Written by Linda
February 07, 2009
What can I say but: I (heart) Asian Horror! I swear, the crop of horror movies that I've seen out of countries like Japan and Korea totally kick the ass of the contrived and gory schlock that comes out of this country. Hollywood filmmakers should take note of the fact that the most successful horror movie of the last couple years was The Ring, which just happened to be a remake of the Japanese Ringu. And now I've already heard that Hollywood is itching to get their hands on The Eye....
I have to admit that I was terribly excited about The Eye not only because the reputation of Asian horror films (which always promise thrills and chills in my book) but because it was directed by the Pang Brothers. Their debut film Bangkok: Dangerous was one of the most bad-ass and stylish debuts I'd ever seen (and scored as #3 in my Top 10 of 2001), so this film was circled heavily in my film fest schedule. The verdict? Though The Eye borrows heavily from many many horror films, ranging from (most obviously) The Sixth Sense, to The Mothman Prophecies, to your basic transplant-gone-wrong B-grade horror flicks... it still managed to scare the crap out of me.
Mun (Angelica Lee) is a lovely young woman who has been blind since she was two years old. Now, at 20, she gets a corneal transplant, which promises her sight for the first time since she can remember. But learning to see can not only be painful, but also confusing. She needs to attach visual images to things that she has only known by touch. Her handsome young doctor holds up a stapler and asks her what it is, and she finds herself reaching out to touch it in order to identify the strange object.
If that weren't enough to get used to, it is taking awhile for her sight to improve to clarity. She starts out extremely nearsighted, and distant objects and people are vague blurs. This is where those crafty Pang Brothers wield some of their movie magic: We, the viewers, can only see as much as Mun. Who- or whatever is on screen at any time is in short focus... the focal point is perfectly clear, but the background is blurry, adding to the confusion and the tension. When Mun starts noticing mysterious figures in the shadows of her blurry vision, she can't (and we can't) tell if they are real or not. The problem is, Mun is the only one who can see these people, and many of them aren't exactly friendly.
What do I find scary? Not necessarily blood, gore, and murder mayhem... that is simply gross and unpleasant. Instead just show me someone or something that is simply not supposed to be there, often in the most benign way, and it scares the hell out of me (perfect example: the twins in The Shining have given me nightmares). Give me psychological horror anyday... the feeling that you are losing grasp on reality, and are slowly becoming unhinged. There is one scene in The Eye—I'll try to be good and not give details—involving an elevator that is so grotesquely and torturously suspenseful that the whole audience started moaning, "Ohhhhhhhh..." as it unfolded. Now THAT is good stuff!
Unfortunately The Eye starts to stagger a bit in momentum about halfway through, as a major plot twist is introduced. Suddenly it becomes one of those "we must solve this mystery!"-type plots, with the handsome young doctor proclaiming, "Yes! She is more than just a patient to me!" as they race against time.
But despite its plot flaws, and the fact that you can't help but mentally compare it to the plots of other films, The Eye still is one of the best horror movies I've seen in a long time. It is one of those movies where you clutch your nearest friend, scream, moan, and laugh during the film... then afterwards have a chat with your buddies on the sidewalk in front of the theater, giggling as you shake off your nerves to get the courage to go home. Good, clean fun, I say!
