: Alexandre Aja Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Amy Smart, Paula Patton Running time: 111 mins Certificate: 15 If there\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s something strange in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call? Jack Bauer from 24 of course! Sadly, he\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s too busy seeking vengeance on striking writers, so instead it\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s up to Kiefer Sutherland\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s emotionally disturbed former cop to solve a sinister mystery behind the mirrors and save his family. The greatest mystery though, is how a very decent horror film has somehow been buried beneath an overlong, unfocused movie that veers between exciting tension and mind-numbing boredom. In a plot that painfully rips off much of Poltergeist III, Mirrors follows the mental disintegration of recovering alcoholic Ben Carson (Sutherland) as he takes a job as a security guard patrolling a burnt out, disused department store called the Mayflower. The mirrors in the building hold a murderous entity that has driven many people to an early, blood-drenched grave. Ben\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s family, with whom he desperately wants to reunite, face being torn apart unless he can find a person that the mirrors want him to. Director Alexander Aja does a competent job with the material, combining impressive camerawork and editing to conjure up several sudden jolts throughout the film. This is reinforced by a superb score, which really heightens the shock impact of certain gruesome imagery.  Yet there\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s an overriding feeling that we\u00E2\u20AC\u2122ve seen it all before, particularly the very repetitive scenes of mirror images acting independently of the character standing in front of them. It\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s also unsurprising to discover that the possessed Mayflower building was built above an old psychiatric hospital. It must have won a coin toss against a Red Indian burial ground. Often tired content can be salvaged by its form, but Mirrors severely needs trimming by a good half an hour. As a result of this extra flab, tension and suspense are never maintained for too long as the film drifts awkwardly between a character study of Ben Carson and a bog standard shockfest. At least the climactic battle between good and evil, plus a nice late twist, rounds the movie off in style. Sutherland turns in an admirable central performance, bearing Ben\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s severely aggravated soul well, and carries the film to an extent. There are too many similarities with his 24 character Jack Bauer though, particularly Sutherland\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s tendency to flit between hushed, whispery tones and SUDDEN SHOUTING. It\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s as if he has two speed settings on his voice.  Ben\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s barking of the phrase \u00E2\u20AC\u0153damn it!\u00E2\u20AC&#157; on several occasions is also too Bauer-esque, and momentarily takes us out of the fictional framework of Mirrors to ponder whether he\u00E2\u20AC\u2122ll scream \u00E2\u20AC\u0153Where\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s the goddamn bomb!?\u00E2\u20AC&#157; at any point during the film. There\u00E2\u20AC\u2122s much to commend about Mirrors, including some emotionally authentic domestic scenes and well engineered shocks, but it never comes together as a consistent and engaging whole. The excellent Kiefer Sutherland tries an admirable salvage job, but simply deserves better material.  &amp;gt; What do you think of the movie? Share your views "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/review/a132136/mirrors/>