The Eye: A Herança

I remember a while back someone suggesting to me to go see this film, and although it took me a while, I'm glad I finally saw it. Overall I kinda liked the general look of the film. It didn't really have that creepy, "somethings going to jump out at you any second during the entire film" vibe that The Ring, Ringu and The Grudge had, which was actually a nice change because when those "fright" scenes happened the creepiness was actually increased quite a bit. I love the actors chosen too, especially the lead. She did a terrific job and didn't annoy me at all in the film. I have to admit to a few "cheesy" spots throughout it, but for what was lacking in the script was made up for in the direction. 7/10

Wong Kar Mun went blind at the age of two, 18 years later she undergoes a cornea transplant that appears to be a success. Unfortunately that success comes with a terrifying side-effect; the ability to see unhappy ghosts.

Gin Gwai (The Eye) is directed by the Pang brothers Oxide and Danny and stars Angelica Lee (Mun) and Lawrence Chou (Dr.Wah) as the two main principals.

No matter what source of reference you use for film reviews, one thing that can be guaranteed as regards Gin Gwai is how divided people are on it. One of the few things that most tend to agree on though is that it's visual flourishes are nothing short of fantastic. And they are. Blended with the editing, music, sound, camera-work and the effects, it therefore fuels the fire of those calling it style over substance. It's also fair to drop onside with those folk decrying the over familiarity with its central themes. If you have seen Irvin Kershner's The Eyes Of Laura Mars, Michael Apted's Blink and M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, well you wont be watching anything thematically new here. But the Pang brothers have crafted a thoroughly engrossing, menacing and nerve gnawer of a film, one that delivers chills and scares for the discerning horror sub-genre fan.

Here's the crux of the matter with Gin Gwai, it is the opposite side of the Asian horror coin to the likes of the blood letting Audition. This is pure and simply for those not in need of murder death kill to fulfil their horror needs. I was creeped out immensely by this film because the ghost and supernatural side of horror is what really works for me, as long as it is done effectively. To which Gin Gwai most assuredly is. The various scenes shift from ethereal unease to hold your breath terror, from classrooms to lifts, to hospital wards, the brothers Pang, with beautiful technical expertise, held me over a precipice of dread. Even the opening credits are inventive and have the ability to send a cautionary shiver down ones spine. There's a barely formed, and pointless, romantic angle that marks it down a point, but as the blistering (literally) last quarter assaults the senses and so does the time for reflection arrive. Gin Gwai ends up being one of this decades best horror pictures. Well to me at least. 9/10

This is a good little Asian horror film that I would definitely recommend renting or even buying, if you like foreign films. A young blind woman receives a cornea transplant and soon finds out that she got way more than she bargained for when she starts being visited by some very unhappy dead souls. It's not very original, true, but the acting is good, the lead character (played by Angelica Lee, is that her name?) is adorable, as is the little girl who plays Ying Ying; there is some serious tension and dread here, especially in the first half hour. The scene in the hospital hallway had my skin trying to crawl off my body, as well as the "Why are you sitting in my chair?" scene. We're talking serious chills. Some of the music IS a bit cheesy and over the top, but hey, you can't have everything, right? The scenes where we see through Mun's eyes in the first few minutes are very effective; we know someone is standing there, we just don't know who it is, and we feel her fear and uncertainty. Not the best movie ever made, but it's definitely worth seeing.

Before I close, I would like to respond to the attitude expressed here by some people that American films are all stupid, and that American filmgoers are all drooling idiots who have to see a throat slashed every few minutes in order to be engaged by a movie. When you make comments like that, you really show how ignorant you are when it comes to American cinema, as some of the finest movies ever made came right out of Hollywood, and no they aren't all slasher films or mindless teen comedies. But then I'm sure you folks already know that, you just want to feel intellectually superior to others. I enjoy a good foreign film, and so do many Americans, but just because they're foreign doesn't mean they're perfect. They have flaws just like any other human effort, so please get over yourselves and try to watch movies with an open mind, because you'll enjoy them much more that way. That's just my two cents.

Watch this movie, it's good.

For the most part, "The Eye" is a competent effort from HK cinema. While most HK films nowadays involve big pop stars in pointless romantic comedies, this film (and also Infernal Affairs) show that there are still talented filmmakers in HK.

The story is about a blind girl named Mun getting a cornea transplant. When she gets her vision back, she begins seeing supernatural beings (ghosts, to be precise). For the first half of the story, we see her experiencing all these haunting encounters. One notable scene is in an elevator. The mystery and creepiness in this first half is incredibly effective and well-made.

The same cannot be said about the second half though. Like "The Ring" (or "Ringu"), Mun travels to Thailand to figure out the origin of the owner of her cornea. What starts out as a supernatural thriller turns into a mystery.

The film seems to be a mix of "The Sixth Sense", "Ringu", and a touch of "Final Destination." The switch of style in the middle and toward the end is somewhat annoying. The ending is an effort of the directors to show that they can do big CGI action sequences too. But, this film would have been good enough to stand on its own without that.

The acting is pretty good. Angelica Lee as Mun is very believable. The same cannot be said about the doctor though. I think this is mostly because his character's motivations are not convincing enough. Why does he give up his whole career to travel all the way to Thailand to help her after meeting her for a few times only? For love? Probably...but I don't buy it at all.

Overall, this film is pretty good. It is a nice effort from promising directors.

Even the website of this movie gave me the creeps. And it turned out to be one of the scariest movies I've seen in a while.

We follow the touching story of a young Hong Kong girl, blind from her earliest years, who undergoes a cornea transplant. After softening us up with lots of nice sentiment, the horror kicks her new found sight brings its own macabre rewards. Snappy editing and a well-timed score heighten the horrors that pack nanchuka punches to the guts. About a third of the audience was cowering behind their hands for the last half. In an age when American horror flicks are starting to look weary from over-use of CGI special effects or are toned down by self-censorship to reach a wider audience, The Eye comes in as a deftly woven real cardiac-stimulation shocker.

Sadly, the fact that it is subtitled limits the potential audience as many people simply refuse to go and see foreign language films until they have been genuinely moved or terrified by one. If you like horror movies and want to experiment, this is a good chance, and one of the best in the genre since the little shown Audition earlier this year.