The movie opens with night security guard Gary Lewis. His reflection in the mirror stabs himself and he dies in the real world with a wide open gash. Ben Carson (Kiefer Sutherland) resigned from the NYPD a year ago after a deadly shooting and he's now sleeping on his sister Angie (Amy Smart)'s couch. He's estranged from his wife Amy (Paula Patton) with whom he has two children. He has stopped drinking recently and trying to rebuild his life. He starts a new job as the night security guard at the burnt-out NYC Mayflower department store. He sees visions in the mirrors and they seem to be looking back at him.
I really like the look of the empty department store and the mirror room. The mirror idea is pretty cool. The CGI fire is not the best. There is also a missing element in this horror. Usually there is a question of whether this is all real or not in these kinds of movies. The fact that the first security guard as well as his son see the visions eliminates that possibility right from the start. Another problem is that this needs a physical embodiment of the evil that is both scary and can be put on a poster. It seems to be the perfect fit for an iconic supernatural killer in the mirror like Samara in 'The Ring'. That is missing here. As for the story, this movie needed to end earlier. The movie just goes on and on with Sutherland missing in action for large chunks of it. The movie overstays its welcome.
I really like the look of the empty department store and the mirror room. The mirror idea is pretty cool. The CGI fire is not the best. There is also a missing element in this horror. Usually there is a question of whether this is all real or not in these kinds of movies. The fact that the first security guard as well as his son see the visions eliminates that possibility right from the start. Another problem is that this needs a physical embodiment of the evil that is both scary and can be put on a poster. It seems to be the perfect fit for an iconic supernatural killer in the mirror like Samara in 'The Ring'. That is missing here. As for the story, this movie needed to end earlier. The movie just goes on and on with Sutherland missing in action for large chunks of it. The movie overstays its welcome.