27 Days of Fright (The Reprint) - Day One

Early September is a great time of year. Autumn starts to hit, there's a nip in the air and the evenings begin to draw in. With the encroaching nights thoughts tend to turn to darkness. The darkness without and the darkness within. At this time of year my appreciation for the darker things in life definately ramps up, I almost exclusively listen to Marilyn Manson, Tool, and Cradle of Filth around now (there's something odd about having "Her Ghost in the Fog" blasting first thing in the morning, especially if it's one of those bright, clear, crisp mornings).

With September here Halloween is on the horizon and our plans are already at an advanced stage and that means that the second annual horror movie fest isn't far away. As a warm up for this years event I'm reprinting last years reviews in their entirety and will be adding a few additional remarks here and there. Some of last years films may also get a second viewing and an update to the original review. But not our first film...

Originally Published Monday 6th October 2008

First up, “The Eye”.

Jessica Alba (of Dark Angel fame) plays Sydney Wells, a girl who has been blind from a young age who receives a cornea transplant that restores her sight. Soon after the operation however things turn nasty as she begins seeing horrible visions. Not sure if what she is seeing is real or the result of her brain being overloaded with visual information for the first time in years she seeks out the help of a therapist Dr. Paul Faulkner who tries to reassure her that what’s occurring is normal. The visions persist and get worse and Sydney quickly realises that she is seeing past events and death coming for people.

Upon realising that the root of her trouble lies in her new eyes and that the reflection in the mirror isn’t her, Syd and her quack go in search of the family of the donor of the eyes trying to right whatever was wrong and put to rest the whole sorry mess.

The Eye is another of those Hong Kong horror films remade by an American studio along the lines of “The Ring”. I mention that film as the storylines are shockingly similar in many respects, a female lead, an unsettled spirit needing to have things put to rights before they can rest, and a dodgy male character who is bugger all use for most of the show. But The Ring isn’t the only thing that should feel raped by The Eye, the images of shadowy death figures coming for people is like a less humorous version of the gravelings from “Dead Like Me” and probably the creepiest thing in the whole flick, which really isn’t saying much, and the whole “I see dead people” has been done better elsewhere.

As for the lead actress, while Jessica Alba isn’t likely to be up for an Oscar anytime soon she is normally likeable and functional as the lead chick in anything, this time out however I can’t help but think she wasn’t even trying and really just showed up to collect her paycheque.

Overall, The Eye is a mediocre movie at best and hardly a horror film at all due to its utter lack of scare. The most disturbing thing for me was that the filmmakers decided to name the main character, Sydney, after the main character from the “Scream” series – hardly a wise move for a film trying to pass itself in its own right.

One thumb up, one thumb down for The Eye.