MIRROR MIRROR (1990)
4K Ultra HD
Label: Dark Force Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 103 Minutes 48 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: HDR 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Marina Sargenti
Cast: Rainbow Harvest, Stephen Tobolowsky, Yvonne De Carlo, Karen Black, William Sanderson, Kristin Dattilo, Ricky Paull Goldin, Charlie Spradling, Tom Bresnahan
Mirror Mirror (1990) is a video store staple I distinctly remember seeing many time on the shelf at my local VHS shop, but somehow it never ended up in my hands or on my TV. Now the folks at Dark Force Entertainment have upgraded it to 4K Ultra HD, and last night I was in the mood for some haunted mirror horror and threw it on, and it was a pretty decent little chiller.
Mirror Mirror (1990) is a video store staple I distinctly remember seeing many time on the shelf at my local VHS shop, but somehow it never ended up in my hands or on my TV. Now the folks at Dark Force Entertainment have upgraded it to 4K Ultra HD, and last night I was in the mood for some haunted mirror horror and threw it on, and it was a pretty decent little chiller.
The film opens with a woman killing her sister in front of a mirror in the 1950s Iowa, some 30 years later the house has recently been sold to Los Angeles emigree Susan (Karen Black, Invaders from Mars), a recent widow, and her shy teenage daughter Megan (Rainbow Harvest, Old Enough), who's a goth girl that looks a bit like a mash-up of Culture Club's Boy George, Winona Ryder from Beetlejuice, and Diane Lane from Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains. As they are about to move in estate sales rep Emelin (Yvonne De Carlo, Satan's Cheerleaders) is clearing out the belongings of the former owner in preparation for an estate sale when comes across the an antique mirror and a box of books, she takes the books, including a diary and books about the occult, and plans to return later for the mirror.
Susan and Megan move in and the teen starts her first day at a new school, her goth style earn her the scorn of the majority of her classmates, aside from likable Nikki (Kristin Dattilo, TV's Dexter) and nice guy jock Ron (Ricky Paull Goldin, The Blob). Meanwhile at home Megan is drawn to the antique mirror in her room, and strange things begin to occur - her mom's dog is found dead, and she has a nightmarish vision of her dead father, and the mirror begins dripping blood, as haunted mirrors tend to do, you know?
Anyway, she discovers that there's some sort of power she can use that comes from the mirror, and through trial and error she hones her powers. As she does her shy innocent nature is corrupted by the mirror, not unlike Artie from Stephen King's Christine. Eventually using the mirror's dark power she causes a bitchy cheerleader Charleen's (Charlie Spradling, Puppet Master II) nose to explode into a geyser of blood in the lunch room, and causes a teacher (Stephen Tobolowsky, Single White Female) to have an asthma attack in class. Later she uses it's power to seduce Charleen's boyfriend Jeff (Tom Bresnahan, The Brain), and just when they're about to get it on a demon-hag figure emerges from the mirror and kills him, and as Megan grows even more malevolent under the thrall of the mirror she causes Charleen to be horrifically scalded by steam in the girls locker room, which was quite a well done scene. At a later point Emelin who has been reading the diary entries from the books she pulled out of the house learns of the mirror's dark past, and attempts to retrieve it from the house, only to get s shard of mirror to the throat for her troubles.
Eventually the mirror sets it's sights on Megan's mother, which is a bridge to far for the teen, and she comes to her senses and tries to fight the evil in the mirror, but not before it causes her mother's hand to get caught in the kitchen sink garbage disposal, which has a near Tenebrae worthy blood-spray across a white wall scene, but is certainly not one of Karen Black's best acting moments. We also get a brief appearance from William Sanderson (Blade Runner) that doesn't really amount to much other than to add some tension between Megan and her mother at the dinner table.
As haunted mirror flicks go this was pretty entertaining, I'd put it alongside The Boogeyman (1981) as far as vibes and oddball horror go. The cast was always entertaining, what a mic, Karen Black, William Sanderson, Steven Tobolowsky and Yvonne De Carlo in the same flick! Additionally, the kills are solid, and it's generally well made. Originality is not it's strong suite, but what it does it does pretty dang well, and I thought that the female-centric characters were pretty interesting.
Audio/Video: Mirror Mirror (1990) arrives on region-free 4K Ultra HD from Fark Force Entertainment in 2160p Ultra HD framed in the original 1.85:1 widescreen, featuring a new scan from the original 35mm negative with with restoration and new color color correction, including wide color gamut (WCG) HDR color grading. The source looks terrific, there's a natural looking layer of film grain and it's quite stable, and colors with the HDR enhancement looks excellent. The HDR enhances black levels and shadow detail quite nicely, a depth and clarity are pleasing. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles, the track is clean and well balanced throughout, dialogue is well prioritized, as are the sounds effects and score.
The sole extras is an Audio Commentary: Demon Dave & Joe's 'Savage Tracks', those being Demon Dave from Dark Sky Films and Joe Rubin of Vinegar Syndrome, which is definitely worth a listen, even if I fine Demon Dave quite an annoying individual. That said, while Dave can be annoying, not unlike the late Bill Olsen of the defunct Code Red before him, at least the transfers on these Dark Force Entertainment releases have been pretty good. The single-disc release comes housed in a black keepcase with a single-sided wrap featuring the original movie poster artwork.
Special Features:
- Brand new 4K scan with HDR from the original 35mm camera negative with restoration and new color color correction
- Audio Commentary: Demon Dave & Joe's 'Savage Tracks'
- Brand new 4K scan with HDR from the original 35mm camera negative with restoration and new color color correction
- Audio Commentary: Demon Dave & Joe's 'Savage Tracks'
Mirror Mirror (1990) is a fun haunted mirror flick, there;s plenty of horrors about haunted mirrors, both before and after, but this is a decent entry I'd put it up there with The Boogeyman and the “The Gate Crasher” segment from horror anthology From Beyond the Grave (1973) Dark Force Entertainment did good work upgrading the A/V and it looks terrific, a few more extras would have been nice, but the commentary is quite entertaining. If you find yourself looking for a fun haunted mirror flick I'd not hesitate to throw this one on. Interestingly this low-budget horror flick which doesn't appear to have set the box office on fore during it's initial run spawned three sequels, none of which I have never seen. Are they worth checking out? Let me know in the comments.
Buy it!
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