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- From creepy children's dolls to crazed dogs and possessed cars, horror movies have always been ambitious when it comes to sourcing their scares. Mirrors can be just as effective, sometimes showing more than a mere reflection. Whether they're about curses, urban myths, or portals to alternate realities, there are a surprising amount of horror movies about mirrors that work as genuinely scary films perfect for the spooky season.
From the harrowing anxiety audiences get whenever a medicine cabinet is opened to the superstitious fear linked to urban myths and curses, mirrors in horror cinema are expertly used to set audiences on edge and deliver genuine scares. Mirrors in storytelling can often be used to symbolize vanity or a sinister other self, depict eerie gateways into alternate realities, or can simply be used to hint at possession or a mounting evil lurking in plain sight.
Whatever evil they may represent, mirrors, even more than dolls and clowns, are among the creepiest symbols of evil in horror films. Horror then takes this uneasy feeling and fleshes it out into tales that millions of people all over the world may come to dread. From trapped souls to nightmares, evil monsters emerging from the mirror, scary reflections, and vengeful mirrors, films such as Oculus, Dark Mirror, and Mirrors, among others, have done an excellent job of instilling fear of mirrors in the hearts of many.
Updated on October 30, 2023, by Ryan Heffernan:
From creepy children's dolls to crazed dogs and possessed cars, horror movies have always been ambitious when it comes to sourcing their scares. Mirrors can be just as effective, sometimes showing more than a mere reflection. Whether they're about curses, urban myths, or portals to alternate realities, there are a surprising amount of horror movies about mirrors that work as genuinely scary films perfect for the spooky season.
'Mirrors' (2008)
Director: Alexandre Aja
Mirrors follows an ex-cop, Carson (Kiefer Sutherland) and his family as they become targets of an evil force that uses mirrors to gain entrance into the real world. As his family begins to see some odd reflections of themselves in the mirror, Carson realizes he needs to do something to save his family.
The savagery of these haunted mirrors imposes itself upon viewers from the opening scene, followed by other grisly deaths and several other disturbing scenes that heighten the fear and panic. The jaw-ripping scene is sure to stick with many for a long time and make them wary of looking in the mirror. With its ominous tone, iconic imagery, and well-executed plot, Mirrors is an underrated horror film from the 2000s that upholds the creepy legend of horror mirrors.
'Bloody Mary' (2006)
Director: Richard Valentine
Bloody Mary is one of the most famous urban legends, so it is somewhat surprising that a slasher film about the notorious and deadly ghost didn't gain more traction when it was released in 2006. Bloody Mary follows an innocent game of Bloody Mary played among the nurses of a psychiatric facility that unleashes a malevolent spirit, prompting the sister of one of her victims to investigate.
While the film probably tackled more ambitious twists than it needed to, resulting in a confusing and underwhelming ending, it still serves as a fine example of how effective mirrors can be in horror narratives. Bloody Mary utilizes good sound design and stellar ghostly effects to be an effective ghost horror movie, if not an entirely unforgettable one.
'Dark Mirror' (2007)
Director: Pablo Proenza
As a relatively low-budget horror from the 2000s, Dark Mirror outperformed expectations with intriguing ideas tied to Chinese legends about the spirits of the dead and how they can be held within glass surfaces. The film follows a photographer and her family as they move into a new house with a dark history tied to a renowned artist and his family who mysteriously disappeared.
There isn't much in the way of blood to enrich the horror on display, but the film's creepy use of mirrors and the teasing of an alternate and deadly world trapped within them is effectively chilling. The jumpy moments when disturbing reflections appear are adequately striking, but the movie finds its best strength in its enticing exploration of a refreshing idea of haunted house horror.
'Look Away' (2018)
Director: Assaf Bernstein
A Canadian psychological thriller, Look Away is an interesting blend of twisted reflections and adolescent angst following a high schooler whose life is uprooted when her evil mirror image takes over her life. Maria (India Eisley) is a timid student and a bullied outcast at her school. When she swaps places with Airam, her sinister, more assertive and manipulative mirror self's attitude soon reaps deadly rewards.
Look Away has interesting ideas about identity and deftly molds them into a horror narrative rife with revenge antics and engulfing mystery. While it probably didn't lean into those thematic ideas with the conviction many would have liked, it still boasts an intriguing and rewarding story that features a disorienting use of mirrors as its central element.
'The Broken' (2008)
Director: Sean Ellis
The Broken was a British-French film that used the central idea of ominous dopplegängers and a growing mystery to serve as an enticing psychological thriller. Coasting by on a starring performance from Lena Headey, it focuses on a radiologist who sees someone identical to her driving in the street, prompting her to follow the dopplegänger only to have her life upended when she is involved in a serious car accident while in pursuit.
The mayhem on display starts at a family dinner party where a mirror smashes, setting Gina (Headey) on a turbulent and unsettling trajectory as she desperately tries to discern reality from nightmarish fantasy. Leaning heavily into the urban myth surrounding the curse of breaking mirrors, The Broken plays gleefully on superstition to unnerving effect.
'The Hole in the Ground' (2019)
Director: Lee Cronin
While it did become something of a critical darling upon release, The Hole in the Ground was largely and sadly overlooked. Playing with common paternal fears and anxieties with excellent results, it follows a single mother disturbed by her son's strange and disturbing behavior before she meets an old woman who advises her the boy is not her son.
While the story hits some interesting beats along the way and isn't afraid to go for some ambitious twists, The Hole in the Ground's real brilliance lies within its gripping and deeply uneasy execution. There is one scene in particular where Sarah (Seána Kerslake) sees a reflection of her son in a mirror, leading her to realize the child has been taken by a monster. The scare is sharp and effective and serves as one of the more striking moments in the film.
'Oculus' (2013)
Director: Mike Flanagan
A breakout success from now-famed horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan, Oculus thrived as an eerie and haunting horror film that opted to work with a dread-induced atmosphere instead of blood and gore. This approach, combined with an impressive directorial display from Flanagan, saw the film become a festival circuit favorite as well as a rewardingly tense viewing for horror fans.
It focuses on two siblings who, still struggling with the violent death of their parents when they were children, return to their childhood home to destroy the cursed antique mirror they believe is responsible for the deaths, only to be embroiled in a fight for their lives. With some great and original ideas, which included casting the mirror itself as the villain, Oculus offers a pleasant surprise for horror lovers.
'Candyman' (1992)
Director: Bernard Rose
With a loose basis on the Bloody Mary legend, Candyman is a refreshing and criminally underrated slasher flick that uses mirrors to the maximum horror effect. It follows a graduate student researching a myth about a murderous soul who ends up unleashing the Candyman (Tony Todd) - a terrifying, hook-handed demonic figure - into the world with devastating consequences.
The malevolent spirit is brought forth when someone says "Candyman" in the mirror five times, with the titular villain killing all who summon him. Candyman was followed by several movies, largely thanks to its now-iconic villain. However, the film itself is quite stellar and an early example of elevated horror. Indeed, Candyman received high praise for its slasher thrills and its ability to address racial issues in America.
'Poltergeist' (1982)
Director: Tobe Hooper
A host of evil spirits plague a young family. At first, they seem like playful children, but soon, they take a nasty turn and begin to horrify the family. When they finally kidnap the youngest daughter, the family recruits a parapsychologist to assist them in a dangerous rescue mission.
Even after 43 years, Poltergeist remains one of the most revered horror films because of its exceptional acting, superb dialogue, supernatural scares, and superb special effects. The Steven Spielberg influence only adds to its timeless allure. The scene in which the paranormal investigator, Marty (Martin Casella), peels his skin off is one of the goriest scenes in horror film history and is still regarded by many as the most effective use of mirrors in cinema.
'Us' (2009)
Director: Jordan Peele
A true gem of modern horror, Us saw breakout horror maestro Jordan Peele give fans a genuinely chilling horror film that blended home invasion horror with potent social commentary. The terrifying story follows Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o) and her family as they go on a coastal vacation, where they find themselves being attacked by a mob of deranged dopplegängers.
The film reveals that the lookalikes, known as "the Tethered," are the byproduct of a government experiment gone awry and abandoned to live in underground tunnels. The film's opening, which featured a pivotal attack in a carnival's house of mirrors, is imbued with a visceral terror that sticks with the viewer throughout the film and may even linger long after. Thrilling and offering a stellar showcase for Nyong'o, Us is among the most intelligent and gripping modern horror movies, cementing Peele as a once-in-a-generation talent.