Since 1996, former magician turned professional sceptic James Randi has been offering a million dollars to anyone that can provide proof that psychic and/or supernatural phenomena exist. 'The Mirror' sees three English flatmates, Matt, Steve, and Jemma, attempt the challenge by buying a haunted mirror over the internet and continuously filming what happens. At first, the whole thing is played for a lark
even getting a Ouija board in on the action, but when Matt starts acting strangely the whole thing takes on a darker edge.
Now
I know what you're thinking: found footage? Seen it all before. Sure, the set-up of the film seems to defy the need to be original to an almost belligerent degree in the wake of the likes of 'V/H/S' (2012), the whole 'Paranormal Activity' series and its host of rip-offs, going all the way back to 'The Blair Witch Project' (1999). What's more the idea of a haunted mirror was done the year before in the bigger budget American production 'Oculus'. However, despite sitting down thinking I'd be turning it off after twenty minutes I found myself immediately drawn in by the playful banter of the three flatmates and the subtle shifts into increasingly eerie territory as we wonder what is behind Matt's increasingly erratic behaviour.
A big difference between this and the 'Paranormal Activity' series is that while that series relied on a quiet-quiet-quiet-BANG idea to win cheap scares, 'The Mirror' just sticks with quiet-quiet-quiet which doesn't release the tension and instead maintains it right to the end. Sure there are a few plot-holes, for example why don't they call the police after they are broken into, why don't they investigate the mirror or send any emails to the seller, and what's with the eye thing
however I was able to easily forgive these because the chilling atmosphere was one I hadn't felt from a horror movie for a long time.
A decent movie which, despite resolutely not adding anything new to the genre, nevertheless does what it was designed to do very well. Give it a go.