Cover Art

Credits

Director: Seong-ho Kim Starring: Yu Ji-Tae, Kim Hye-Na, Kim Myeong-Min, Gi Ju-Bong, Kim Myeong-Su, Lee Yeong-Jin Screenplay: Seong-ho Kim Music: Il Won Country: South Korea AKA: Geoul Sokeuro

In Into the Mirror, Yu plays a cop who gets fired after a hostage incident goes poorly. He begins working as a security guard for a department store (that looks more like a shopping centre to me, but the subs translate it to department store, so that's what I'm saying). The building is closed due to a mysterious fire, but before opening, a girl seemingly commits suicide. Anyone that's seen an Asian ghost movie will know better, but this isn't your usual ghost, as she tends to appear in reflections. No one seems aware of the haunting that's occurring at first, but then another person is killed. After the second death, investigations are stepped up and panic ensues. Yu sees the curious deaths as an opportunity to redeem himself, and sets about trying to solve the mystery of the haunted shopping centre…I mean department store.

Into the Mirror is not a bad movie, but it's overlong and too slow, with few surprises for fans of Asian cinema. The film is highly stylish, with reflections used well, which is probably a good thing given the film's title. The reflection elements used for the ghost's presence are unfortunately the only things that seemed fresh in this film, though, and the style doesn't salvage the slow pacing. The mirror world featured at the end should be kind of cool and does play with viewers' perception of reality, but ultimately it just made me think of A-Ha's "Take On Me" video clip. Perhaps the worst thing is that the climax is silly, predictable, and hard to believe (and that's not even the ghost bit). The story was moving way too slowly to have so little payoff, and the film didn't leave much of a lasting impression on me.