Mirrors (15) 111 mins
Review by Victor Olliver - Not since Star Wars' furry Chewbacca has a male screen character made as much pointless noise as Kiefer Sutherland - either in this movie or as Jack Bauer in 24.
The slightest frustration prompts a ludicrous roaring, usually accompanied by assaults on inanimate objects.
Director Alexandre Aja's inability to muffle this racket is just one of the reasons why this film fails to deliver.
Mirrors is a remake of stylish South Korean horror Into The Mirrors. When he's properly directed (ie bossed) Sutherland is an intriguing actor.
In Phone Booth he was menacing and sardonic and utterly controlled. Not once did he emit a silly noise.
But as Mirrors' Ben Carson, an NYPD 'tec in disgrace, he seems embarrassed by the theme of a demon dwelling in mirrors. Hence the over-acting.
Mirrors as a Satanic portal is hardly original. We've seen it all before from Candyman to Troll 2. Director Aja delivers shocks but little creepiness.
Carson takes a job as a security guard of an incinerated store. "Don't look at the mirrors," his foreman warns him. So he does nothing but for the duration.
The mirrors make people do suicidal things. Soon enough the demon is haunting Carson's flossing routine.
Midway through the film we learn that anything reflective can house the dark spirit, not just glass mirrors.
This is good and bad. Good because it means the demon can persecute Carson's family via tap water. Bad because it sabotages a crucial plot development.
A certain someone whom the spirit seeks is hiding in a place without mirrors. So what about her tap water? The devil could have got to her that way. Doh!
Mirrors sparks to life when Sutherland is absent from the screen, such as when his estranged wife and cute kids are being terrorised by demonic images. And the ending is a smart twist.
But for the most part Sutherland simply can't engage us in his nightmare. The audience reaction to an actor's over-reaction is to say: Just die, please!
As for young director Aja - he needs to go back to film school. Verdict: 1/5