MIRRORS

Detective Ben Carson, depressed due to the death of his colleague, which he blames himself for, and distant from his family following his divorce from his wife, spends his days drowning his problems first in alcohol and then in antidepressants. Decided to find a new job, he is hired as a night watchman in a dilapidated former shopping mall destroyed by fire. As soon as Ben sets foot in the building, he cannot help but notice the numerous and majestic shiny mirrors that cover the walls and seem to contain strange presences. Ben's fears soon prove to be well-founded, and after discovering that the previous watchman died under mysterious circumstances, he begins to investigate the past of that place, discovering that the strange creatures he sees moving in the mirrors are not simple hallucinations. Mirrors are windows into reality, some would say, thanks to them it is possible to see what would otherwise be hidden from our gaze, our faces, our entire figure. But is the mirror really a glass plate lined with silver? Is it really a physical object made "extraordinary" by some elementary scientific principles? And if, rather than a metaphorical window into reality, the mirror were a disturbing door to another world? Thinking in these terms, an object of such common use could be unsettling even to the most hardened of narcissists, and it is precisely to the demonization of the everyday that the second American work by the Frenchman Alexandre Aja seems to aim, winning the challenge but not fully convincing in the result. "Reflections of Fear" ("Mirrors" in the original) takes very loose inspiration from the excellent Korean ghost story "Into the Mirror," skillfully distancing itself from it to follow quite different directions. Aja's goal is clearly to create an honest horror film that aims for easy scares and adrenaline rather than socio-psychological reflection; his intention is certainly not criticizable (the Genre was not born as entertainment?) and to make a "working" entertainment work, talent is still needed, a quality that certainly does not lack the director of "High Tension." However, the feeling one has at the end of watching "Reflections of Fear" is that the material available could have really generated something superior to a couple of gore scenes, four well-placed jumps, and a cacophonous ending. "Reflections of Fear" plays very well with the emotions of the viewer, making them a participant in the story, managing to scare them at the right moments and making them care about the characters. The Ben Carson of the always appreciated Kiefer Sutherland ("Flatliners"; the TV series "24") is well defined and, although stereotyped in his depression and desire for redemption, offers us the example of a successful character precisely because of the simplicity of his writing. Decidedly more "accessory" for flatness of character or intrinsic uselessness are the angry but still in love wife Paula Patton ("Déjà-vu"), the kind sister Amy Smart ("Crank"), and the former colleague detective Jason Flaming ("Bruiser"), present in just a couple of scenes. The figure of the mirror as a threat is taken by Aja to the highest levels: mirrors are everywhere, even if sometimes we do not notice them, and are really charged with quite negative qualities. Smooth surfaces, water, glass, anything capable of reflecting the image in "Reflections of Fear" is a vehicle of evil and death. Aja plays brilliantly with the "nefarious" reflections and although he does not address a completely original theme (in addition, of course, to "Into the Mirror," there is the - rightly - forgotten "Mirror: Who Lives in That Mirror?", from which he also copies the first murder-suicide, and the legendary "Reflections of Death," issue no. 44 of the comic series "Dylan Dog"), his is probably the film that more than any other strives to exploit in a horrific sense every possible use of the mirror object. Unlike his previous films "High Tension" and "The Hills Have Eyes," here the director does not focus too much on visual violence, concentrating instead on the protagonist's rhythmic investigation. Indeed, the only moments that make us recognize Aja's hand devoted to splatter are two: the electrifying and disturbing opening scene and the original "mandibulation" of a victim, unfortunately made less effective than expected by the use of obvious computer graphics. Among the greatest merits of this film are the unsettling locations, focused for the most part on the dilapidated Silent Hill-like rooms of the shopping mall, realized using the Académie des Sciences in Bucharest, abandoned since 1998; moreover, the original music by Javierre Navarrete also does its job admirably. What probably represents the biggest flaw of "Reflections of Fear" is the popcorn movie direction that the film takes in the finale. Let's immediately say that the incredible final solution devised by screenwriters Aja and Levasseur is worthy of the best B-movie horror of the '80s, but unfortunately it clashes with a serious context like that of this film. Some scenes of "combat" on the verge of ridicule lend themselves easily to being targeted by mockers, and the buuum-baaaam-craaash finale seems more suited to a disaster film than to an intimate horror. Well, never mind. With a little ingenuity, Aja could have hit the jackpot, but instead, he settles for leaving a film that is enjoyable, perfectly suited for an evening dedicated to easy chills, as well as his least inspired work so far. But one thing is for sure: after watching "Reflections of Fear," you will approach a mirror with a different eye!