The Eye

If you're looking for a pulse-pounding horror thriller, you won't find that here. If you're looking for a spooky ghost story, you might want to move on. If you're looking for blood & guts & body parts, don't even waste a minute of your time.

"The Eye" isn't so much a horror flick as it is a supernatural drama.

This film is a remake of the 2002 Chinese "The Eye" which I haven't seen, so I can't (and probably shouldn't) compare the two. I thought this was a nicely done film, more of an intimate character study than a scary "gotcha" flick. In that respect it's similar to "The Sixth Sense", and not just the story. Like "The Sixth Sense" which was a slow moving psychological drama that just happened to have dead people in it, "The Eye" takes a personal approach as well. And while that may bore the audience members who are expecting some screams, it ultimately results in a film with a little bit more to say than your average screamer.

Jessica Alba ("Sydney") does a great job of playing a woman who has been blind since age 5, a loner, someone who doesn't seem to have many connections with people and she likes it that way. The underlying theme is that her blindness makes her feel unique, exempt from the real world. When she regains her sight after 15 years by a corneal transplant, it's not necessarily the wonderful experience you'd expect. There's a scene when she comes back from the hospital to a surprise party, and the scene is filmed with unsettling, distorted closeups of strange faces. It perfectly expresses the confusion and claustrophobia of not just a blind person gaining her sight, but that of an introvert being forced into society. That enough could've been enough for a feature length film: how a woman deals with the "gift" of sight which she doesn't really want. But it doesn't end there. She starts seeing dead people, too.

While we never really feel like Sydney is in any deadly peril, there are a few very effective surprises which, I gotta admit, quickened my pulse a few notches. Also the "shadow men" were very creepy, and if you want to see a real shocker, check out the bonus features where we learn that the shadow men are not cgi graphics, but it's an actual dude... a sort of living skeleton who looks just as bizarre in real life than on screen.

The 2nd half of the film becomes a mystery as Sydney tries to figure out why she's getting these disturbing visions and what she's supposed to do about it. Again, no hair raising car chases or shootouts here, just a thick atmosphere of the unknown.

Like I said, I haven't seen the original Chinese film, but I can tell that the American filmmakers were trying to add a degree of backstory. In the bonus features they talk about the science of "cellular memory" (the idea that donated organs possess characteristics that are imparted to the new recipient). So I can assume that this is less of a visceral shocker (like the original?) as it is an intellectual approach. There's also the psychology bit I mentioned above. And it also touches on the idea that artists, musicians & creative thinkers are more sensitive to supernatural events (Sydney is a concert violinist). In short, "The Eye" sacrifices the raw approach of a typical action-horror flick, and instead replaces it with more of a slow-moving, scientific or "rational" approach to the supernatural.

Depending on your preference, that's a good or bad thing. I can go either way depending on my mood; once in a while I like to think, whereas other times I just want to see Freddy slice some people to ribbons. "The Eye" definitely falls on the thinking side of that scale. Other thinking horror flicks I recommend are "Exorcist III" (one of the BEST), "The Others" with Nicole Kidman, and of course "The Sixth Sense".

The infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time will eventually produce the works of Shakespeare. Coincidently, this same theory applies to the onslaught of Asian horror remakes that is stomping Hollywood into submission. If enough of these films are remade, then eventually one will be acceptable, and alas it has happened.

The Eye, starring Jessica Alba is directed by two relative first timers by the names of David Moreau and Xavier Palud, and they can certainly create a film that boasts certain elements of stylish direction. Unfortunately, along with the good, it seems that all of this style of remake fear deviation from a backbone template. Not to give anything away to those who are not familiar with Asian horror remakes, but one element that is consistent is that the basis of all the evil happenings is from a spirit looking for salvation of some sort. While The Eye, does choose to spin this cliché slightly, it is afraid to go all the way.

Suffering from total blindness after a childhood accident, young beauty Sydney Wells (Alba) is given a chance at an eye transplant that will allow her to see for the first time in decades. Not surprisingly, she begins to see things that ought not to be. Aided by an appointed shrink, played by Alessandro Nivola, they confront the visions and try to track the donor eyes back to their sinister source. This journey is bounds more intelligent then the average horror story, and the standard for dumb decisions is cleverly hidden by the fact that Sydney is fully or partially blind for most of the film. This presents a cushion of forgives per se, as her lack of sight can lead her into frightening situations, without appearing ignorant.

And there are certainly some frightening "boo" moments; uniquely accentuated by a well used pallet of sound. There are also exactly three expertly executed scenes, worthy of recognition. The first is a scene in which a blurry eyed Sydney looks into the mirror for the first time with creepy consequences; the second features a member of the un-dead accompanying her in an elevator and the third takes the form of an intervention between a mother who has recently lost her son. If The Eye had presented more scenes of this Claiborne, it certainly could have been something special. Instead, the ending descends into the mediocrity, which at first seemed more then acceptable, but took off into a sixth sense meets final destination action spin off; which although still thrilling, did not fit the tone and atmosphere of the former acts. The "blurry vision" that is used early on with some skill, is overused by the end, the flashbacks replace the more effective quick cutbacks and it simply does not hold onto its success.

This is however Alba's best performance, and although not saying much, this shows there is hope for her future acting career. While more films like The Eye would be welcome, I think it better to forfeit the Asian remakes all together, then to wait for the monkey's second draft.

Read all my reviews at: http://www.simonsaysmovies.blogspot.com

OK, so it isn't the best horror movie ever made, but it also isn't the worst.

The premise is reasonable (for a horror) and despite a few plot holes the film manages to build the suspense. Alba's acting is not exactly award winning, but she does enough to avoid you disbelieving the character.

The biggest gripe I have is that the ending is a bit of an anticlimax. After the build up (I think there should have been a bit more with the apartment residents) it just fizzled out.

Overall I wouldn't rush out to buy the DVD, but if there isn't anything else on, you could do worse.

So I haven't watched the original Eye movie by the Pang Brothers, but I guess with remakes these days, it doesn't really matter, since most of the time, the Hollywood remade version pales in comparison with the original, despite having a bigger budget, bigger stars and of course, better visual effects. And what almost always seem woeful, is the attempt to try and recreate the atmospherics for a spook fest that Asian horror had perfected, and I'm inclined to suggest that they should adapt the storyline (since there's a creative dearth of ideas), but leave the mimicking of mood at the door.

This is probably the first movie that Jessica Alba marquees, and comparisons would be abound for those who've watched the original to compare her to Angelica Lee's performance. But really, I don't think it matters, since all you need to do is to look scared. As blind violinist Sydney, Alba escapes the need to act blind given the cop out of using shades, coupled with the fact that her transplanted eyes allow for the camera to be out of focus for the most parts.

Things start to get interesting when she begins to see shadowy figures borrowed straight out of Pulse (yet another Asian horror remake), and these all get conveniently debunked by her doctor Paul (Alessandro Nivola who stars as the hopeless, formless Gavin Harris in the Goal movies), because if you're blind for so many years, your brain needs some major time out to absorb all the new sights you're constantly bombarded with. So goes as with standard horror fare, that those who can see spirits when others can't, are classified as nutcases. Alba's no scream queen as the proceedings don't allow her to exercise her lungs, and I swear there are just too many of those waking up from nightmare moments, and the clock ticking around 1:05am.

But credit is due though to the scenes which aim to frighten, and some did hit the mark even though they're the usual tools to surprise from the bag of Boo tricks. There are, to me, a major unexpected moment which I had to nod in acknowledgement of not seeing it coming (I had thought otherwise), but unfortunately, that was it. The latter half of the journey became a road trip movie which seeked answers, coupled with Hollywood's preoccupation of having to explain and show everything, leaving little to your imagination since everything was spelt out. While the story's not at fault, the way it's presented made this look like a standard mystery thriller, without the mystery, and without the thrills.

And the finale was a little lacklustre as it seemed to be styled in Final Destination fashion, making it look like it had no more rabbits to pull out of the hat. The Eye had plenty of neat visual effects, and although there are some beautiful stunts involving glass shards and the walking through of objects, special effects alone do not make a horror movie spine-chilling. Looks like there's some major sty in this eye.

I really wanted this movie to be good. Really. I think Jessica Alba is an extremely talented actress, and I had high hopes for this movie. J horror remake, interesting premise, Jessica Alba...sounds good so far.

But this movie left me disappointed in when I saw it last night. The movie relies on cheap thrills that aren't frightening to the mature moviegoer. I should have expected this, as it was rated PG-13, but the theatre full of screaming 11 year olds at every jump was quite irritating.

When it was all over, The Eye left me wanting more. The only thinking and mystery in the movie is done for you and the "science-talk" from Alba seems unrealistic. It relies on loud noises and horror movie clichés at every turn. The Eye is a definite popcorn movie. It may be entertaining for younger viewers, but if you want a deeper and more engaging story, look elsewhere.