The Eye
There's no "eye" in team
If there's one
country that can wrest the Horror throne from the United States, it's
Japan. With movies like The Ring and The Grudge getting remade in
America and finding success, it's no surprise that other countries
have gotten in on the idea. China isn't the first country to come to
mind when most people think of horror movies, but like India and part
of Europe, their scary movies are slowing making their way across
the globe. These international movies are a blast of fresh air in a
genre that is becoming increasingly overcrowded. They bring different
culture, attitudes, and ideas to the screen which can great new and
interesting stories. Today's review, The Eye, has been remade in the
United States, but I am sticking with the original.
The Eye is a 2002
horror film from Hong Kong directed by the Pang brothers (Re-cycle,
Bangkok Dangerous). The film stars Angelica Lee (Re-cycle,
Sleepwalker) as Wong Kar Mun, a violinist who has been blind since
the age of 2. Mun undergoes an eye cornea transplant with the hopes
of regaining her eyesight. The transition to sight is painful and
difficult at first, occasionally seeing shadowy figures that aren't
really there. While in the hospital, Mun befriends a young girl named
Ying Ying who is being treated for a brain tumor. One night, Mun
awakens in her hospital bed to see another shadowy figure standing
beside an old woman's bed. The figures leave the room together and
Mun is shocked to find out that the woman died during the night. Mun
begins seeing a psychologist named Dr.Wah (Lawrence Chou, Re-cycle,
Forest Of Death) who is to help Mun learn how to associate objects by
sight, not touch. Mun begins to see a little boy in her apartment
building who asks if she has seen his report card. She talks to him
on several occasions, but soon realizes that he isn't really there.
The visions continue and become more disturbing, causing Mun to
become isolated and shrouded in darkness. After a fainting spell, Mun
returns to the hospital where she speaks to Ying Ying again. Ying
Ying says she no longer needs surgery and walks away with a shadowy
figure. Initially, Dr. Wah doesn't believe her, but seeing her in
serious trouble brings them closer together. He is able to find out
who the eye donor was and he and Mun travel to Thailand. Their search
leads them to a hospital where a doctor tells them about Ling, the
donor. Ling had visions of people's deaths, but the people of her
town believed she was a witch and shunned her. One day, she had a
vision of a horrible disaster to come, but the town ignored her and
300 people died in a fire. Unable to deal with her visions, Ling
hanged herself in her house. Mun and Dr. Wah go to her house and meet
with her mother who has never forgiven Ling for her suicide. That
night, Ling's spirit possesses Mun and attempts to recreate her
suicide. What will happen and will the visions ever stop?
Oh, snap
This movie is
certainly not laid our like a typical American horror movie and
that's a good thing. The horror in The Eye comes more from creepy
atmospherics than brutal gore or “jump-at-you” moments. The movie
could best be described as a subtle chiller. Within the first few
minutes of the movie, it is already established that something is not
right with Mun's vision. Rather than having to wait 20 or 30 minutes
for any hint of horror, The Eye gives us the notion right from the
start and then gives us the character development and back story. The
audience is right there with Mun when she gets her eyesight back and
are along for the ride as the strange visions begin. Typically, you
would think that the shadowy figures she sees, ushering people after
death would be seen as the villains of the movie, but they're not
treated as such. Surprisingly, there are no villains in the movie,
something I think would be more difficult to pull off for an American
movie. We like our good guys and bad guys and it was nice to see the
movie focus just on Mun and her new found “gift”. There is very
little violence to speak of , and with the exception of a scene at
the end, I'm not really sure why the movie received an “R”
rating.
The Pang brothers
do a fantastic job of directing. Their shots are creative and various
with nothing being too overdone. Angles are just used for the sake of
being different. They capture the subtle emotion and poignancy of the
characters. The movie has a decent pace, especially considering there
is very little action to speak of. It did feel a little long though,
clocking in at about 98 minutes. Maybe it was just my American mind
craving an explosion that made it feel too long. I can see being
being bored with the movie as it dips into various genres and goes
for subtle psychological scares instead of big, visual ones. The
acting is very good with Angelica Lee putting in the best
performance. While there are many special effects, some of them are a
bit weak, like one scene where the ignition of a car is unnecessarily
computerized. The computerization looking closer to Windows Flight
Simulator than the real thing. The ending tries to end on a happy
note, despite it being quite depressing. I think it would have been
better either to have a straight happy ending or straight sad as the
mixture of both just felt awkward.
Pin the tail on the spirit
While the story
itself has been done before, The Eye puts more effort into character
development and emotion than most. It makes for a better movie, but
it does drag at times in the entertainment. The scares are subtle,
foregoing the blood and violence, for twists and turns. There is a
cultural difference when watching from a Western point-of-view, but
it doesn't really take away from the movie. The acting is good and
the direction is great. I could have done without some of the special
effects and a little more action would have been good. The movie was
thankfully in it's original language, but there are dubbed versions
out there in multiple languages if you don't feel like reading. I'm not quite sure if The Eye is a ghost movie or a spirit movie, but it's a modern take on Greek tale of Cassandra. The
Eye has spawned multiple sequels and a remake starring Jessica Alba.
It's best to stick with the original.
7/10
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