Mirrors are more than just everyday items made of silver and glass in the aptly titled horror film "Mirrors." They're sinister, otherworldly portals full of evil sprits that manipulate the unlucky chosen -- to great visual effect.

"Mirrors"

Three stars

Thriller starring Kiefer Sutherland, Amy Smart and Paula Patton.

107 minutes.

Rated R for strong violence, disturbing images, language and brief nudity.

Opened Friday in area theaters.

In this remake of the Korean film "Into the Mirror," Kiefer Sutherland -- as Ben Carson, a disgraced NYPD cop -- does battle with demons, personal and otherwise. He takes a job as the night watchman at the burned-out Mayflower department store (in reality, a foreboding Communist-era structure in Romania, where most of the film was shot).

It's a hellish version of the British comedy "Are You Being Served?" set ravaged by fire and neglect, complete with charred mannequins but pristine mirrors concocted by director Alexandre Aja ("The Hills Have Eyes").

This raises a couple questions: Why does a derelict, boarded-up department store need a night watchman? Does the former AM&A's downtown have one? More importantly, how could a prime piece of downtown Manhattan real estate sit vacant for five years? The proffered excuse is a drawn-out legal and insurance battle. Maybe in Buffalo, but in the heart of New York City, there's money to be made and all parties would agree on that.

From Day One of his new job, Carson gets sucked into the site's nefarious history -- from the deadly fire set by his predecessor to its earlier use as an experimental psychiatric hospital. The movie's "Rosebud" is the elusive and cryptic "Esseker," which puts Sutherland in true Jack Bauer-mode as he uses his rusty police officer instincts to piece together the puzzle that will save him and his family.

Carson's bartender sister (Amy Smart) -- whose only purpose seems to be fodder for the film's most genuinely shocking scene -- and estranged wife (Paula Patton) play the initial doubters.

Carson isn't targeted by the spirits because he's vain or self-centered a la "Mirror, mirror, on the wall..." Nor is it because of the controversy surrounding his departure from the force. (Which brings up another question: Why does he keep newspaper clippings of the worst period in his life that drove him to drink and alienate his family? Does he plan on trying to redeem himself and his career? This is not explored.)

He has no connection to the property like Jack Torrance did in "The Shining." Rather, he's the unlucky mark of restless demons. And it's a genuinely eerie path they put him on.