Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Writer/director: Assaf Bernstein, Defiant Screen Entertainment.
Cast: India Eisley, Mira Sorvino, Jason Isaacs.
These four words ‘speak’ volumes: “voyeuristic, unflinching … a rollercoaster ride”.
This psychological horror thriller tells the story of Maria Brennan (Eisley), an alienated high-school student whose life is turned upside down when she switches places with her sinister mirror image.
She is a shy social outcast at her high school, bullied by her peers led by schoolmate Mark (John C. MacDonald). Maria has only one friend, Lily (Penelope Mitchell) whom she envies, and for whose boyfriend, Sean (Harrison Gilbertson) she harbours a secret crush.
Maria accidentally discovers a sonogram of a pair of twins and starts hearing voices from her mirror reflection, Airam (Eisley), who is more beautiful, charismatic and aggressive. Maria is initially frightened, but eventually finds solace in Airam’s empowering talks that make her confront her subconscious thoughts and inner feelings.
Maria agrees to swap places with Airam in exchange for Airam’s help in solving her problems. Airam begins to seek revenge on people who have wronged Maria and take control of every aspect of her life with which she is unhappy. The shy, fragile and reclusive Maria is now trapped in the mirror, and the cruel Maria is ready to wreak havoc on all those who have wronged her.
The film doesn’t strongly elucidate why Maria is reclusive and aloof, but it’s clear to see how she frequently suppresses her emotions with her parents: her father Dan (Isaacs), a perfectionist and philandering plastic surgeon; and her mother Amy (Sorvino), who suffers from depression and feigns an ignorance of her husband’s affairs.
