Six men die at exactly the same time but in different locations. One man connects their deaths. He is brought to a police secure unit for questioning.

When it comes to movies about detectives against criminals, there are three categories of the first: the foolish, blind, and opinionated detective because he is never wrong; the detective dueling with brainy criminal who doesn’t allow him to find loose ends; and, the attention-deficit detective who fails at everything and allows the criminal to get away with it. In Through A Dark Mirror (2020) we can see a case in which the three profiles are manifested in an extended way without an endpoint.

Bryan (Alexander Tol) is in custody for the simultaneous death of six people in different places whose only relationship with the alleged murderer is only that the same amount of money has been deposited in his bank account from each of the victims before allegedly dying of natural causes. . Despite having an alibi that frees him from the alleged crime, Detective Dawson (Peter Parker Mensah) believes otherwise because it is 1992 and hunches are enough to deprive an alleged culprit of his rights even with witnesses who validate his alibi. To the surprise of everyone involved in the instant case, things take an unexpected turn when while trying to discover the truth their darkest secrets of each of the present participants begin to unravel.

Through A Dark Mirror is a film that can put you in serious trouble if you are not used to stories that take place in the same space and on the same day. It is not a murder mystery that leads detectives to travel dangerous territories because it isn’t that type of film; it’s a drama that tries to infiltrate the psychological area without achieving its mission. As an independent film, the work they have done is understandable and doesn’t detract from the effort shown in the final product. However, there are many things that can be worked on in the story, such as giving a central shot to the small characteristics that demonstrate the rarity that could make this film special.

Too much time is spent developing emptiness. It presents several elements that could add value if so much sequence had not been wasted in demonstrating the egocentric views of each character with a prefabricated profile that already exists in the viewer’s subconscious like the detective who is always right, or the sidekick who idolizes his co-worker as a decorated war hero, or the doctor who loves her job over her family, or the innocent minor who for some reason was working at a secure location.

Through A Dark Mirror presents flaws in the logic of the judicial system it represents. Despite being developed in the early 90s, there are still several inconsistencies between the technology used to support the story and the fashion represented by the characters. For what it can be praised is for its smart dialogue and for carrying an elegant sequence of comebacks between Bryan against the rest of the characters. Furthermore, the same transition of the script throughout the film helps us understand the meaning of the title and who’s the representation of the dark mirror in which everyone reflects.

Through A Dark Mirror is not bad but not wonderful either. It’s the kind of movie in which you agree with the characters that seems to be the villain. But, when all the characters have secrets that make you disavow them, does that make them all into antagonists? This is the question that remains and makes us wonder how a person with poor morale, based on ethical standards, dares to judge us when they fail to recognize the errors of their nature.