The Eye Year: 2002 Director: Oxide Pang, Danny Pang Written by: Oxide Pang, Danny Pang Threat: Ghosts Weapon of Choice: Fire Based upon: none Color/B&W/3D: Colour Language: Cantonese Country of Origin: China IMDb page:

Other movies in this series:
The Eye 2
The Eye 3
The Eye 10

The tyranist's thoughts
I hadn't heard of this one until Rish mentioned it on one of my sojourns to visit him. We never watched it then, but I kept an eye out for it and managed to snag it recently. I had thought it was Japanese, but as it's directed by the Pang brothers and features so many Chinese actors, it has to be from Hong Kong. Now I love Hong Kong cinema as much or more than the next person, but I haven't had the chance to watch much horror from there. In fact, I think this is the first Chinese film we've reviewed.
A young woman who has been blind since the age of two receives a transplant and thus her sight back. But from the beginning she sees things that aren't quite right. Visions of a room that isn't there and people that are dead. Desperate to understand, she enlists the help of her ocular therapist to find out where the eyes came from and why she is seeing what she sees.
I wanted to really like this one, but ended up finding it to be pretty mediocre bordering on bad. The premise is fantastic and we've seen a number of similarly themed films before, but this one ultimately falls apart for similar reasons to The Messengers and ends up seeming like a pale rip-off of The Sixth Sense (which I need to see again, it's been years). The acting is adequate and some of the visions are truly scary, but as the characters move closer to the truth, there is a shift in tone and in the threat and the scares lessen. And really, that's all the movie had going for it.
The more I think about it, the more I'm sure that this was pitched as a Hong Kong Sixth Sense. I have to give credit to Rish for planting that seed for me. They should have left well enough alone though. After all, there was nothing wrong with the American Sixth Sense. We see the opposite of this a lot with foreign films being translated for American audiences, especially recently Oriental horror films. There is an American remake planned for The Eye coming out later this year. And how could that possibly be good? A translation of a translation. Well, at least it will have Jessica Alba in it and that will make it easier to watch.
But it shouldn't be necessary. Are we so stupid that we can't watch a foreign film in its original language and still appreciate it? Maybe stupid is the wrong word. Lazy is probably better. But the argument is the same. And, granted, there will be cultural differences that we won't pick up on, but for the most part, horror is universal and something that scares them will scare us.
Of course, I realise the futility of my argument when I've just told you that I didn't like this particular film and indicated that I'll see the American remake, even if it is just for Ms. Alba's sake. Forgive me. I get carried away. But at least I'll know whether the American remake was worth it. This wasn't a very good movie and I can't recommend it, even if you do intend to see its remake.
Posted: May 21, 2007

Rish Outfield's reviews
Wait, it was followed by three sequels . . . or nine sequels?
A few years back, my Irish friend told me the plot of The Eye and how it was very similar to the book Day of the Triffids was based on. Ever since that day, I've wanted to see this film.
But I waited so long, Hollywood has caught up with it, and according to tyranist, there's a remake with Jessica Alba in the lead all ready to come out. Weak human male that I am, I'll certainly see the remake . . . probably in its opening weekend.
I still love the premise, and while both of us couldn't help but think of The Sixth Sense, almost from beginning to end, the film has a unique look and storyline. The ghosts ranged from ho-hum to ridiculously scary. Too scary?
That reminds me that the Pang Brothers were the men who made this year's The Messengers, which produced more anger in me than the last time I was stuck in L.A. traffic (maybe the last two times). Maybe I should cut this review way short, while it's still profanity-free.
Posted: August 29, 2007

Total Skulls: 10

Sequel
Sequel setup
Rips off earlier film
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie
Future celebrity appears
Former celebrity appears
Bad title
Bad premise
Bad acting
Bad dialogue
Bad execution
MTV Editing
OTS
Girl unnecessarily gets naked
Wanton sex
Death associated with sex
Unfulfilled promise of nudity
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location
Power is cut
Phone lines are cut
Someone investigates a strange noise
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door
Camera is the killer
Victims cower in front of a window/door
Victim locks self in with killer
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls
Toilet stall scene
Shower/bath scene
Car stalls or won't start
Cat jumps out
Fake scare
Laughable scare
Stupid discovery of corpse
Dream sequence
Hallucination/Vision
No one believes only witness
Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth
Warning goes unheeded
Music detracts from scene
Death in first five minutes
x years before/later
Flashback sequence
Dark and stormy night
Killer doesn't stay dead
Killer wears a mask
Killer is in closet
Killer is in car with victim
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes
Unscary villain/monster
Beheading
Blood fountain
Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc.
Poor death effect
Excessive gore
No one dies at all
Virgin survives
Geek/Nerd survives
Little kid lamely survives
Dog/Pet miraculously survives
Unresolved subplots
"It was all a dream" ending
Unbelievably happy ending
Unbelievably crappy ending
What the hell?