Oct 1.
Plot: A young woman is convinced an antique mirror is responsible for the death and terror that her family suffered 11 years ago.
I've seen previous work by this director before (Mike Flanagan). I thought Gerald's Game was pretty good and that Hush was a total bore. I was curious as to what this film would be like.
It's actually really solid. The focus of the film switches back and forth between Gillian (Amy Pond from Doctor Who!) and Thwaites' battle with the mirror and their troubled childhood. Amy Pond gives a really good performance and her fake American accent is spot on. The first part of the film where Tim is arguing with his sister about the logic of a 'ghost' mirror was probably my favourite part of the film. The conversation is very intense and the brother's questioning encourages the audience to question the legitimacy of what we'll see throughout the rest of the film.
The horror in the film is effective as well. A pounding, unsettling soundtrack fuels every scene it is in. The film's pretty much jump-scare free, and the ones that are there just kinda 'happen', and don't have an obnoxious loud noise accompanying them. There also appears to be sprinklings of mental illness themes (a la Hereditary), such as when Amy Pond says "It runs in the family", making the supernatural elements of the film all the more ambiguous. In the past segments they seem to explore the fear that is having no control over anything: The children are left helpless as their dad turns psychotic, and are too naive to take a stand or run away. There's also some elements of paranoia: With the brother doubting Amy Pond's memory of events and the mother constantly asking about "The woman at the office".
The only thing I wasn't too keen on was the ending.
WARNING: spoilers below
Considering this film is such a downer, it would be more satisfying to have a happy ending
Very solid film.