The Eye (2002)

Just a boring boring movie with no point at all. No deep thoughts. People said this was scary? I guess there were a few slightly scary scenes. The whole thing was just slow, and ultimately pointless.I do like some Japanese horror films (this one is in Hong Kong), but this one is just lame. I can't understand these good reviews. I feel like I wasted my time on this.At least throw in some twists or a mystery, like the American remake "The Uninvited" of the Korean horror film "A Tale of Two Sisters". (Actually I liked the American version of that better, but both were good). Those weren't all that scary either but at least there was a point to it.Just slow, boring, and no fun. I can't say much more about it without giving a spoiler.

Let's put aside the fact that this film has some creepy moments but zero actual scares. Sorry, I jumped all throughout The Grudge and I knew while I was jumping that it was a terrible film. This didn't scare me. Noroi? Crapped my pants. This? I was laughing two thirds of the way through. Why?Because I just might nominate this film for most contrived ending of all time. Even disregarding the sheer amount of plot devices this film borrowed (Angel Heart and Jacob's Ladder are all over this film), the last third was absolutely dumbfounding. My jaw was on the floor from the sheer melodrama of it all. I saw this film on lists with Ju-on, Ringu, and a few other notable J-scarers, but boy, if this scared you, Ringu will literally kill you. For the record, Ringu didn't scare me either. Not like the American remake did. But that's a whole other can of worms.The Eye suffers from a serious dollop of schmaltz. Romantic subplot? Check. Ridiculously cheery classical piano music? Check. A "things are back to normal and I've gone through a lot but learned even more and everything's fine now" ending? Check.And hey presto, to top the whole thing off, a story with more plot holes than a cemetery after a tornado. And these aren't plot holes that film enthusiasts (not buffs, that denotes some sort of effort) will only catch and not the average viewer. You'd have to be awfully close to blind yourself to not be asking yourself some serious questions at the end of this film. Like, "What'd they use to make those fire effects, MS Paint?" or "Was the test audience for this movie a bunch of old women that said something along the lines of 'You really oughta include a series of flashback shots interleaved with shots of the present so that viewers won't get confused as to the already-obvious story arc similarities'?"Not a good horror movie, not a good thriller. If you want to look at it as a film about a woman struggling post eye surgery that was actually insane the whole time, maybe that's a better film.

The main issue with this is its ending. Its last third makes it into a mystery rather than a thriller, and though the backstory is great and "works", the resolve feels awkward... and it is. Maybe they didn't have any solid ideas for how to close it. Once it does reach its conclusion, it uncomfortably transforms into Final Destination and tries to wow us, becoming bombastic and out of touch with everything that precedes this portion. Still interested? I'm relieved to hear that. You see, that's really the only outright negative thing I can say about this. It's immensely creepy, beginning so right from the start(seriously, that credits sequence... if I'd watched this at the cinema, it would have sent severe chills down my spine). Lee portrays a blind person extremely convincingly, and this puts us inside her head some, through the editing and cinematography(which is all really well-done and fits, with carefully chosen angles, selective distortion, etc.). I have not caught a lot of Asian horror, because I'm not big on ghosts(and they are; their films about them are, thankfully, sophisticated and not crude, the way the mainstream Western ones tend to be), and, well, there are cultural differences, and I find that it distracts me from taking in the picture. Subtitles don't bother me(I vastly prefer them to dubbing). Anyway, they are growing on me, and what I have noted is the strong focus on the senses, and on the ability to "see" the other side, where spirits and demons are believed(in Japan) to live. The approach to terrifying us is subtle(as are most of the FX, and those are excellent, other than the handful that are somewhat crappy), building up gradually, using atmosphere and mood, seldom going for jump-scares. The sound-side is quite important, and it is skillfully done. There are a few clichés(and brief shameless product placement), but on the whole, the writing is good. The characters are credible, and the main one is affable, and her relationship with Ying Ying sweet. This also fits in what too many in the genre neglect... genuine emotion, impact that does not have to do with the monsters. It is actually partially a drama, and it provides food for thought(as well as cheese and corn). This was on sale with its direct sequel and the American remake. I'll be reviewing those two, in that order, the next two days. This one sets the bar fairly high. There is a bit of disturbing content and brief violence in this. I recommend this to any fan of this type of movie. 7/10

I picked up this release from Asia due to claims, that this can be considered as Psychological Horror. I already had Kansen which I liked (good story) and thus I decided to get my hands on this film.I do have a reasonable dose of fear from supernatural and this movie was just my cup of ectoplasm, because that's what I like in Horror - to fear. I really enjoyed the work of writer and actors, and cinematography in general, as well as music, which were some kind of unusual for a horror title, and that is good, in my opinion (enhances the weirdness of Asian horror). The story is with some kind of used aroma (seen before here and there), but the cinematography really enhanced this story and the creatures/characters gave a pretty BIG dose of horror to me - great!I do not categorize this movie to be a Psychological Horror in general, but there are some pieces in this title, that may lead to such classification, and these scenes were done just beautifully and very nicely scary.A surprisingly nice and BIG slice of horror and chills for all fans of Asian horror (J-Horror), which reminded me some Silent Hill and Fatal Frame concepts. Good movie, really good, I loved it from start to finish.