Film Review: The Eye (1 Viewer)

[YANG]

TITLE: THE EYE (a.k.a JIAN GUI)
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DIRECTOR: THE PANG BROTHERS
Stars: LEE SHIN-JEEAH, EDMUND CHEN
DIGITAL EFFECTS STUDIO: CENTRO DIGITAL PICTURES (A MAN CALLED HERO, STORMRIDERS, SHAOLIN SOCCER)
PRODUCTION STUDIO: APPLAUSE PICTURES HONGKONG, RAINTREE PICTURES SINGAPORE
MOVIE GENERE: HORROR, DRAMA
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SINGAPORE rating: PG-uncut (for horror themes,violent images)
Possible MPAA rating: PG-13
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Widescreen Ratio: 1.85:1
Language: MANDARIN DD5.1-SINGAPORE version, CANTONESE DD5.1-HONGKONG version
Running time: 110mins approx.
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BASED ON A TRUE STORY FROM THAILAND.

Since she was a little girl,KARMAN WONG(played by LEE SHIN-JEEAH) had been living in darkness throughout her life until she get a cornea transplant from a donation from THAILAND.Being blind,she had been wanted to see what the world looks like.
After the surgery,she began to regain her sightness slowly.At the same time,she began to see peoples whom she is not suppose to be,"peoples" from another world.
Now she hoped to go back to the same blind state again...
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VIEW-
This film had been touted as the best and shocking film of the year'02.
It is indeed shocking and thrilling.The mood of the film had frequently heightened by visual effects and sound effects.LEE SHIN-JEEAH's portrayal of KARMAN's character living in fear since she regain her sightness contributes to the tense moments throughout the whole movie.
In many parts of the film,audiences will hold on to their seats and look forward for the next development.But there is one thing that disturbs me,various parts seems to be similar to SIXTH SENSE and MOTHMAN PROPHERCIES.
On the "SIXTH SENSE" part,KARMAN sees ghostly images of the dead.
On the "MOTHMAN PROPHECIES" part,KARMAN sees a disaster coming during,a traffic jam ay a street.This looks familiar to an audience if he/she had seen "MOTHMAN PROPHECIES",although in M.P,the disaster happens on a bridge.

The film may look familiar to the two U.S films,there is one thing that differs from these two,you see "the guide of death",the ghostly images of a black dressed man bringing dead souls to the underworld.These ghostly images will shivers you,thanks to the digital effects team of CENTRO DIGITAL PICTURES.

Recommended,if you like suspense thrillers like the MOTHMAN PROPHECIES and SIXTH SENSE.

 

[Richard WWW]

thanks for the review, Yang! I'll definitely try to catch this one if it ever makes to my local theater.

 

[YANG]

Whether this film will make it to the american screen,it is still unknown.I assume that you know,the american major studios are quite skeptical to asian films.Take a look at the treatment of what MIRAMAX and COLUMBIA given to ASIAN films,you get what i mean.

The film is distributed in SINGAPORE by UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES.

Other asian made horror films that are notable are..."BANGKOK HAUNTED" from THAILAND,"WHISPERING CORRIDORS" from KOREA,"ANOTHER HEAVEN" from JAPAN and "VISIBLE SECRETS 2" from HONGKONG.

 

[Richard WWW]

DAMN American distributors, and my provincial, ethnocentric countrymen who just want to see the Rock or Sandra Bullock films! There are so many awful American films out there, that there ought to be a place for intelligent, well-made foreign films, too!

 

[Ushabye]

(I gather this film is going to get at least a limited theatrical release in the US judging by the fantastic reaction it's had at film festivals in your country and around the world. Though it is officially already available on DVD in the far east.)

In virtually every review this superb and TRULY scary film is compared to THE SIXTH SENSE. And on the surface deservedly so. But the SIXTH SENSE is a one joke film. This picture takes that joke and builds on it until by the last 10 minutes your mouth is open and the words "HOLY F***KING SHIT!" meekly croak out as you stare unblinkingly at what is unfolding on the screen. Twist ending? Forgetaboutit!

In a nut shell: Angelica Lee plays Mun, a violinist, blind since the age of 2, gets a cornea transplant and can see again. But she starts to see...dead people...and blurry grey shadowy figures. That is about as much as you really should know before going in and sitting down to watch this film. It is extremely well acted, especially by Lee.

Oxide Pang wrote and directed this with his brother Danny. He also did the sound design, and this is REALLY what takes the film one step further beyond. This movie MUST be seen in a multi channel theatre or at the very least a good multi channel home theatre system - and I can not stress that enough! Because it utilizes individual specific channels for various purposes. I cant even think of another horror film that used sound so indivisibly with picture to scare. It's ironic that the heart of a film with such a title and story lies in its sound design! Even John Carpenter has never gone this far! To see this on a regular stereo tv will greatly diminish it's effect. Plus the opening titles are designed purely for the cinema and I wonder if a second version will be done for DVD (My HK Panorama DVD should be here next week).

As to the ending...well, the whole audience in the Irish Film Centre in Dublin where I've just come from collectively expressed the above expletive. It's as much of a sudden change in style as a sudden turn of events that took us all by surprise. This producer's movies Jerry Bruckheimer
spring to mind.

To sum up: one of the best horror flicks of the new millennium MUST be experienced in a theatre, preferably with a full house.

Ten outa Ten.

 

[Clint]

Rumor has it that Tom Cruise wanted to remake this film, any truth to this? Anyone? Bueller?

 

[Ushabye]

Yep, the Cruise-Wagner company purchased the remake rights. On the face of it an American version would work. But the impact of the film lies really in how it was made rather than just purely the subject matter. For example I can't imagine them being creative enough to do that opening title broken projector gag which is so effective (I'm a projectionist and even I thought the film had stuck in the gate and burned out!) and that cool extreme sound design?
Though I haven't seen Hollywood's remake of THE RING yet so maybe they would treat it well.

 

[Vickie_M]

Why do people have to build up one movie by putting down another that is obviously loved by millions.

But the SIXTH SENSE is a one joke film.

That makes me not want to read the rest of what you have to say. You want to promote The Eye? You can start by luring in fans of films like The Sixth Sense, The Others, Frailty, etc. with the promise that if they enjoy those films, they might very well enjoy The Eye also. You don't alienate the fans of those films. Of course, if you don't CARE about alienating them, fine, but you risk losing potential fans of the film you do, I assume, actually want other people to see.
I've decided I want to see The Eye in spite of your insult toward a very fine film that is far more than a "one joke film."

 

[Justin_S]

I've been following THE EYE very closely ever since I first heard about it, and it is a must see for me! I will be very closely watching for an opportunity to see it, that, I gaurantee!

 

[Bill Harris]

One of the most amazing endings to a film in a LONG time.

Maybe ive seen too many Hollywood films that dont go through with anything , but man was shocked.

 

[Ushabye]

You can start by luring in fans of films like The Sixth Sense, The Others, Frailty, etc. with the promise that if they enjoy those films, they might very well enjoy The Eye also. You don't alienate the fans of those films. Of course, if you don't CARE about alienating them, fine, but you risk losing potential fans of the film you do, I assume, actually want other people to see.

I somehow doubt that me stating that THE SIXTH SENSE is a "One joke film" is going to have ANY effect on the US box office of THE EYE or in fact alienate anybody anywhere.

 

[Simon Massey]

While I finally caught this film on DVD, and the film is certainly very creepy, with some effective use of sound to heighten both the tension, and the shocks when they come.
Unfortunately there are obvious similarities to the Sixth Sense, which does tend to make the film extremely predictable, both in the nature of the concept (character can see dead people)
and the resolution to the problem (help the dead person to allow them to "cross over")
In one of the documentaries on the making of the film it was argued that this film differed from other ghost story films in that the main character can't tell what she is seeing at first (i.e. ghost or human being). The problem is the audience are wise to this type of film, and know exactly what is going on.
The shock ending, albeit different from the Sixth Sense, also becomes very obvious when the previous history of the main ghost's past is revealed. the disaster which she couldn't avert
However, despite this unfortunate predicatability, I would still recommend this films to any horror fans, especially of films like The Sixth Sense, The Others and Ring.
I couldn't help but think of The Frighteners laserdisc front cover when I saw the title sequence
The films is available on Region 2 in the UK at present, and the cover indicates it is actually Region 0. It is a PAL release though

 

[KynanD]

I mostly enjoyed this film and the first 2 acts did a good job of creeping me the hell out.

But, the last act sucked. It suffers from the same ending as The Mothman Prophecies; a bunch of people have to die and the protagonist is helpless to do anything about it. And it's all supposed to amount to a touching personal revelation for the main character but, note to directors: I stop caring about the main character precisely at the point where the story thinks 100 people need to get blown up for no good reason. I'm tired of this cliched ending. This movie should have ended right when Mun discovers that the image she sees in the mirror isn't herself. That's creepy and it would stick with me. I plan on picking up the DVD just so I can watch the movie to this point and pretend the rest of it doesn't exist.

The special effects and sound design were really well done and the ghosts are portrayed and behave differently than I have seen in any other movie. The story for the most part is good, and presenting it from the perspective of a person who has only just begun to use their eyes adds another layer of suspense since, visually, Mun really wouldn't be able to tell a ghost and a human apart. Despite my rant I still liked this one.

 

[Demetri K]

This reminds me!! There is a movie coming out here in Japan from the creators of the ring. I will find out the name tommorro but when I saw the previews I freaked!! And to be honest. I dont freak at movies at all!! The images when I saw this preview alone freaked me. Cant wait to see the movie. I will find the name out tommorro.

 

[KynanD]

Is it this one?
http://www.juon2.jp/mov/juon2_1m.mov

 

[Demetri K]

I want to say yes it is but the preview was way different in the theater so I cant be 100 percent sure. But the idea and some of the things that happen look the same. Man thats some freaky shiet!!!

 

[David Lawson]

How is the Panorama R0 NTSC DVD release of this film? DDDHouse has it for $70HK + shipping, which sounds like a good deal to me for a quality presentation.

 

[Troy*H]

will this be coming to dvd state side?

 

[Ricardo C]

Just watched this tonight. I had high hopes for it, but the film felt disjointed and rather dull whenever ghosts were not involved.
To its credit, the scary moments ARE quite frightening. Far more disturbing than anything in Ringu/The Ring, The Others, and other recent ghost stories. The "What are you doing in my chair??!!" ghost freaked me out good! :b
But every time a scary sequence ended and I was left alone with the story, I felt it wasn't all that interesting. And everything that happens from the trip to Thailand on through the end feels tacked on. I really think this would have made a killer short film, but there just isn't much there to sustain a feature-lenght film.
The acting from Lee (Mun) was excellent, and would love to see more of her work. The supporting cast was pretty good as well, save for Mun's grandmother and sister.
Overall, I'd give it :star::star: / :star::star::star::star:

 

[YANG]

Just to let you guys know that there will be two more horror films from korea and thailand respectively coming soon to singapore screens...

TALE OF TWO SISTERS from korea,directed by JI WOON KIM of THREE:MEMORIES fame.
THE UNBORN from thailand,directed by BHANDIT THONGDEE.