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The Eye (2008)

Director: David Moreau, Xavier Palud

Time Out rating

Average user rating

12 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Another misjudged Hollywood re-make of a Hong Kong horror, this time from French co-directors David Moreau and Xavier Palud, makers of the overrated ‘home invasion’ shocker, ‘Them’.
Jessica Alba is beautiful but bland as Sydney Wells, a violinist who, after 20 years of blindness, is given two new corneas. But with her new eyes come floating figures, ghosts and visions, possibly connected to the donor.

Her surgeon (Alessandro Nivola) and guilt-ridden older sister, Helen (Parker Posey) think Sydney is losing her mind. Moreau and Palud’s over-stretched debut feature was a series of scary set-pieces strung together by a worthless storyline. This uninspired ‘re-invention’ of Danny and Oxide Pang’s 2002 supernatural thriller is the opposite. While paying close attention to the plotting, characterisation and emotional nuances, they not only fail to match the original’s creepy atmospherics, but also fluff nearly all of its spine-chilling set-pieces. One can’t turn a blind eye to such conspicuous failings.

Author: Nigel Floyd

Time Out London Issue 1966 April 24-30, 2008

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User reviews of this film

Dani said...

Posted on Jul 10 2008 18:33 Good Film, strange some bits scary, just as good as one missed call. good acting!!

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Chel said...

Posted on May 07 2008 02:25 tch, another crappy remake of yet another asian horror. I'm getting sick of these, as are many others. All Hollywood throw out are these badly done/completely unecessary remakes. buy out the world cinema isle in HMV and you'll have seen the next decade of hollywoods lineup before they've bloody made it. Pick the originals up for less than £5. quicker, cheaper and probably a lot better. I give the lowest score for their sheer lack of imagination. ffs :P

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your mum said...

Posted on May 06 2008 14:47 this film was waaack mannn

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Keith D said...

Posted on May 04 2008 23:39 rubbish! Best bits are in the trailer. Not scary at all.

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xD said...

Posted on May 04 2008 12:29 wud not go see it again lets just say that ...I thought it was going to be so much scarier :O...Kinda dissapointed

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Sarah said...

Posted on May 03 2008 14:15 This film was fantastic!! Loads of scary scenes!!

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geoff said...

Posted on May 01 2008 14:10 im gunna go c it i cnt w8

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usman khawaja said...

Posted on Apr 29 2008 15:13 i found the first twenty minutes fascinating as we are introduced to the real world of a visually handicapped girl, who is perplexed by the diversity and confusion of a vista that is an obligatory part of our temporary existence .
albas initiation into the the so -called normal mortals and manhattan were quite droll.
it made me think as to how the actual experience of not being endowed with the 5 senses might enrich or even broaden your formal conciousness .
the director after insinuating a very interesting perspective delved into the ghost and haunting formula and the cornea became the equivalent of the teleportal in poltergeist,i wish their was a simpler way of communicating with the dead and the formulaic fatal premonition which fascinates us mortals, without any beneficial avail -so the casual eye could actually become an eye to the inner travails ,but despite a good performance by alba ,the haunting and dead inhabitants were rather tame,miserable and familiar phenomena .
its exhaustive to see supernatural warnings like dragonfly to mothman ,not to forget sixth sense which might be remade as the seventh SENSE ,AS hollywood is desperate for inventing new themes and some genius might wake up like alba one day to find the extra sense in their CGI laptop,but i did enjoy the art effects in the initial scenes ,almost like abstract expressionism of braque and kandinsky ,but then it all degenerated into a superfluous mexican road trip with chicos and exploding cop cars -what a tragedy .
i hope they dont try to retransplant alba and make a re-make ,
that will be a disaster worst then the silly ending where the future is ultimatedy modified .
one might hope some one with just common sense ,even if blind can modify tinseltowns perceptions of true psychological horror and the infinity of discovering the realm of senses,it sounds like an impossible wish ,
but alba looks good and acts for the first time which was a pleasant surprise and hence i gave it three stars ,otherwise it is as average as one missed call and just as easy to give a miss except if you like miss alba like i do -
ALBA IS A DARLING
usman khawaja -jbz7879

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Powerjen said...

Posted on Apr 28 2008 15:56 This film had the potential to be a fantastic horror, however some scenes were a little slow and the storyline took a while to get going, saying this there was plenty of scares and a bit of action at the end, overall an interesting horror.

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danny said...

Posted on Apr 28 2008 15:44 it was very good but some really boring scences so but overall it was good

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misshiggy said...

Posted on Apr 27 2008 00:09 I'm sorely disappointed to say that I agree with the critic's review. I can say that there were indeed some 'scary' scences that did make me jump but the storyline in general was really poor and just did not flow. By the last 20minutes it became tedious and predictable. Jessica Alba pretty as she is did not convince as a true musician. The doctor irritated me and the sister felt like a spare part. Such a shame as should of been a good horror just failed miserably.

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:) said...

Posted on Apr 25 2008 16:22 really good .....but scaryy :L

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