Mirror Man, the third entry in the Chiller horror anthology series, is a tense study of a troubled young man, Gary (John Simm), who struggles to regain control of his life from the malign influence of his dark alter ego Michael (Paul Reynolds).
Former mental-health patient Gary has attempted to extricate himself from the attentions of the social services by squatting in a derelict church where his social worker, Wendy (Anna Keaveney), had previously arranged a caretaker job for him.
Wendy, concerned about Gary’s welfare, tracks him down at the church where she is horrified by his living conditions. She questions whether Michael, an imaginary friend spawned by Gary’s mental illness, is still affecting him. Gary denies he has seen him.
Unfortunately, this exchange seals Wendy’s fate. Michael, who appears to Gary immediately upon Wendy’s departure, clearly holds sway over him and will brook no interference in their relationship. It is not long until Gary is stalking Wendy as she makes her way home from work and despatching her beneath the wheels of an oncoming lorry.
It soon becomes apparent this homicidal behaviour is part of a pattern, graphically demonstrated when Michael directs Gary to deal violently with a homeless couple who unwisely enter the church seeking shelter.
Anna takes up Gary’s case
The deceased Wendy is swiftly replaced by workaholic colleague Anna (Phyllis Logan). Like Gary, Anna is an outsider of sorts, estranged from her previous boyfriend, police officer Johnny (Mark Arden), and obsessive over her hefty caseload. Picking up Wendy’s files, she resolves to find Gary and take up his case.
Anna eventually arrives at the church but, when they meet, Gary pretends to be someone else and claims to have been only vaguely acquainted with the man she is searching for. It is obvious that he is attracted to Anna.
Events begin to escalate as Gary becomes dangerously fixated on Anna to the chagrin of the Michael persona. This eventually spirals into a desperate kidnap situation where Johnny races to locate his former partner before she comes to harm at the hands of the disturbed killer.
Is Mirror Man worth watching?
Mirror Man is an immediate step up in quality from the previous two entries, both in pacing and storyline.
John Simm is superb as the tormented Gary, producing an exemplary performance as a man warring with his darker instincts which never veers into the melodramatic. He brings a genuine vulnerability to the part and, despite his murderous activities, still manages to elicit a level of sympathy for the young outcast who, never having known love, clings to the questionable friendship of his own personal demon rather than face life alone.
Lawrence Gordon Clark directs Stephen Gallagher’s story with the aplomb he regularly demonstrated during his A Ghost Story for Christmas tenure. Although this is very much a contemporary piece, there are some wonderfully Gothic elements that would not appear out of place in an episode of AGSFC. The opening shot is of the dilapidated church, framed against a stark grey sky, and immediately conjures up the feel of a classic ghost story.
The ruined interior of the building, complete with its shadowy crypt, would fit comfortably into a Hammer film, with one of the ill-starred vagrants even referring to it as “straight out of Dracula”. This backdrop proves an interesting juxtaposition to the modernity of the story’s setting and makes a sinister lair from which Gary emerges to engage in his deadly actions at the behest of the monstrous Michael.
Mirror Man is a brave production, tackling the sensitive issues of mental health and the strain on the under-resourced and underappreciated social services. Furthermore, it is a satisfying thriller which will keep the viewer hooked until its denouement.
Chiller (1995) episode reviews
- Episode 1: Prophecy
- Episode 2: Toby
- Episode 3: Here Comes the Mirror Man — this review
- Episode 4: The Man Who Didn’t Believe in Ghosts — coming soon
- Episode 5: Number Six — coming soon
