The Eye (2003)

DVD

The difficulty with success is that it inspires imitation, which is, of course, one of the finer trappings of Hollywood in these current days. And while this approach is apparent in almost every genre, it's in the dark hallways of horror where all the ghosts begin to look alike.

Thankfully, however, last year gave us the truly disturbing and surprisingly effective horror remake, The Ring, based on the successful Japanese classic, Ringu, which, left alone, might well have made its mark and moved on. But the success of the American version led to an unforeseen demand for the Japanese original, the consequence of which was an attempt on the part of several American distributors to introduce select over-seas horror films to the larger American market.

And thus we have The Eye, the latest horrific thriller from the Thai-born Pang Brothers, and a film brimming in atmosphere where it lacks in originality.

Recovering from a complicated corneal transplant, a newly-sighted Hong Kong woman is adjusting to the newfound gift of sight, experiencing the delights of color and shape since first losing her vision at the small age of two. And this, really, is about as much set-up as seems to be required, as the Pang Brothers move quickly into the ghostly imagery that soon comes to haunt the troubled character of Mun. At first, the seemingly transparent shapes shuffling through the corridors of the hospital seem like people, and for all she knows then, they are. But it quickly becomes evident as her eyes perfect their vision that the shapes aren't people at allmerely ghosts, apparitions, portents of a death close in coming. And after a plot-less, though visually stunning, first hour, the finely designed clichש is anything bust ghostly.

Mun sees dead people.

All of which makes The Eye a difficult film to review, as the Pang Brothers are relentless in their imagery, throwing visual-after-creepy-visual at the audience in an effective onslaught of jumps and starts, sending each chill directly to its mark and raising each hair to the fullest of its height. Except that the story here is little more than an afterthought, something to be tolerated on our way to an obligatory and tacked-on ending, and the buildup, for all its horrific success, simply isn't worth the failure of the film as a whole.

The special features on the DVD are frighteningly non-existant and much like ghosts themselves, ranging roughly from little to less, with only the theatrical trailer and its neighboring TV spot to entertain us beyond the film.

Overall, The Eye is a second-rate DVD experience, with an average presentation of a fairly average horror film. To be commended in places, though certainly not in others, the film scares, unfortunately, on more levels than one.