The eye 2 - renaissances

While not as intense and emotionally involving as the original Jian Gui, this sequel still provides some interesting ideas about life after death...and life before birth.

Mentally fragile Joey, suffering from a recent break up with her boyfriend, makes yet another suicide attempt. As consciousness fades away, she glimpses shadowy figures gathered around her bedside. Once her stomach is pumped and she makes a full recovery, Joey realizes she is pregnant. As the pregnancy progresses, Joey begins seeing ghosts. They're in taxi cabs, falling off of rooftops and hanging around elevators. They seem particularly interested in the pregnant women that now surround Joey in her everyday activities. One in particular, the ghost of a sorrowful young woman, seems determined to keep Joey from harm, preventing further suicide attempts and even viciously attacking a would-be rapist. Joey realizes that the ghost was once the wife of the man Joey was having an affair with, and who is now the father of her unborn baby. But is it revenge the ghost wants, or something else entirely?

This film lacks some of the scares that the first one provided quite well and moves along rather slowly, but it is by no means a bad movie at all. Its ideas about the dead and the unborn are quite intriguing and the film, much like the first one, proves to be an uplifting experience. The performances are all excellent and the story quite intelligent. A scary scene in a taxi cab with a Ringu- ish ghost is especially tense and worth the wait.

I much prefer the original Jian Gui, but this one is a worthy effort. Fans of the genre shouldn't miss it.

I am trying to find something positive I can say about this movie...Shu Qi is still cute (except when she is vomiting)...some scenes were laughable to the point of hilarity...suicide -is- a way out, apparently (which by the way, in spite of what the film's producers may think, is actually contrary to Buddhist teachings)....

Alright, I give up. How badly starved for entertainment would one have to be in order to find this film 'entertaining'? Most of the fanboy reviews here come across as being written by people who are discovering horror films for the first time. The film pilfers everything from a range of predecessors (The Sixth Sense, The Grudge, The Tenant), but reassembles them in the most convoluted fashion. This film could have been funny, but I get the feeling that script writers took their brain fart too seriously. As a jab against Buddhism, this probably would work to offend (I don't know, since I am not a Buddhist). So, one star for at least managing to accomplish something. The other star is for Shu Qi.

Ratjng: * * * *

Synopsis: Joey is unlucky in love. After her third relationship comes to an abrupt end she attempts suicide. But this brush with the other side has left with the ability to see things that a person isn't supposed to see. After she finds out she is pregnant she tries to put her life back in order she finds that she is being menaced by one of the various spirits she now sees. She must save her baby from the spirit at all costs.

Review: This sequel to the highly successful creepy 2002 original stars Shu Qi as the lead Joey. This time around the scares are lessened as the narrative of this sad woman takes center stage. Very good acting across the board lends emotion to the story and at times helps drop your guard long enough to nail you with a good jump. The scares are often creepy little set pieces that add to the overall somber atmosphere of the film. The script incorporates many different elements including suicide, broken hearts and a little reincarnation for good measure. Well written you feel for the Joey character as her life goes to pieces. The Pang Brothers turn out another outstanding chiller full of emotion and chills, two combinations hardly seen together. The look of the film is awesome with a colorful look at times and a drab menacing look when needed. What is this thing that the Pang Brothers have with elevators? The music is very good and frames most of the scares in a usual fashion. A very bassy and cello heavy sound mix run through out the film and lends itself to the atmosphere. Overall a very worth continuation but I had a minor complaint with the ending; it kind of got away but was made up by the cool final scene.

After a failed suicide attempt, a pregnant young woman, Joey, begins seeing some not-so-benign spirits. She learns that to find answers, she must dig into the past of her ex-boyfriend—and father of her unborn child. This sequel to the 2002 film "The Eye", plot-wise, is unrelated, though much of the original's crew has returned, including the Pang Bros. Directing and Jo Jo Yuet-chun Hui penning the script. The story line has little to do with the title (it may have been better marketed as an unrelated film) but the story itself offers enough twists, turns and red herrings—some of which I didn't see coming—to keep things interesting and often exciting. While the ghosts in the original were mostly creepy-looking, the ones here tended to lean more towards the gory end of the spectrum, the best scene involving a VERY realistic depiction of what happens to one's body after falling from the top of the building. Qi Shu makes a very strong lead, and all the other actors were fine as well, but for some reason the first quarter or so of the film is spoken primarily in English, perhaps to cash in on the overseas market (?). My biggest complaint is the fact that the film can often be laugh-out-loud cheesy. *SPOILER* for example, when Joey jumps from the top-story of a building, twice, are we really supposed to believe she's in good enough physical health afterwards to deliver an infant!?!?!? Come on, give me a break…

Still, it's worth checking out if you like Asian horror. It's inferior to the original, as sequels often are, but it's an interesting film nonetheless.

5.5/10.

Danny and Oxide Pang follow-up their 2002 horror movie with this non-related sequel. It's not as effective as the original, but still has a few scenes worth watching for.

Joey Cheng (Shu Qi, who you might recognize from her terrible performance from Transporter) is a young, pregnant woman who attempts suicide, and fails, only to obtain the ability to see ghosts. There's no plot though. Some of the ghosts seem cursory and are never fully explained. They're weird and visible just for the sake of it, with no explanation. There's a slight mystery involving the woman Joey sees lurking in the train station which leads to sweet ending, but it's not really enough to sustain a 95-minute running time.

It falls short of the Eye, though there are a couple of tense moments and it's not completely dissatisfying.