Mirrors (1978)

A newlywed couple check into an old hotel, and soon the wife finds herself having hallucinations and wandering the halls aimlessly. It seems a voodoo priestess has placed a curse on her in ... See full summary »

Director:

Noel Black

Writers:

Sidney L. Stebel (screenplay), Sidney L. Stebel (story)

Stars:

Kitty Winn, Peter Donat, William Swetland

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kitty Winn	...	Marianne Whitman
Peter Donat	...	Dr. Philip Godard
William Swetland	...	Charbonnet
Mary-Robin Redd	...	Helene
William Paul Burns	...	Gary Whitman (as William Burns)
Lou Wagner	...	Chet
Don Keefer	...	Peter
Barbara Coleman	...	Art Tour Guide
Becki Davis	...	Betty
Tom Alden	...	Bob
Charles Keel	...	Pharmacist
Carol Sutton	...	Perfume Lady
Vanessa Hutchinson	...	Marie Laveau
Warren Kenner	...	Surrey Driver
Kuumba Williams	...	Nurse Spence

Storyline

A newlywed couple check into an old hotel, and soon the wife finds herself having hallucinations and wandering the halls aimlessly. It seems a voodoo priestess has placed a curse on her in order to steal her soul. A mysterious doctor attempts to help her, but the couple has their suspicions about him also.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | couple | curse | voodoo | honeymoon | 

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Taglines:

The nightmare image that will possess you forever!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Marianne

Filming Locations:

Louisiana, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Systems, Southern Cinema Ventures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Noel Black's Mirrors

Kitty Winn, of "Panic in Needle Park" and the first two "Exorcist"

films learned a lesson after she made this film in 1978...she did

not make another.

Winn and her husband are vacationing in voodoo saturated New

Orleans. The staff of the small hotel they stay at already know this,

and proceed to put an ancient voodoo priestess' curse on her.

Now whenever Winn goes to sleep, she sees people she knows

die, and her dreams are tied into the myriad of mirrors that seem

to be everywhere. After an acquaintance walks through a mirror

and dies, Winn's asthmatic husband dies also. This is where the

film gets bad. Winn is taken to the hospital, where she meets

doctor Peter Donat. He takes a keen interest in her, and lets her

stay in the Big Easy to tie up affairs and get her husband back

home to Illinois. She also keeps running into staff from that hotel,

in addition to other assorted odd business owners from that area.

One too many times, she walks in on conversations that seem to

involve her, until finally she gets on the train out of Louisiana. She

stops in a small town, at an abandoned train station (the film's

scariest scene), and the doctor comes to get her. As she visits the

hotel again, she begins to see that none of this is in her mind, that

these people are trying to get her, and...the film ends.

I like a good ambiguous ending as much as the next guy, but this

thing ended as if they had run out of money. There is no payoff

scene, no climax, and really no explanation for what happened to

Winn during the film. The film makers try to keep you guessing

about whether everything is in her imagination, or being staged by

the local voodoo worshippers, but as a viewer we know it's the

voodoo people (the writers say so). This leaves almost an hour

and a half of Winn walking around rooms in a sleepless stupor,

covering mirrors and muttering to herself.

Black's direction is okay, as I said, the abandoned train station

scene is creepy, but technically the film is inept. The entire film is

dubbed later. There are no natural sounds on the film, and to save

on budget, many scenes involve the camera pointing to one

person while another character is talking. Irritating after the first five

minutes. Winn is okay, but her character is almost unplayable

because she is so "mysterious" she has no notable characteristics. Donat as the doc is probably in on the conspiracy

too, but we never really know for sure.

The musical score is fine, but this film is rated (PG), and never

really lets loose in the scare or gore departments. Ray Bradbury is

credited on here as a "creative consultant," whatever that means,

but none of his genius is evident.

By the time the second half started, and we had to visit Winn's

dreams for the hundredth time, the film lost me. With all the broken

mirrors in this thing, seven years bad luck is light punishment for

the producers. I cannot recommend this.

This is rated (PG) for some physical violence and some adult

situations.