American remake of a Korean original, this is actually far better than it has any right to be
The plot:
Kiefer Sutherland is a washed out cop who has quit the force under mysterious circumstances and takes a job as a security guard at a burnt out shopping mall which suffered a fire several years previously and is still sitting, unused. He's got family trouble and is desperate for the cash.
The whole place is a wreck, except for several giant mirrors.
On patrol, Kiefer sees something strange within the mirror, and can't shake the feeling that he is not looking into the mirror, but that the mirror is looking back at him.....
And it's pretty spooky stuff.
Kiefer is in full on Jack Bauer mode, whispering gruffly before occasionally shouting furiously, which is a bit hard to take seriously, but the fact that this is helmed by Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes remake, Piranha remake, Haute Tension) lends this an air of credibility as he is, you know, a proper horror director, so handles the shocks really effectively, and delivers a real monster at the end that packs some punch and isn't just a limp and pointless CGI fest.
Seriously, it's pretty nasty, and I half expected it to start chanting "Dead By Dawn."
Yet to see the Korean original, though if the usual rule applies that the source Asian movie is vastly superior, it should be a cracker, as this one wasn't half bad.
Enjoyed it.
4 out of 5
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