Mirrors 2

"Mirrors 2" is a Horror movie in which we watch a young man who experiences strange, horrifying occurrences after moving into a new apartment with a dark past.

Since I had already watched the first movie I knew what I was about to watch and I had some expectations. Unfortunately, it didn't have the same suspense and intensity as the first movie. In addition to this, the tension was inconsistent, with several scenes lacking the chilling atmosphere that made "Mirrors" effective. The interpretation of Nick Stahl who played as Max Matheson was good bu not that good to save this movie. The story suffered from predictability, relying too heavily on familiar horror tropes without offering much innovation. To sum up, I have to say that "Mirrors 2" is a serviceable horror sequel and nothing more so, I advise you if you have already watched the first movie to be prepared for this one because you might be disappointed.

Mystery/metaphysical horror film. It is an independent story from the first and unfortunately does not give clear explanations regarding the ending of the first movie. The main element, however, remains the mirrors and in particular the mirrors from the old burnt mall of the first film. According to some beliefs, after a violent death the soul can be trapped in a mirror in search of redemption. This in part could explain the ending of the first movie. Unlike the element of possession that the first one had, the second film is limited only to reflections and deaths. Overall, it is interesting and has good acting and script, but it is much less intense than the first, and at a much slower pace and focuses more on mystery than terror. It also has some unnecessary gore/splatter and nudity elements that were absent from the first. It's significantly below the first one and since it's not a sequel, you can skip it. Still worth a watch, but only for once.

'MIRRORS 2': Three Stars (Out of Five)

Sequel to director Alexandre Aja's 2008 remake, starring Kiefer Sutherland, of the 2003 Korean horror film 'IN TO THE MIRROR'. This sequel centers around the same concept of the first film, visions of murders seen in the reflection of mirrors by a night security guard, but features different characters and an all new cast. This time the night security guard is played by Nick Stahl. It's directed by Victor Garcia (who's directed other such direct to video horror sequels as 'RETURN TO HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL' and the upcoming 'HELLRAISER: REVELATIONS') and written by Matt Venne (who also wrote direct to video horror sequel 'WHITE NOISE 2: THE LIGHT').

Stahl plays Max Matheson a new night security guard at Mayflower Department Store (the same building from the first film) who takes the job where his father (played by William Katt) works after the former guard quits due to self inflicted injuries. Max has recently suffered the loss of a loved one in a traumatic accident and is still severely troubled by it. Soon after he starts working Max begins seeing images of a missing girl in the Store's mirrors as well as fellow co-workers causing themselves grotesque bodily harm. As these visions continue to become real Max tries to use his powers to prevent them and solve the mystery of the haunted girl.

I never saw the original Korean film but I did like Aja's remake (which is all Aja seems to do). I do think it's probably his weakest film though. While this sequel is not as good as Aja's film it is a satisfying continuation. The mirror death scenes are haunting, the murder mystery and characters are somewhat intriguing and the acting is decent. For a direct to video sequel I found it pretty impressive. Not a great horror film but it gives the viewer what it wants.

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"Mirrors 2" is pretty okay as a stand-alone feature, but it pales in comparison with Alexandre Aja's first film (which on its term was a re-make of an Asain film). This time, the film isn't exactly what the first one was about. Instead they turned it into a 'vengeful ghost' story. Not bad, really, but pretty standard stuff. Nevertheless, we get a couple of bloody death scenes, a bit of nice atmosphere, a dash of mystery (which isn't too hard to figure out) and some okay performances (though no Oscar worthy material, naturally). The over-all end result is just about decent enough. You could do a lot worse with other stuff that's being cranked out on DVD nowadays, especially when it comes to (loose) sequels. Teaming up "Mirrors 2" as a double bill with something like "White Noise 2: The Light" wouldn't be a bad way to spend a straight-to-DVD horror sequel night with your girlfriend.

"Mirrors 2" isn't exactly in the same league as its predecessor. Unlike the Kiefer Sutherland story, there's more or less no suspense. Not because its predictable (which it isn't), but simply because it's a sequel. Actually, this isn't a sequel. It's a rehash of the first one, except there's no mystery this time. I found this "sequel" fairly enjoyable, and I recommend to anyone not expecting too much out of it. Compared to the previous story, this one is a pale imitation, which is easy to see why it went straight to DVD. A worthy rental, but it's not worth spending 20 some dollars on.

**1/2 out of ****