Blu-Ray Review: ‘Mirrors 2’ is Even Worse Than You Imagine it Could Be

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CHICAGO – Horror fans are a patient and resilient group. We have suffered through dozens of horrible straight-to-DVD sequels, often to films that barely worked in the first place, but we keep going back for another round of torture just in case one of them delivers (and, for the record, “Wrong Turn 2” is definitely better than the first film but the list ends shortly thereafter). The latest trip to the sequel funhouse is “Mirrors 2,” a pedestrian, predictable thriller that makes the first film look like “The Shining” by comparison. It’s horrible.

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 0.5/5.0
Television Rating: 0.5/5.0

What happened to Nick Stahl? Does everyone else remember when he was the next big star, appearing in a “Terminator” sequel and on HBO’s underrated “Carnivale”? He’s still talented but clearly can’t get the right work or needs a new agent because one can’t imagine the favors he must have owed to star in “Mirrors 2”. He and gorgeous co-star Emmanuelle Vaugier must have signed on to a different film and were tricked into appearing in this junk as a “Punk’d”-esque joke.

Mirrors 2 was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 19th, 2010
Mirrors 2 was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 19th, 2010
Photo credit: Fox

Of course, “Mirrors 2” opens with a security guard being killed by his reflection. Playing off the plot and themes of Alexandre Aja’s “Mirrors,” the sequel once again tells of an emotionally-fragile man looking at the “man in the mirror.” At the end of “Mirrors,” the store that housed the deadly glassware was blown up but it turns out that a mirror has been saved and is now brought into the life of Max (Stahl), another dull hero who needs a distraction, and a man caught up in a cover-up at his new job..

Max takes the place of the glass-eating security guard from the opening scene and starts seeing odd things in the mirrors, like a screaming woman pounding to get out. We even have green-tinged moments in which we see Max from the other side of the mirror, as if we’re the woman trapped inside. It all feels like a cheap J-horror rip-off, a trend that I thought had died out around the release of “Shutter.” And the motives of the girl in the mirror are so cliched and predictable — of course, it’s a vengeance tale — that there’s no reason to care.

Cue about 90 minutes of gore scenes connected by some of the most pedestrian dialogue in a long time, even for the straight-to-DVD horror sequel genre, one in which the bar is not exactly high. Stahl and Vaugier are not bad but the writing, direction, and production value here are shockingly low. Even the special effects are pathetic. A shot of a woman in the mirror ripping her own head off would have looked goofy in 1982. For the most part, we’ve seen it all before and we’ve seen it all done better. The scariest thing about the film is how a pony-tailed William Katt (“The Greatest American Hero”) has aged.

The Blu-ray and DVD of “Mirrors 2” are clearly timed for audiences looking for something to watch on Halloween. Admittedly, this season is horrendous for horror junkies with some truly horrible theatrical offerings (“Case 39,” “My Soul to Take”) and not a lot on the home market either. Still, you could do a lot better than “Mirrors 2” by watching, well, nearly anything else.

Special Features:
o Making Of “Mirrors 2”
o The Visual And Special Effects
o BonusView: Watch With The Woman In The Mirror
o Deleted Scenes
o Original Korean Feature Film “Into The Mirror”

“Mirrors 2” stars Nick Stahl, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Christy Carlson Romano, Lawrence Turner, and William Katt. It was written by Matt Venne and directed by Victor Garcia. It is unrated and runs 90 minutes. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 19th, 2010.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Ashwini's picture

Not worth a penny.

I agree with this, Stahl and Vaugier are not bad but the writing, direction, and production value here are shockingly low. Even the special effects are pathetic. Not worth a penny.

Regards, Ashwini,

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