The Eye (2008)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  So from my experiences, the original versions of theses from Japan, China, or wherever are usually better. But I will give Jessica Alba props on this one. She convinced me on this one. This movie wasnt overly scary but did have several shiver moments for me. The goosebump types.

• E.J. B

  
  I saw The Eye - not this one, but the Pang Brothers' Hong Kong original - about seven years ago when I was in my all things J-Horror phase, and while I found the concept rather unique, there were glaring flaws in the story and in the way the filmmakers decided to deliver their… More
  I saw The Eye - not this one, but the Pang Brothers' Hong Kong original - about seven years ago when I was in my all things J-Horror phase, and while I found the concept rather unique, there were glaring flaws in the story and in the way the filmmakers decided to deliver their scares. The idea that a person who has been blind for her entire life can become so quickly dependent on her sight seems a little too convenient, and the incorporation of ideas that suggest organs contain parts of their original donors is a bit of a horror movie cliche. Also, the scare scenes are the typical boo-jump scares where everything is quiet and then the sound editors decide to racket the volume to ear piercing levels as the ghosts decide to make their presence known. In other words, the scares are predictable and only occasionally effective. Now the problem that I have with this remake is the same problem I have with every USA remake of some popular J-Horror (this is the generic term used to describe all Asian ghost horror movies): the only fear these remakes have been able to instill in their audiences is a fear of subtitles. They take the same film, reshoot it almost frame for frame with American actors and American settings. All of the plot elements, no matter how flawed, remain the same. And almost always, something gets lost in the translation. Usually it has something to do with the cultural context of the original; in fact, the whole long haired female ghost dressed in white is a criticism of suppressed gender roles among the female population in Asian societies, and that certainly never comes across in any of these USA remakes. Basically, the filmmakers call this being faithful to the original. But when the original sucks because of glaringly lazy writing and predictable scares, you would think that Hollywood studios would try to correct these mistakes. The subtitle fear comes with the assumption that audiences have not seen the original, and thus, an opportunity exists to make a better film. Unfortunately, Hollywood has opted out to seize this chance every time they remake a J-Horror, and this 2008 version of The Eye is no different. There's no need to watch this movie, because it's the same bad movie that the 2002 original was, except this one's got a bigger budget and Jessica Alba.

• Bethany M

  
  Some scary parts but not really the best film I've ever seen!

• Cassie H

  
  Very good creepy thriller. Jessica Alba is great in this movie :)

• Bruce B

  
  Jessica Alba played an excellent part in this movie, she was over the top. If this was the first and only movie I ever saw of hers I would think she was the best modern actress in movies today. A excellent movie theme. Sydney Wells is blind and she receives a cornea transplant,… More
  Jessica Alba played an excellent part in this movie, she was over the top. If this was the first and only movie I ever saw of hers I would think she was the best modern actress in movies today. A excellent movie theme. Sydney Wells is blind and she receives a cornea transplant, that's where he troubles begin, she starts seeing dead people, people be taken into death by shadow people, and the future. A great creepy movie. Worth 4 1/2 stars.

• Shawn E

  
  This film starts out feeling like a horror/thriller genre, but slowly develops into more of a mystery film. The acting is weak and the plot is predictable. The film also feels a little too much like The Sixth Sense.

• Dean M

  
  Awesome supernatural remake from 2002 Hong Kong horror film which is a tradition of <i>The Sixth Sense</i> meets <i>Final Destination</i>. Jessica Alba makes a fantastic performance as a young blind woman who, after undergoing experimental surgery to regain her… More
  Awesome supernatural remake from 2002 Hong Kong horror film which is a tradition of <i>The Sixth Sense</i> meets <i>Final Destination</i>. Jessica Alba makes a fantastic performance as a young blind woman who, after undergoing experimental surgery to regain her sight, seeing freakish visions. Some scenes are so scary of what Alba sees in her vision. Horror remake of Hong Kong's 2002 <I>Gin gwai (aka The Eye)</i>

• Nicki M

  
  I can see why people panned this one. I don't remember the original being up to a whole heap either, though (although I rented that one so long ago I am sure it was still on video tape, so as you can imagine, don't have a strong memory of it). This was passable, for what… More
  I can see why people panned this one. I don't remember the original being up to a whole heap either, though (although I rented that one so long ago I am sure it was still on video tape, so as you can imagine, don't have a strong memory of it). This was passable, for what it was. Jessica Alba is fine in it, at times more convincing than other times, but she is not working with a lot, to be fair. There are some genuinely scary bits, but a lot of it is just lame, Ending a bit flat also. I would not say it is not worth watching at all, but it's certainly not one that I would urge anyone to seek out. If you have a quiet afternoon, and you like b-grade thriller/horror, give it a go.

• Dead A

  
  The story was good. And the twist (when the girl realize that the picture and her face doesn't match) was also good.

• Leigh R

  
  It was alright. I basically only liked the opening and closing monologues. I think the Japanese original would be so much better to watch.

• Film C

  
  i watched the chinses version and its exactly like this english version and the chinese one i found a tad oring and didnt get to the end of it but this one i fairly enjoyed really! Its quite imaginative and interesting with a couple of jumpy bits that will make you shit yourself!!… More
  i watched the chinses version and its exactly like this english version and the chinese one i found a tad oring and didnt get to the end of it but this one i fairly enjoyed really! Its quite imaginative and interesting with a couple of jumpy bits that will make you shit yourself!! its a bit slow paced though and not all scenes are action or have much going on but the storyline is good and the acting is good however does get a biit obvious towards the end!! worth a watch though !

• danny d

  
  while alba actually shows a fair amount of natural comfortability as an actress, she continually appears in these mediocre films that are completely without consequence. not really worth the time.

• Alexander W

  
  Standard film but wouldn't say that I could call it scary more on the occult side of things, but yeah it was well acted and reasonable.

• Lewis C

  
  The Eye isn't a great movie by any means. I'm sure that I never would have bought it if anyone other than Jessica Alba was in the lead role. With that said, it does have a few things going for it that puts it ahead of the similar recent remake of Shutter. Initially it… More
  The Eye isn't a great movie by any means. I'm sure that I never would have bought it if anyone other than Jessica Alba was in the lead role. With that said, it does have a few things going for it that puts it ahead of the similar recent remake of Shutter. Initially it seemed like The Eye was going to be another mediocre horror movie that was simply not scary. But about halfway through the film it discarded the cheap jump moments and veered off to become sort of a supernatural mystery movie. At that point, the story became fairly interesting. The acting is hardly worth mentioning. Alba does make a reasonable effort, but the rest of the cast isn't memorable. I was pleased to see that The Eye managed to elevate itself from its less than promising start. Don't expect to be scared, but fortunately The Eye is at its best when it has given up on trying to be frightening.

• Nate Z

  
  [font=Arial][color=DarkRed]This is a punishing and blandly mediocre movie, one that cannot inspire any strong feelings whatsoever. It's a limp remake of a Korean horror movie where a blind woman gets an eye transplant and starts seeing ghostly creatures. The glossy American… More
  [font=Arial][color=DarkRed]This is a punishing and blandly mediocre movie, one that cannot inspire any strong feelings whatsoever. It's a limp remake of a Korean horror movie where a blind woman gets an eye transplant and starts seeing ghostly creatures. The glossy American version stars Jessica Alba as said blind woman and watching her bump into furniture would have been more entertaining. The production values are competent, though the characters exist in a strange world where ordinary apartment buildings are designed like labyrinths. The horror elements are mostly of the "Boo"-variety and [i]The Eye[/i] does little to establish whatever rules govern its spiritual universe. Why would closing a door stop a ghost in its tracks? It's a ghost! The flick follows the tired plot device that ghosts have unfinished business and need flesh-and-blood humans to fix it. Come on ghosts, you're dead, you got plenty of time on your hands. Eventually the movie transforms into a non-scary road trip to Mexico (there's no way Alba would have gotten an international eye transplant) to learn about the poor eye donor's unfortunate demise. This then leads into a contrived scenario where Alba must use her combined ghostly glimpses to save lives. The ending is just kind of pathetic as well. [i]The Eye[/i] has a few nice stylistic touches, like what goes down in a Chinese restaurant, but the movie seems to exist as young male wish fulfillment. And by that I mean the concept of a beautiful woman who is blind and therefore doesn't realize how beautiful she is. It's the only way the majority of men can ever legitimately fantasize about having a shot with Jessica Alba. Nate's Grade: C[/color][/font]

• Dean !

  
  I have to say I have not seen any of the Asian originals of The Eye....yet. So I can't really compare it to that as yet. It seemed to have mixed reviews when it came out, but on here it seems to have got mainly good reviews. I would say it is definitely more of a thriller than a… More
  I have to say I have not seen any of the Asian originals of The Eye....yet. So I can't really compare it to that as yet. It seemed to have mixed reviews when it came out, but on here it seems to have got mainly good reviews. I would say it is definitely more of a thriller than a horror. If you are expecting it to be like The Ring, The Grudge you might be a bit disappointed. It has more in common with the likes of The Return, The Mothman prophecies. Overall it's a good thriller, a little slow to start with, but with some cool imagery and a good conclusion.

• Lanning :

  
  Have you seen my report card? Have you seen my report card? Have you seen my report card? Have you seen my report ca--<p> Absolutely spine-chilling, I tell you. I've had some of those report cards myself. You wish you could lose them, believe you me. <p> Ahhh!… More
  Have you seen my report card? Have you seen my report card? Have you seen my report card? Have you seen my report ca--<p> Absolutely spine-chilling, I tell you. I've had some of those report cards myself. You wish you could lose them, believe you me. <p> Ahhh! Is there somebody under this desk? Whoa. No. What's this? A report card! OMG! Hold on. Breathe . . . breathe. Let me recover my composure . . . <p> Okay. I'm back. It was just a bill for back taxes from the IRS. <p> Sooooo: Five stars, baby . . . well, you know, it's Jessica Alba. <p> Minus one, however, for the least convincing fake violin playing in screen history. Okay, so I'll give you that she's no De Niro learning to play the sax, or Ralph Macchio or Michael J. Fox learning to play the guitar, but hey, she could have at least tried to look comfortable with the thing. In some of the scenes, it actually looks like she's being attacked by the violin and is trying to fend it off.<p> So that's four stars -- <p> What's that, Elmo? Oh, okay. <p> Elmo says minus one star because the story is stupid. Pretty harsh, my little friend, but I have to agree.<p> Boy, so that's only three stars left. But it's Jessica Alba, one of my future wives. Let me dig a little deeper . . . <p>Okay, plus one star because, early on, some of the stuff is actually pretty scary, for like the first thirty minutes or so. After that, stupid really kicks in. Sorry, Jessica, we can only muster 4 stars. <p> Oh, but minus one star, Jessica, because some of my movie fan friends tell me that you're turning into someone who's difficult to work with. We'll definitely have to work on that. <p>Yikes, I forgot about the supporting cast -- not a difficult thing to do. Minus one star for some really cruddy acting all the way around. <p> Forgive me, Jessica, two stars is the best I can do. I won't forget you, though. You have stolen one-fifth of my heart forever -- unless you make a few more poor script choices -- let's say, three more. Okay? And put back on a little of the weight, will you, my darling? You're starting to resemble a pencil.

• Candy R

  
  Jessica's character was blind from an early age. She is a talented violinist who received an eye transplant. She starts to see supernatural beings and no one believes her. She goes on a quest to find out about her donor. Good thriller. If you liked Sixth Sense, you will like this… More
  Jessica's character was blind from an early age. She is a talented violinist who received an eye transplant. She starts to see supernatural beings and no one believes her. She goes on a quest to find out about her donor. Good thriller. If you liked Sixth Sense, you will like this one.

• Roy G

  
  ...it doesn't leave us with much more than a feeling that we've been there and seen it all before.

• Corey W

  
  meh.

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