Mirror Mirror Collection
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Programs: C+
A
particular antique mirror has an uncanny effect on the unsuspecting lives of
all those who come into contact with it in the Mirror Mirror film series.
These peculiar B-movies have made it to DVD and the first four are featured
here together for the first time. Of
course, the actual mirror is possessed by some, evil demonic force. The four features were released over a period
of eleven years and are as follows.
Mirror Mirror (1990) introduces the “title
character” as an anti-social new girl in town (Rainbow Harvest) is nowhere
until she has a strange encounter with the mirror and all who hate her suddenly
start to die. Anyone who comes between
her and her mirror are in trouble. Karen
Black is cast as her mother, joined by Yvonne De Carlo (not in the film
enough), William Sanderson, Charlie Spradling and Ricky Paull Goldin. Though people die unpleasant deaths, this is
not too graphic, yet we never get a convincing backstory on how or why this is
happening. The ending was lame too.
Mirror Mirror 2: Raven Dance (1993) brings Sanderson back,
joined by Tracy Wells, Roddy McDowall, Sally Kellerman, Veronica Cartwright,
Lois Nettleton, Mark Ruffalo and Sarah Douglas.
The mirror is long past being explained and the happenings do become a
bit campy. The ending here is better,
but the actual deaths are not as gruesome, partly alleviated by the appearance
of an actual raven.
Mirror Mirror 3: The Voyeur (1995) offers Mark Ruffalo again,
with Billy Drago and David Naughton in a love triangle with Monique Parent that
is more like a deathtrap. This one
offers the most nudity and story, but is no major improvement over its
predecessors. It was still as amusing.
Mirror Mirror 4: Reflections (2000) offers the longest gap
between sequels and offers P.J. Soles, while bringing back Billy Drago and
“concludes the series” as an exclusive offering in this set. It is the poorest of the four and does not
really conclude as much as it claims, but it has some energy missing in
previous installments.
The films
are never too funny or trying hard to be comedies pretending to be Horror
films, but I give them credit for their casting and never thinking they are
more than the B-movies they are. The
lack of bad digital visual effects is also a plus, though there is not a total
absence of it. When all is said and
done, this resembles watchable anthology TV into the early 1980s, versus a bad
B-movie, which says something about how much the makers seem to have enjoyed
making them.
The full
frame color image on all four films is above average, with nothing too fancy
about any of the cinematography, but they are all just atmospheric enough to
enjoy. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has
problematic Pro Logic surrounds, part of the legacy of their Ultra Stereo
origins on the first two films and simpler stereo surround set-up on the latter
two, but is not bad. Despite no sound
system noted, a THX facility was supposedly used to finalize the sound and it
shows on the final film, though it is also the most recent recording. This all adds up to fun for Horror genre fans
or those who want something different that has some fun to it. Mirror
Mirror, as much as I hate to say it, is worth looking into.
- Nicholas Sheffo
