On the Wall
I recently watched the Mirror, Mirror film series. These movies are unrelated (as far as I know) to the recently Tarsem Singh film about Snow White. You may have seen these in the Sci-Fi/Horror section of your local video rental back in the 90s, but likely took one look at the box art and kept on looking for something better. While I would normally say I watch these so you don't have to, these were a pleasant change from some of the movies I've seen. Let's begin.
First up we have Mirror, Mirror. It was made in the year 1990, during that lull between the Berlin Wall crumbling and TMNT 2 - Secret of the Ooze hitting theatres everywhere. It follows the simple story of a goth teenager and her mother moving to a new town after the death of her father. While wandering through their new house the young woman discovers an old full length mirror that she adores and insists on keeping (to the chagrin of the previous owner). As typically happens to new kids and goths (especially both) our protagonist is not well received in school. The more she is pushed the more upset she becomes until she realizes her new mirror has some sort of power that is great for revenge. This film was clearly made on a budget, but does well considering that. The score wasn't that great, but the writing was decent and the acting was of good quality. It stars Rainbow Harvest (I just love her name!), Karen Black, and William Sanderson. Worth giving a chance if you want to see some supernatural teen drama that isn't The Craft.
On to Mirror, Mirror - Raven Dance. Moving ahead to 1994 where it competed against the likes of Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction we have this not-quite-as-stellar-as-the-first-one sequel. It follows another young woman, this time being played by the sister from Mr Belvedere, who becomes obsessed with dancing for the mirror that she can see clearly, despite not being able to see anything else. In the meantime she meets Mark Ruffalo in one of his earliest roles. The plot is a little confusing and the director didn't seem to have much direction, but it has some good actors. As well as the aforementioned thespians, we also have Veronica Cartwright as a nun, Sarah Douglas (always a pleasure to see), and William Sanderson in a completely different role than in the last one.
Now we come to Mirror, Mirror - The Voyeur. This one should be avoided. It came to us in 1995, the year of Batman's shame and James Bond's comeback. This one is disjointed to the point that I can only assume the director was given two half-scripts and told to make a movie. The style of direction changes from scene to scene, there are some good actors, but most would have been able to give better performances if they were allowed to read their lines from notecards. It features Mark Ruffalo in a different role from the last one, and introduces Billy Drago as a man who is cheating on his current wife (who is cheating on him) with the ghost of his dead wife. The mirror now emits purple disco lights, and manipulates drug dealers (maybe?). Makes no sense, and since none of the stories are really related, you can skip it an move on.
Finally, we reach Mirror, Mirror - Reflections in the year 2000. You may have noticed a pattern by now, and this one does not disappoint. Billy Drago shows up, and just in case you were wondering, he does not play the same character as he did in the last one. This one actually resembles the 1988 classic Night of the Demons a bit. A group of teenagers, including the great voice actor Kim Mai Guest, head to a costume party. Once there they find themselves locked in a house with the mirror. It doesn't take long before it starts killing them off, one by one. It's on the cheesy side, and is of the same quality as most direct to video movies of that era. I'd say it's worth watching if you're bored and don't want too much gore.
So there you have it, the Mirror, Mirror series. Some are good, some are bad, this does not sway me from the opinion that movies with the word Voyeur in the title aren't worth watching, nor does it sway me from the belief that there is nothing wrong with reusing actors. Thank you and good night interwebiverse!
First up we have Mirror, Mirror. It was made in the year 1990, during that lull between the Berlin Wall crumbling and TMNT 2 - Secret of the Ooze hitting theatres everywhere. It follows the simple story of a goth teenager and her mother moving to a new town after the death of her father. While wandering through their new house the young woman discovers an old full length mirror that she adores and insists on keeping (to the chagrin of the previous owner). As typically happens to new kids and goths (especially both) our protagonist is not well received in school. The more she is pushed the more upset she becomes until she realizes her new mirror has some sort of power that is great for revenge. This film was clearly made on a budget, but does well considering that. The score wasn't that great, but the writing was decent and the acting was of good quality. It stars Rainbow Harvest (I just love her name!), Karen Black, and William Sanderson. Worth giving a chance if you want to see some supernatural teen drama that isn't The Craft.
On to Mirror, Mirror - Raven Dance. Moving ahead to 1994 where it competed against the likes of Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction we have this not-quite-as-stellar-as-the-first-one sequel. It follows another young woman, this time being played by the sister from Mr Belvedere, who becomes obsessed with dancing for the mirror that she can see clearly, despite not being able to see anything else. In the meantime she meets Mark Ruffalo in one of his earliest roles. The plot is a little confusing and the director didn't seem to have much direction, but it has some good actors. As well as the aforementioned thespians, we also have Veronica Cartwright as a nun, Sarah Douglas (always a pleasure to see), and William Sanderson in a completely different role than in the last one.
Now we come to Mirror, Mirror - The Voyeur. This one should be avoided. It came to us in 1995, the year of Batman's shame and James Bond's comeback. This one is disjointed to the point that I can only assume the director was given two half-scripts and told to make a movie. The style of direction changes from scene to scene, there are some good actors, but most would have been able to give better performances if they were allowed to read their lines from notecards. It features Mark Ruffalo in a different role from the last one, and introduces Billy Drago as a man who is cheating on his current wife (who is cheating on him) with the ghost of his dead wife. The mirror now emits purple disco lights, and manipulates drug dealers (maybe?). Makes no sense, and since none of the stories are really related, you can skip it an move on.
Finally, we reach Mirror, Mirror - Reflections in the year 2000. You may have noticed a pattern by now, and this one does not disappoint. Billy Drago shows up, and just in case you were wondering, he does not play the same character as he did in the last one. This one actually resembles the 1988 classic Night of the Demons a bit. A group of teenagers, including the great voice actor Kim Mai Guest, head to a costume party. Once there they find themselves locked in a house with the mirror. It doesn't take long before it starts killing them off, one by one. It's on the cheesy side, and is of the same quality as most direct to video movies of that era. I'd say it's worth watching if you're bored and don't want too much gore.
So there you have it, the Mirror, Mirror series. Some are good, some are bad, this does not sway me from the opinion that movies with the word Voyeur in the title aren't worth watching, nor does it sway me from the belief that there is nothing wrong with reusing actors. Thank you and good night interwebiverse!