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"MIRRORS" (2008) (Kiefer Sutherland, Paul Patton) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Extreme Extreme Extreme Heavy Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Heavy Extreme None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Extreme Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Horror: A suspended police detective and his estranged family must contend with the mirrors of a burned-out department store, and then other reflective surface that display horrific visions and endanger their lives. PLOT: Ben Carson (KIEFER SUTHERLAND) is a NYPD detective who's been suspended from the force for nearly a year following the accidental shooting of another cop. His turning to alcohol to deal with that has lead to him living with his bartender sister, Angela (AMY SMART), while trying to reconnect with his estranged wife, Amy (PAULA PATTON), and their two young kids, Michael (CAMERON BOYCE) and Daisy (ERICA GLUCK). To try to turn his life around, Ben has taken a job as the night watchman of the Mayflower department store. Once the flashiest such place downtown, it's now a burned-out building following a purposefully set fire five years earlier. With the insurance companies battling over what to do with it, the place has stood vacant, save for all of the charred and melted mannequins and other store belongings. And then there are the mirrors, perfectly polished by the former night watchman, Gary Lewis (JOSH COLE), who became obsessed with them before his own reflection in one of them apparently made him slash his own throat. During his rounds, Ben begins to notice strange things about them as well, such as showing reflected images of things that aren't really there, which eventually leads to other mirrors and then any reflective surfaces doing the same. When he realizes they're putting both him and his family in danger, Ben goes into full detective mode, investigating the store and some of its employees' pasts, as well as the institution housed in the building before that, eventually leading to a nun, Anna Esseker (MARY BETH PEIL), who has a connection to what's occurring. From that point on, he races against time to resolve the situation before it's too late. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into horror films and/or are fans of anyone in the cast, they might be interested. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For strong violence, disturbing images, language and brief nudity. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: KIEFER SUTHERLAND plays a suspended NYPD detective turned night watchman at the burned-out department store. Still dealing with his turbulent past (including the shooting death of another cop, that then lead to alcoholism), he tries to get his life back together, and reconnect with his estranged family. But he must contend with the demonic forces behind the mirrors that initially cause him to question his sanity, and then worry about the safety of his family. He uses strong profanity and does what it takes (including kidnapping a nun -- with a connection to the events -- at gunpoint) to resolve the situation. PAULA PATTON plays his estranged wife, a medical examiner who loves him, but can't stand what's become of him following the shooting. She becomes even more concerned when it appears he's even more unhinged due to his allegations regarding the mirrors. She uses strong profanity. AMY SMART plays Ben's bartender sister with whom he lives, who thinks the night watchman job as well as the prescription medication he takes aren't right for him. CAMERON BOYCE plays Ben and Amy's six-year-old son who hears his parents verbally fighting, and is then affected by the demonic mirror entities. ERICA GLUCK plays his sister who must contend with the same thing. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated horror film. Profanity consists of at least 10 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Nonsexual nudity is present in the form of a woman's bare butt and breasts, as well as the image of a badly burned woman's bare breasts, while a woman shows a lot of cleavage in low-cut tops. Violence consists of supernaturally-based attacks and deaths, while other fighting/struggling also occurs. Some of that includes extremely bloody/gory results (as does some autopsy related material), and those scenes, various disturbing visuals, and standard "haunted house" type material might be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to viewers. Some of those scares might be tempting for some kids to imitate. The demonic forces obviously have bad attitudes, while various forms of tense family material are present, and a character takes strong prescription medication to deal with his past alcoholism, while liquor is seen, but not consumed. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's some of that at various points in the film, including the opening scene, and later during a thunderstorm. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, varying amounts of camera movement, including bouncy handheld, are present throughout the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Ben takes some sort of reportedly strong prescription pills to cope with his former alcoholism. He states that he hasn't had a drink for three months. Ben finds a bottle of whiskey in a cabinet at work, but pushes it aside and doesn't have any. Angela tells Ben he should stop taking his prescription medication, but he takes another pill. We see various bottles of liquor in Angela's bar. BLOOD/GORE A mirror starts to crack, a shard falls out, and Gary bends down to pick that up, but his mirror image doesn't move. That mirror image then holds the shard and slices its own neck, graphically, with lots of blood spraying out. In the real world, Gary's neck is cut open by an invisible force, similarly with bloody results. A mirror cracks and cuts Ben's hand badly, with very bloody results. We see a cadaver lying on an autopsy table with a huge incision in the chest, followed by a view of Amy and others performing an autopsy on another body, with very bloody/gory results. We then see Gary's body lying on a morgue drawer table, with the huge neck wound visible. Later, Ben looks at various crime scene photos of Gary's death, including a close-up view of his bloody neck wound, as well as blood everywhere in that room. When Angela steps away from looking at her bathroom mirror, we see the reflection stay there, starring at her. Angela then gets into her bathtub, while her mirrored reflection grabs its own mouth with both hands and tears it open vertically. That first causes tears in the side of the mouth, followed by the lower jaw being mostly ripped off, with very bloody results. At the same time, the real Angela experiences the same thing happening to her in the bathtub, with her lower jaw being ripped off as she thrashes about and dies, all with very bloody results. Later, we see the bathtub filled with bloody water, as well as blood everywhere, while a forensics detective pulls her matted hair away to reveal that dislocated, bloody jaw. Ben vomits into a sink after viewing a ghastly scene (we don't see the vomit, but do see him wipe his mouth). We see video playback of a former security guard whose face is covered in burn scars (and most of his ear is missing). We see some blood on Daisy's neck and shirt from where a supernatural reflection cut her with scissors. Amy is cut on the cheek with a knife, with some bloody results. Anna is bloody after being hit by many shards of glass. Ben's head is bloody after fighting a demonic force. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE The demonic forces inside the mirror have bad attitudes for killing the living to gain possession of their souls. Ben kidnaps Anna at gunpoint (so that he can use her to save his family from certain death). FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. We see Gary running, panicked, through hallways into a locker room (that he gains entry into by smashing a lock with a fire extinguisher) where he realizes he can't get out. He then sees various locker doors opening to reveal their mirrors reflecting his image, and then goes to the large wall mirror and apologizes to it. It then starts to crack, a shard falls out, and he bends down to pick that up, but his mirror image doesn't move. That mirror image then holds the shard and slices its own neck, graphically, with lots of blood spraying out. In the real world, Gary's neck is cut open by an invisible force, similarly with bloody results. The reflection in a mirror suddenly distorts. The inside of the immense, burned-out department store is somewhat creepy at night, what with the charred and/or melted mannequins, shadows and such. Ben slowly walks through all of that with his flashlight, exploring the place. He then discovers various handprints on the inside of the mirror (thus he can't wipe them away) many feet above the floor, when a door behind him opens, leading to a long, dimly lit stairwell. He goes down that, with his flashlight starting to go out. Ben sees the mirrored reflection of at least two burning people, writhing and screaming in pain, but when he turns to look in the real room, nothing is there. A fire then spreads across the floor and catches him on fire, with him then rolling on the floor in agony, but he then realizes he isn't on fire and the mirror reflection shows the same. Ben hears sudden, repeated screaming. He then goes to investigate, and sees the mirror reflection of a woman's arm sticking out from a dressing room. When he looks into the room, nothing is there (including when he slowly goes up and yanks back the curtain), but the mirror again shows the same thing. He then drags the mirror over in front of that dressing room, and in that sees a burned woman twitching/writhing about on the floor, writhing in pain. Michael states that he saw a lady screaming in his mirror, but his mom thinks it was just a nightmare. Moments later, we see what he's been seeing -- a burned, screaming woman standing there in the mirror reflection. Ben receives a package from Gary, someone he never knew and after that man's death, filled with stories about the department store fire, etc. When Angela steps away from looking at her bathroom mirror, we see the reflection stay there, starring at her. Angela then gets into her bathtub, while her mirrored reflection grabs its own mouth with both hands and tears it open vertically. That first causes tears in the side of the mouth, followed by the lower jaw being mostly ripped off, with very bloody results. At the same time, the real Angela experiences the same thing happening to her in the bathtub, with her lower jaw being ripped off as she thrashes about and dies, all with very bloody results. Later, we see the bathtub filled with bloody water, as well as blood everywhere, while a forensics detective pulls her matted hair away to reveal that dislocated, bloody jaw. Ben sees the reflection of his sister (and her dislocated/bloody jaw) in the backseat, but she really isn't there. Distracted, he then ends up in the wrong lane and must swerve to avoid a large truck as well as other traffic. He then smashes that mirror. We see a rat scurrying along a pipe. There's the sudden sound of a mirror cracking beneath the material draped over it and Ben slowly goes over to investigate. Amy finds her son talking to his mirror reflection, and is then horrified when he leaves the room, but his mirror reflection stays seated on the floor, staring at her and smiling. We see quick flashback images of young Anna thrashing about, knocking others aside, and being carried into a basement cell by others. We then see more, including her (wide-eyed and terrified) being strapped down in a chair for "therapy." We see Michael's reflection in a doorknob, but then realize it's not really him when the door to his mom's bedroom opens. Amy then wakes up to find water covering all of the floors (thus providing reflective surfaces for the demonic forces). As she slowly walks about, we see an image quickly pass behind her. She then thinks she sees Michael under the water in the bathtub, but he really isn't there, and supernatural forces then hold her head underwater, and she struggles to get up and pulls the drain plug. At the same time, Daisy hears her mom's voice calling her, and the girl goes into a room to see Amy in the mirror reflection. We then see both of their images in the mirror, with the mom holding a pair of scissors. We then see the real girl being lifted into the air by supernatural forces, with the scissors starting to cut into her neck until the real Amy rushes in and rescues her. Amy finds Michael scraping paint off a mirror with a large knife. She tells him to put that down and he briefly does, but then runs off, with her slowly walking about the flooded house to try to find him. She sees his reflection in the water under a table, but when she slowly bends down to look under that, he isn't there, although a knife suddenly slices her cheek, bloodying it. She then finds him seated in the water in a hallway, but he's then yanked through the water and floor, with her then seeing him under the water, as if the floor were a sheet of ice under which he's trapped. She panics to try to get him out, with a view of him seemingly drowned. Once the demonic occurrence is stopped, she yanks him up and performs CPR on him, saving him. We see demonic-looking faces, hands and some torsos bending mirrors from the other side, as if pressed against them and trying to get out. Ben leads Anna into a mirrored room where she allows him to strap her to a chair. We then see images of her face distorting. That's followed by all of the mirrors there shattering, slicing her with those shards. After that's done, Ben goes in with his gun drawn, but sees that she's missing. He then sees her scampering about the top of the structure, bloodied and possessed by the demonic forces. He shoots at her but misses, with her then jumping down to the floor and throwing a chair into a wall. She then throws Ben through a stone wall, attacks him outside that, and then drags him through the flooded corridor. He manages to break free, but she then comes scampering along the wall piping toward him, with him shooting at her again. She then grabs and thrashes him about, into the walls and down to the floor, but he manages to get up and drive her backward into something, impaling her. He then shoots a gas line that causes an explosion that sets her on fire and knocks him backwards. He tries to get out as the steam tunnel starts to collapse, but she attacks him again (while on fire), with him throwing her back into a room that then collapses on her. He then tries to escape, but the collapsing tunnel/hallway also falls onto him. SPOILER ALERT: We learn that a person who seems to be alive was actually killed and is now stuck inside the mirror world. GUNS/WEAPONS Handgun/Knife: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or attempt to kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details. We see Ben's handgun on the table in front of him. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Oh f*ck," "You're f*cking unbelievable," "F*cking rules," "F*ck this place," "The f*cking mirrors," "You're driving me f*cking crazy," "Do you think I'm f*cking lying?" "Where the f*ck is my sister?" "Holy sh*t," what sounded like "Let's kick some ass" (heard on a TV), "What the hell are you doing (here)?" "Have you gone completely mad?" "Who the hell do you think you are?" and "You bitch." It's possible some of the scares and/or violence on display might be enticing for some kids to imitate. We see miscellaneous graffiti. Ben has some tattoos on his arm. JUMP SCENES The sudden flight of a bird while Ben looks closely at a mirror is a big jump scene. At home, Ben's mirror reflection of his face suddenly distorts, scaring him. A sudden sound startles Ben. Ben hears sudden screaming. Ben sees the mirrored reflection of a burned woman, writhing on the floor in pain. In the reflection of a morgue drawer table door, Ben suddenly sees Gary's dead head turn sideways and say something to him. Ben sees the reflection of his sister (and her dislocated/bloody jaw) in the backseat, but she really isn't there. Ben's reflected image moves in a mirror. Moments later, it then shoots directly at him, but not in real life. As Ben peers into a window, a dog suddenly lunges at it from the inside. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of ominous, suspenseful and scary music plays throughout the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 10 "f" words, 5 "s" words, 5 damns, 3 hells, 1 ass, 5 uses of "Oh my God," 3 of "Jesus," 2 of "G-damn" and 1 use of "Jesus Christ." SEX/NUDITY Amy shows cleavage throughout most of the film, usually a lot in low-cut tops, once while wet. We see a murky reflection of Ben getting up from bed, shirtless and with the front of his jeans unbuttoned. Ben and Amy passionately kiss, but she then stops, saying she can't do this, and he then leaves. Various store mannequins are seen (at night) in underwear and/or bikinis. Ben sees the mirrored reflection of a burned woman, writhing on the floor in pain, and her charred bare breasts are seen). We see the same again when that woman is standing. We see the bare breasts of a female mannequin. Angela undresses to bathe, and we see her bare butt as well as the side of her bare breast. We then see the latter while she's in the water, writhing about from a supernatural attack. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Amy isn't happy to see Ben at her house with their kids, with him complaining that she doesn't answer his calls. They then argue about their past, and their son covers his ears to try to stop hearing that. Ben's supernatural mirror beliefs/allegations put even more of a strain on his relationship with Amy (in several scenes). Ben must deal with his sister's supernatural murder. Amy tells a cop about Ben and Angela's father dying in the past, with Ben then taking care of Angela. We hear that a former security guard killed his wife and kids in the past, and then set fire to the department store. Ben is worried about his family, and thus starts removing or painting over all of the mirrors there, frightening the kids and the housekeeper. Amy tries to save Michael from the demonic forces, all while Daisy (who earlier had a scary encounter with a demonic reflection of her mom) hears everything while hiding in a closet. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT How mirrors are such a big part of our lives. The use of demonic forces as the villain here. Why a burned-out department store (that burned 5 years ago and has been closed since then) would need guards. Ben thinking that rather than him looking into a mirror, he's being looked at from something inside it. VIOLENCE We see Gary running, panicked, through hallways into a locker room (that he gains entry into by smashing a lock with a fire extinguisher) where he realizes he can't get out. He then sees various locker doors opening to reveal their mirrors reflecting his image, and then goes to the large wall mirror and apologizes to it. It then starts to crack, a shard falls out, and he bends down to pick that up, but his mirror image doesn't move. That mirror image then holds the shard and slices its own neck, graphically, with lots of blood spraying out. In the real world, Gary's neck is cut open by an invisible force, similarly with bloody results. Ben slowly walks through the burned out store again, when a sudden sound startles him. He then places his hand on the handprint on the mirror that then cracks, badly cutting and bloodying his palm. Ben sees the mirrored reflection of at least two burning people, writhing and screaming in pain, but when he turns to look in the real room, nothing is there. A fire then spreads across the floor and catches him on fire, with him then rolling on the floor in agony, but he then realizes he isn't on fire and the mirror reflection shows the same. When Angela steps away from looking at her bathroom mirror, we see the reflection stay there, starring at her. Angela then gets into her bathtub, while her mirrored reflection grabs its own mouth with both hands and tears it open vertically. That first causes tears in the side of the mouth, followed by the lower jaw being mostly ripped off, with very bloody results. At the same time, the real Angela experiences the same thing happening to her in the bathtub, with her lower jaw being ripped off as she thrashes about and dies, all with very bloody results. To get into his sister's place, Ben pushes some cops aside, struggles with them, and then pushes them again. Ben tries to break the large department store mirror, but it doesn't shatter. He then pulls his handgun and shoots it many times, but the bullet holes and cracks then "heal" themselves and disappear. We hear that a former security guard killed his wife and kids in the past, and then set fire to the department store. Ben shoots another mirror to prove to Amy that the holes will "heal," but they don't. Ben smashes his rearview mirror. Ben breaks through an old wall to find a hidden room. Ben's reflected image moves in a mirror. Moments later, it then shoots directly at him, but not in real life. We see quick flashback images of young Anna thrashing about, knocking others aside, and being carried into a basement cell by others. We then see more, including her (wide-eyed and terrified) being strapped down in a chair for "therapy." Ben kidnaps Anna at gunpoint (so that he can use her to save his family from certain death). Supernatural forces hold Amy's head underwater in a bathtub, and she struggles to get up and pulls the drain plug. At the same time, Daisy hears her mom's voice calling her, and the girl goes into a room to see Amy in the mirror reflection. We then see both of their images in the mirror, with the mom holding a pair of scissors. We then see the real girl being lifted into the air by supernatural forces, with the scissors starting to cut into her neck until the real Amy rushes in and rescues her. A knife suddenly slices Amy's cheek, bloodying it. She then finds Michael seated in the water in a hallway, but he's then yanked through the water and floor, with her then seeing him under the water, as if the floor were a sheet of ice under which he's trapped. She panics to try to get him out, with a view of him seemingly drowned. Once the demonic occurrence is stopped, she yanks him up and performs CPR on him, saving him. Ben leads Anna into a mirrored room where she allows him to strap her to a chair. We then see images of her face distorting. That's followed by all of the mirrors there shattering, slicing her with those shards. After that's done, Ben goes in with his gun drawn, but sees that she's missing. He then sees her scampering about the top of the structure, bloodied and possessed by the demonic forces. He shoots at her but misses, with her then jumping down to the floor and throwing a chair into a wall. She then throws Ben through a stone wall, attacks him outside that, and then drags him through the flooded corridor. He manages to break free, but she then comes scampering along the wall piping toward him, with him shooting at her again. She then grabs and thrashes him about, into the walls and down to the floor, but he manages to get up and drive her backward into something, impaling her. He then shoots a gas line that causes an explosion that sets her on fire and knocks him backwards. He tries to get out as the steam tunnel starts to collapse, but she attacks him again (while on fire), with him throwing her back into a room that then collapses on her. He then tries to escape, but the collapsing tunnel/hallway also falls onto him. SPOILER ALERT: We learn that a person who seems to be alive was actually killed and is now stuck inside the mirror world. Reviewed August 15, 2008 / Posted August 15, 2008

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