Mirror Mirror 2: Raven Dance

RAVEN DANCE is a typical straight-to-video horror sequel of the early 1990s, made without much in the way of a plot and with a heavy emphasis on style which has dated plenty since this film's first release. The inspiration here seems to be the first two in the HELLRAISER series in terms of lighting and set dressing, but the effect is far from the same: this is pedestrian, uninteresting, and entirely forgettable. Once more there's a cursed mirror and a few bloody death and cheesy computer effects, the best bit being when stained glass comes to life, but mostly it's all talk and boring characterisation. Roddy McDowell sleepwalks through a villain role and William Sanderson lends his typically kooky presence to the proceedings, although for modern viewers the most fun comes from seeing Mark Ruffalo acting right at the outset of his career.

Most films are only as good as the screenplay or adaptation from where they originate. Although the cast of this film is experienced, with most receiving an award of some kind in their careers, one would never know that from the performances of this lot! There is one exception however, young Ms. Tracy Wells does indeed show that she has developed beyond the childhood actress she was at one time.

Moreover, Tracy is able to really show off her skills in some rather compromising scenes. She is wonderful in a seduction scene where, while being possessed, she is able to (convincingly) go through a sequence of erotic dreams. And again, and even more prominent, she is able to showcase her dancing talent, relentlessly, that earned her high praises as well as the Pepsi gig with Michael "Jacko" Jackson. In fact, the high point of this film is the breathtaking camera work that moves with Tracy from one side of the room to the other. The dance sequence alone rushed this critic enough to sit through an otherwise butt-numbing movie.

"Mirror, Mirror 2: Raven Dance" follows an orphaned teenager, Marlee, and her young brother who are sent to a remote convent after their parents die in a car accident. While there, Marlee is electrocuted in a bizarre accident, and temporarily loses her vision. Her significantly older stepsister (Sally Kellerman) arrives with a doctor (Roddy MacDowall), both of whom have a sinister plan to incapacitate her and take control of her inheritance, but a mysterious mirror in the convent housing supernatural powers has other plans.

A mostly-unrelated sequel to the original 1990 film, "Mirror, Mirror 2: Raven Dance" is a stilted and generally poorly-written film that is a significant letdown from its predecessor. The first film, while not a masterpiece, was a solid genre entry that marked the end of eighties horror; this sequel, however, is disappointing on several levels.

One of the film's major pitfalls is its haphazard editing, which leaves the vast majority of the film feeling disjointed, if not downright confusing at times. The second major stickler is the writing, which is supplanted with drawn-out, unrealistic dialogue, and further disjointedness as characters go in and out of the story without explanation; the themes and images surrounding the raven and Marlee's dance career are half-baked at best, and their relationship to everything else happening with the mirror is rather bewildering. The film is also chock full of early-nineties laser beam special effects, which are laughable by today's standards.

Tracy Wells, the lead of the film, is awful in the role, though not as bad as the boy playing her brother. With her role being the center of the film, it's difficult to stay engaged with such a hammy performance. Sally Kellerman and Roddy MacDowall—both of whose involvement with the film I can't quite understand—rise above the material as much as they can. Veronica Cartwright is as shrill as she always is, this time playing a hysterical blind nun, but she brings some character to the picture. A young and admittedly suave Mark Ruffalo plays a ghostly bad boy, and has a few decent scenes, one with Kellerman which may be the highlight of the film.

The film does have a few positive elements, however: the cinematography is actually quite nice, and the blue-tinted perspective shots from the mirror are surreal and creepy. The Catholic orphanage is also extremely atmospheric and is nicely photographed. In spite of the film's general disjointedness, the ending is quite clever, and because of it, I ended up not completely hating the film.

Overall, "Mirror, Mirror 2: Raven Dance" is a fairly poor sequel to the original film. It falters as a result of its terrible lead actress, choppy editing, and a weak, underdeveloped script. Sally Kellerman and Roddy MacDowall are nice presences to have in the film, so it may be of some intrigue to their respective fans. Aside from that and the respectable cinematography, I think the best part of the film was getting to see a young, ridiculously handsome Mark Ruffalo at the beginning of his career. 4/10.

The sequel to the (fondly remembered, in some quarters) 1990 horror flick "Mirror Mirror" could give you cause to wonder if the producers of it made a Faustian bargain of their own with the haunted mirror in the movie. It's like they asked for above-par cinematography and actors, but didn't realise that granting this wish would also put their screenplay through a paper-shredder.

The original "Mirror Mirror" didn't seem to know what to do with the whole "haunted mirror grants dark powers that help you get revenge" premise, so instead it fell back on a few generic horror movie death scenes where pipes sprung leaks and killed naked 20-something high school students. The sequel, on the other hand, more completely embraces its concept, showing people conversing with the mirror as if there were someone on the other side.

This doesn't help much, though. The movie is too disjointed, with weird flourishes of dancing and ravens that do nothing but signal to the viewer that they can stop paying attention because nothing important is going to happen for the next few moments. It feels like the director reaching beyond their grasp. Like they are trying to achieve something transcendent and haunting with the ballet and the raven.

They fail, dismally.

The plot is something to do with a young ballerina and her violinist brother who lose their parents in an accident and are sent to stay with a bunch of nuns. Their much older stepsister(played by Sally Kellerman from MASH) is out to get their inheritance, aided by an evil doctor played by Roddy McDowall. An oily drifter played by a young Mark Ruffalo is there to save the day, however.

William Sanderson (of Blade Runner and Deadwood) is the only actor from the first movie who returns, and he seems to be playing a different character here. I wasn't really sure who his character was, or what he was doing in the movie - but then his inclusion didn't make much sense in the first movie, either.

Unlike the original movie, there is no nudity (or sex) in "Mirror Mirror 2", and I can hardly remember any violence. There was one thing I hadn't seen before, however: a knight depicted in stain-glass windows comes to life. I don't think I have ever seen stained-glass animated before.

The demon that lives in the mirror again shows up at the end of the movie, and we get a better look at him. He's pretty unimpressive looking.

This sequel doesn't have a whole lot to recommend it, frankly. Does anyone watch horror movies for their cinematography or music? Do you?

Well, I rented this after seeing part 1, which I LOVE. When I saw this I liked it. It is a little slow and starts out cheesy but it gets better. It has a good storyline, some awesome and original kills ("church window" kill=most original kill I HAVE EVER SEEN!) Not too much blood, however, but still some awesome scenes. Special effects, of course, are not the greatest but fairly good. It is good for it's budget. This also dishes out another brilliant ending. The acting is decent. I have seen better acting though I have seen A LOT WORSE. (Can you say AX EM?) So I recommend this if you liked the first, it is an enjoyable film, IMO. 7/10