Reflections, whether on glass, mirror, or water, have always, from Narcissus to Poltergeist, had confrontational, psychological, existential and inherently uncanny undertones for what they might (or might not) show us and what that might stir up inside of us. A mirror, or a reflective surface in the broader sense (a television screen, a photographic lens, a camera's eye, a celluloid film, etc.), shows the bare truth - and yet it is impossible for us to touch, smell, hear or taste that truth. We can only see it. So on the one hand it has the claim of reliability, but on the other hand it lacks depth. There is a conflict there, which, of course, provides perfect fodder for the horror imagination. It is not our world, thus it must be a different one. It is illusion through and through and yet tells us so much about ourselves and our fears; vanity, introspection, evil twins, parallel universes, the future... What's not to like in that, from a horror fan's point of...
reviewing freaky books and movies