Mirrors (2008) or, The Haunted Department Store

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Three stars put together in a composite image of a house with water damage makes up this poster for Alexandre Aja's Mirrors

A tormented former New York police officer attempts to reestablish himself with a private security job, working in a burnt-out department store, but there an evil ghost haunting its mirrors!

Mirrors is written by co-writer/co-producer Grégory Levasseur (Break of Dawn/Entre Chiens et Loups (2002)) and co-writer/director Alexandre Aja (Furia (1999)). It is a remake of the Korean horror Into the Mirror/Geoul sokeuro (2003).

The strange and not very good story is so also so fanciful that it is hard to get involved with Mirrors. No-nonsense Kiefer Sutherland (Freeway (1996)) is a poor match for the vehicle, although he does what he can here. SPOILER Amy Smart (High Voltage (1997)) dies the most gruesome death of the film by ripping her own jaw off her face.

SPOILER Mirrors ends in an action-like spectacle of nonsense. It lacks frights and tension. Overall it's a thoroughly failed serving of mumbo jumbo.

 

Related posts:

 

Alexandre Aja: Piranha 3D (2010) - Aja's gory sexploitation remake is a hoot 

The Hills Have Eyes (2006) or, My Big Fat Mutant Cannibal Family Trip 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 35 mil. $

Box office: 78 mil. $

= Flop (returned 2.22 times its cost)

[Mirrors was released 14 August (Malaysia) and runs 111 minutes. Aja disliked the original story and kept only details from the original film for his remake. Shooting took place around May 2007 in New York, Los Angeles, California and in Bucharest, Romania. The film opened #4, behind fellow new release Tropic Thunder, holdover hit The Dark Knight and new release Star Wars: The Clone Wars, to an 11.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd week and grossed 30.6 mil. $ (39.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 5.1 mil. $ (6.3 %) and France with 5 mil. $ (6.4 %). A straight-to-video sequel was made with Mirrors 2 (2011). Aja returned with The Esseker File (2009, short) and theatrically with Piranha 3D (2010). Sutherland returned in 10 video game, TV, short and narrating credits prior to his physical theatrical return in Melancholia (2011). Mirrors is rotten at 15 % with a 3.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Mirrors?

Seed of Chucky (2004) - Mancini's gender-fluid horror-comedy is a weird trip

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An extreme eye closeup, - with semen cell retina details, - and a hilariously bent tagline distinguish this game poster for Don Mancini's Seed of Chucky

Deceased killer dolls Chucky & Tiffany have a gender-fluid son/daughter, who is searching for its parents - in Hollywood.

Seed of Chucky is written and directed by Don Mancini (Child's Play (1988, screenplay)), whose directing debut it is. It is the 5th film in the Child's Play/Chucky franchise.
It is a far out and really strange sequel, which is filthy enough to have been made by John Waters (Mangus! (2011)) himself, who actually has a funny role in it.
Jennifer Tilly (The Haunted Mansion (2003)) is funny in the film in a performance packed with self-irony.
Seed of Chucky's story is obscure and surprisingly difficult to really understand. In its intro sequence Chucky's sperm cells are seen entering a doll's vagina. - Weird!

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 12 mil. $
Box office: 24.8 mil. $
= Flop (returned 2.06 times its cost)
[Seed of Chucky was released 12 November (USA) and runs 86 minutes. Universal Pictures, the studio behind the previous 3 films, rejected the script as "too gay." Focus Features jumped in instead. Quentin Tarantino passed on a role as himself. Shooting took place in Los Angeles, California and in Bucharest, Romania from November 2003 - March 2004. The film opened #4, behind holdover hit The Incredibles and fellow new releases The Polar Express and After the Sunset, to an 8.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd week and grossed 17 mil. $ (68.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 1.9 mil. $ (7.7 %) and Mexico with 1.1 mil. $ (4.4 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to a notch harder than this one. Mancini returned with Curse of Chucky (2013, video), the next in the franchise, which went on with Cult of Chucky (2017, video, also by Mancini), before it was rebooted to cinemas with Child's Play (2019) and a coming TV-series. Brad Dourif (Pulse (2006)) returned in The Devil's Due at Midnight (2004, short), Chucky's Family Vacation (2004, short) and theatrically in Drop Dead Sexy (2005); Tilly in Chucky's Family Vacation, Li'l Pimp (2005, video) and theatrically in The Civilization of Maxwell Bright (2005). Seed of Chucky is rotten at 33 % with a 4.46/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Seed of Chucky?