The Eye (2008)

Lack of good storyline.

Fantastic!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I'm going to preface this by saying that if you haven't seen The Pang Brothers' original film, The Eye (2002), please do, because it's the same plot but better.I watched this film not expecting much, so in that sense I guess my expectations were met, but all in all, this edition is too pretty, too shiny, and try as it may (if you could say it tries) to retain the emotional power of the original, it fails.Alba's performance was solid enough, and young Chloe Grace Moretz is adorable, but all of the side characters come across as self-interested assholes, especially the doctor, who we're supposed to like by the end of the movie, but still comes across as misogynistic and self-absorbed. Since I haven't read the script (and honestly, why would I?), I don't know how much of this was actor's choices and how much of it was in the script, but all in all, the combination of forced, cheap jump scares and average to bad acting made this movie sub-par.Was it a waste of time? No, not if you want to learn how to make good films by studying not so good examples, or even if you just want something to put on in the background while you do other things. But don't expect brilliance.

Let's begin with the positives, shall we? 1. Interesting concept; the film's premise (even though it's a remake) remains intriguing. 2. The progression of the narrative; the film's narrative is consistent, up to the end, at least.They're the positive aspects of this film. As for the negatives, oh, dear. I, personally, had numerous problems with the film, namely one Jessica Alba. Alba's performance is tedious, somewhat forced and ultimately lacking in any emotional empathy, shall we say, that she has, or, rather, is supposed to have, with her character. She was nominated for the Razzie award for Worst Actress 2008. No wonder. As for the other performances, they seemed to lack conviction, and, as a result, were equally mediocre. Moving on to what characterises most horror films; tension and suspense. This film was, again somewhat lacking, apart from a few effective jump scares, however, there were a few 'cheap scares' present, also, which were infuriating for the avid horror film fan. However, what irritated me most was the script; totally devoid of interesting dialogue, utterly dry, abrupt and forced. The climax of the film (without spoiling anything) conformed to the aforementioned criteria; abrupt, dissatisfying, predictable. To conclude, it's not really recommendable, especially for admirers of the first film.

I obviously saw the original Asian version of the film, and I thought it was very good, I was certainly interested to see if this American remake would be like The Ring, just as good as the original. Basically successful classical violinist Sydney Wells (Jessica Alba) has been blind since an accident at the age of five, but she may finally be able to see again as she is to undergo a cornea transplant. Her eyesight does return, at first blurry, and she has to get used to seeing everything as it is all fascinating and distracting, but soon enough there is something strange happening. With her newfound sight Sydney has started seeing terrifying visions and things that no one else can see, including invisible spirits, and a fire with people dying, and she is sure that it is something to do with the person who owned the eyes before. Dr. Paul Faulkner (Jurassic Park III's Alessandro Nivola) her visual therapist is for a while very insistent that she just has to get used to seeing things having been blind for so many years, but he does eventually help her in a quest to find out more about the eye donor and what she saw. The donor came from Mexico, and she does eventually conclude the reasons she can see these horrible things, but it is only when it looks like it is all over that she realises why she is seeing a horrific fire and people dying, it is a premonition. In the end the vision comes true as a high speed chase sees the chased car crash into a gasoline tanker, all the people, including the little girl mostly seen, are saved, but shattering glass blind Sydney again, but she returns to a peaceful life blind again and playing the violin with optimism for life. Also starring Scream 3's Parker Posey as Helen Wells, Rade Serbedzija as Simon McCullough, Fernanda Romero as Ana Christina Martinez, Total Recall's Rachel Ticotin as Rosa Martinez, Obba Babatundé as Dr. Haskins, Danny Mora as Miguel and Kick-Ass's Chloë Grace Moretz as Alicia. I agree Alba is a little bit wooden, and she did get a Razzie nomination along with her part in The Love Guru, but she looks the part, and she looks terrified enough in the right moments, the story is pretty much exactly the same as the original, it was freaky in moments, so it's not a bad remake supernatural horror thriller. Worth watching!

I had seen the original version long before this came out. And the original was chilling, built up suspense and had very good acting.Jessica Alba - if this is the reason you went to see this movie, well then you're not going to get much because everything else in this film waters down the scares so much it is laughable. It relies on very deceptive thrills that are pretty predictable and Alba isn't really much of an actress in my opinion - or at least not in this film.The ending also, while it stuck with it, was altered to make it, in my opinion a more easier explanation for the conclusion whereas the original had a much more dramatic touch to it which was probably one of the main disappointments about this version.I had a feeling this was going to be bad. I really am trying to get over my prejudice for American horror remakes. Don't get me wrong because some have been decent - The Ring for one, but this one has given me more of a bias towards them than ever.