No genre harnesses the mystery and power of mirrors more than horror. Characters are at their most vulnerable and honest when they stand before these reflective surfaces, preening and unmasking. Yet they never consider if someone or something could be watching them from the other side of the mirror.
Hidden among a mass of direct-to-video releases in the very early ’90s was Marina Sargenti’s debut Mirror Mirror (originally titled The Black Glass), which had a limited theatrical release after premiering at Cannes. The central story begins after a flashback shows Mary Weatherworth (Traci Lee Gold) sacrificing her sister Elizabeth (Michelle Gold) in front of a mirror. In the present day, Megan Gordon (Rainbow Harvest) has moved to a small Iowa town from Los Angeles along with her mercurial mother, Susan (Karen Black). They have no idea about what happened in this house back in the 1950s, yet they do find something left behind by the past residents: the same full-length mirror from the opening scene. It somehow found its way back home after being removed by an auctioneer played by Yvonne De Carlo. The realtor, Mrs. Perfili (Ann Hearn), allows Susan to then buy the mirror for Megan, unaware of what horrible fate awaits her.
On her first day of school, Megan makes a scene by running out of class. Neither mean girl Charleen (Charlie Spradling) nor the teacher (Stephen Tobolowsky) are very welcoming to the new student. Going forward, Megan’s arrival is treated like an omen. Charleen and the rest of the school all have a visceral reaction to Megan, who looks like she stepped out of a dark-wave music video. Someone so unafraid of expressing themselves is bound to get under the skin of those who act and dress accordingly just so they can avoid standing out.
Megan’s father died a few months ago, but her grief garners no sympathy from anyone other than Charleen’s rival, Nikki (Kristin Dattilo). Mrs. Perfili nudges Nikki in Megan’s direction, and the two become fast and genuine friends in spite of their differences. Herein lies a strength of Sargenti’s film: the female relationships. Foremost is Megan and Nikki’s friendship, which admittedly echoes that of Carrie White and Sue Snell from Stephen King’s seminal coming-of-age horror, Carrie. Surface similarities aside, Nikki is less inclined than Sue to make the outcast fit in; she accepts Megan as she is. Also, Nikki’s actions are not driven by a guilty conscience. While everyone, including her boyfriend Ron (Ricky Paull Goldin), wants nothing to do with the “strange” new kid, Nikki continues to show up for Megan regardless of the growing danger involved.
Megan and her mother are polar opposites. Megan is closed off; Susan is colorful and open. The mother maintains a long-distance psychiatrist to help her through this difficult period of her life, whereas Megan bottles everything up and uses her Gothic guise as a sort of armor to keep others at bay, including her mother. Megan is constantly dressed for a funeral while Susan is dressed for life. The list goes on. However, Megan and Susan’s relationship is strained only because of their divergent reactions to Mr. Gordon’s death. Megan secretly wants her mother’s attention, and Susan resorts to other forms of healing before realizing what she needed all along was her daughter.
Karen Black’s presence might suggest Mirror Mirror is camp, but the horror icon turned in a fairly moderate performance where eccentricities manifest through wigs and fashion rather than excessive delivery of dialogue. Black’s versatility suits someone like Susan, a flighty mother who does not always ponder her daughter, yet can become warm and maternal in the blink of an eye.
As her sorrow grows, Megan seeks comfort from an unexpected source: the ominous mirror in her bedroom. The body-sized accessory is fixed and inconspicuous; naturally no one suspects it of all the bizarre murders happening around Megan. When alone with the mirror though, Megan is seduced by its power. She indeed knows the object is channeling her emotions and making her dark wishes come true, but Megan is not the villain here. She is in thrall to the mirror because it makes her feel good after what seems like a lifetime of feeling bad and ignored. Nikki also provides a similar kind of pleasure, so Megan is willing to do whatever it takes to keep both her best friend and the mirror in her life.
Megan’s sudden makeover is a manifestation of what she wants to see in the mirror rather than the timid teenager she calls ugly. To others this new change is fearsome. Charleen’s boyfriend Jeff (Tom Bresnahan) is attracted to Megan at first sight, but once she sheds her wallflower persona and is more take-charge with her sexuality, he ultimately loses interest (and his life). Susan can no longer neglect the fact that her daughter is changing, and Megan’s revamping comes as a reminder about life’s fleetingness and her own maternal responsibilities. Finally, Nikki, whose friction with Charleen partly comes from her resentment of everyone’s attraction to her, initially wants to stop this new Megan. She finds her friend’s awakening intimidating. In the end, during a bizarre conclusion that will perhaps leave viewers baffled, Nikki begs the mirror to put everything “back the way it was” because she herself is not ready for change.
The film’s proximity to that first major burst of teenage horror makes Mirror Mirror feel more at home with the likes of Christine, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II than anything coming out in or shortly after 1990. Young characters finding their way in the world while battling supernatural afflictions was a staple of ’80s horror, but the formula was less prevalent in subsequent years. Everything eventually changed down the line, and ideas deemed old-fashioned would become fresh again with a few simple tweaks and updates. It just goes to show how ahead of the curve Mirror Mirror was.
Mirror Mirror is deserving of its status as a hidden gem. Marina Sargenti’s first feature boasts a predominantly female main cast with a film crew to match, and it combines the Female Gothic with classic teen-horror elements. Both the supernatural and psychological mythologies of mirrors are explored to some degree here, with Megan’s interiority being the most ably examined by the director and the writers. Mirror Mirror is marketed as a mere revenge tale of instant wish fulfillment gone awry, but its underlying themes are also worth reflecting on.
Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.
The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.
The post Reflecting on Marina Sargenti’s Teenage Horror ‘Mirror Mirror’ [Young Blood] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.