Film Reviews

The Eye

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Alessandro Nivola
• Details: US / 98mins (15A).

Another week, another Westernised remake of an influential Asian horror, as The Pang Brothers' 2002 cult hit gets an A-list lead, and a decent budget to jolt us with. The Eye stars Alba as cheerful violinist Sydney, who undergoes a cornea transplant, having been blind since a firecracker exploded in her face as a child. Soon after the operation, Sydney starts seeing dark ethereal figures and having horrific flashbacks that aren't from her memory. Standing out from the recent flood of God-awful Asian remakes (One Missed Call, The Grudge 2) purely because it's not as God-awful as you may expect, The Eye surprisingly manages to muster up a few scares. This is down to some well-handled set-pieces and a strong sense of foreboding atmospherics from the film's helmers, who manage to transcend the absurdity of the set-up to deliver some decent chills. Sure, its Hong Kong counterpart is considerably creepier, but no less nonsensical in its flimsy narrative. Large segments of the script make little sense, and plot holes swallow up certain aspects of the already-lacking characterisation: yet it's still no better or worse than the first remake of The Ring. Some things just don't work when transferred to American cinema, especially when handled by directors who maybe don't have a solid grasp of the language, as some of the dialogue feels forced. Jessica Alba, whose stunning looks seem to perpetuate the notion that's she's a bad actress, holds her own in the Scream Queen stakes - even if she's not entirely convincing as a blind woman. There's an obvious lack of nigh on anything original here, but that was to be expected, given the fact that it's a remake. Crucially, while others have gone before it and failed (on account of not getting the fundamentals right), The Eye is a mild success because it's visually pleasing enough to draw you into scenes before removing you from your seat momentarily - something not to be sniffed at, given the current horror climate.

Review by Mike Sheridan