Mirrors 2 - 2/5

Going into "Mirrors 2", the sequel I'm not sure anyone clamored for, I was a bit skeptical how it was going to work trying to franchise this story. As it so happens, they were able to loosely connect the two films (through a semi-thoughtful plot point) and also creates a whole new cliche ghost tale that differs from the original but still fails to be all that memorable. "Mirrors 2" is a basic, fun little horror/ghost film but it rarely rises above its own basic necessities to get it done.

Max (Stahl, that Yellow Bastard!) still has trouble coping with the loss of his fiancee in a wicked car crash. Luckily, his father (Katt) is building a new Mayflower store in town and hires on Max to be the night watchmen. When a piece of mirror from the original store shows up to 'carry the legacy' it also comes with a little ghost left in it. Or does it? Max is able to see a young women in the mirrors of the place and when she starts knocking off the Mayflower management team, he goes on a journey to discover who this mysterious girl is and why she wants to kill so badly.

Although they throw in the mirror connection to the first film, "Mirrors 2" stands on its own more often than not. Which can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. The story never really needs the connection and it seems to be thrown in there initially and never mentioned again. It allows this sequel to do its own thing, but it never really builds a 'franchise' feel to it either.

"Mirrors 2" also tries to replicate what made the original one work too. Mainly, style and clever deaths. Neither of which can really match the fun brutality of Aja. Garcia does his best here (watching paint dry might be a better watch that "Return To House On Haunted Hill"...sigh) and occasionally does some cool things, the clever roundabout shot of Max looking into the mirror and the dead girl looking back was neat, but it mostly comes off as rather cliche, like the POV of the ghost through the mirror. He tries and it gives the film a bit more depth than it normally had, but its not near enough to actually pull the film from its own shallow attempts at being more than your average ghost/horror flick.

"Mirrors 2" seems better than a straight to DVD sequel to a mediocre film, but that never means it's actually good. It has some solid moments, but they are few and far between. A solid rental but never much more than that.

BONUS PRAISE: William 'Fucking' Katt is in this movie. I haven't seen him in FOREVER! This movie gets some serious props for bringing in the an old school horror icon like Katt back. Oh yea! 

Written By Matt Reifschneider