The Eye (2008)

Directors:

David Moreau
Xavier Palud

Writers (WGA):

Sebastian Gutierrez (screenplay)
Jo Jo Yuet-chun Hui (2002 screenplay "Jian gui") ...

Release Date:

1 February 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

How can you believe your eyes when they're not yours?

Plot:

The remake of the Hong Kong film "Jian Gui", a woman who receives an eye transplant that allows her to see into the supernatural world.

Plot Keywords:

Eye | Seeing Dead People | Surgery | Mexico | Violinist

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Jessica Alba	...	Sydney Wells
Alessandro Nivola	...	Dr. Paul Faulkner
Parker Posey	...	Helen Wells
Rade Serbedzija	...	Simon McCullough
Fernanda Romero	...	Ana Christina Martinez
Rachel Ticotin	...	Rosa Martinez
Obba Babatundé	...	Dr. Haskins
Danny Mora	...	Miguel
Chloe Moretz	...	Alicia (as Chloë Grace Moretz)
Brett A. Haworth	...	Shadowman
Kevin K.	...	Tomi Cheung
Tamlyn Tomita	...	Mrs. Cheung
Esodie Geiger	...	Nurse
Karen Austin	...	Mrs. Hillman
Ryan J. Pezdirc	...	Nurse Room Attendant

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence/terror and disturbing content.

Runtime:

98 min | Turkey:92 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44048) | Singapore:PG | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Malaysia:U | Australia:M | Ireland:15A | Hong Kong:IIB | Finland:K-15 | Taiwan:R-12 | Italy:T | Norway:15 | South Korea:15 | Germany:16 | Brazil:14 | France:U (with warning)

Filming Locations:

7th Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lionsgate

Trivia:

While the supernatural elements of the film are pure fiction, the basic idea behind the concept isn't and is based on the real phenomenon of "cellular memory".

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Sydney and Paul walk over to the Mexican child to ask him about the fire, in the shot of Paul talking to him, you can clearly see the cameraman's shadow cast on the ground to the right.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Teen on Skateboard: Oh shit! Thanks, I didn't see that.
Sydney Wells: Neither did I.
Sydney Wells: [voice-over while Sydney walks in the street and settles in a café] People say seeing is believing, but for me, that's not entirely true. I lost my sight when I was five years old. Those memories of what I have seen have faded so much that I doubt I'd even recognize myself anymore. Now I see using my other senses. I can smell the rain before it drops, but I can't watch it fall. I can feel the sun on my face, but I can't see it rise or set. I want to see the world like everyone else, to see the sun, the rain, the music. Oh I bet music looks beautiful.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The International (2009/I)

Soundtrack:

Purple Bamboo

A review by someone who hasn't seen the original.

Since everyone who has seen this movie has seen the original (and upon reading the reviews here in IMDb I can safely say, everyone), I on the other hand haven't. Why you ask? I'm just tired of Asian Horror, it's always more of the same. After viewing this awfully boring remake, all I can say is that I will go to the local video store and rent the Pang Brothers version, and since this is a half-assed remake, I doubt that they changed anything from the original story, which was the only thing that kept me from feeding this pile of dung a lower score.

So, David Moreau and Xavier Palud decided to go mainstream huh?. It seems talented directors have to go and make movies in Hollywood nowadays, its sort of becoming a routine. Oliver Hirschbiegel did Downfall, which is a masterpiece, and then he went on to direct The Invasion, which was an incredibly mediocre update to a classic. Eric Vallete directed Malefique, one of the best horror films to ever come out of France, and then he went on to direct a remake of Takashi Miike's crappy One Missed Call, which had an even worse result. Hell, even Hideo Nakata remade his own sequel to the Ring, which was horrible, so the list goes on and on.

If this is Jessica Alba's best performance, then I don't want to see her worst. Horrendous acting, beating even Ben Affleck for the prestigious "Worst representation of a blind person captured on screen" award. She delivers her lines so infuriatingly bad, that I wanted to gouge my eyes out (She wasn't even in a bikini for crying out loud). Get this through your head Jessica Alba fans: She gets hired because of her looks, not her acting. The supporting cast was laughable, Parker Posey as Jessica's sister? Horrendous casting decisions.

Now, the only thing scary in this movie was Alba's performance and nothing else. The cheap scares in this one get old, very quick. A mysterious man with his back turned against a wall? Haven't seen that one before. A ghost disappears, then suddenly he jumps at you out of nowhere with the requisite loud sound effect? That is original indeed. Creepy looking Asian kid? Haha c'mon writers, you can do better than this. At least do a creepy looking Brazilian kid or Puerto Rican kid or a black kid, something we haven't seen for once. I know this is an Asian remake, but please, think for a change, with the writers strike going on, anyone would think that you writers had some free time to make up original ideas, not the same cliché that we see each and every year over and over and over and over...and over AGAIN!

Overall: Do not waste your time on this. This passes as Horror? It isn't even scary. It's not even a passable remake, it is just a bad one. You'll get bored by seeing the same empty hallways, the same cheap scares, the same bland performances, the sameness of it all really. Waste your time on something else. A 2/10, avoid.