The Eye

Posted on 21. Jul, 2008 by Jamie Shuhyta in 1080p, 2.35:1, AVC MPEG-4, DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 (English), Digital Copy, Dolby Digital 2.0 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (Spanish), Horror, Lionsgate, Reviews, Suspense / Thriller

The Eye was not a great movie but it’s not horrible either, it’s simply an average movie. In a growing trend of recent Japanese/Chinese horror remakes The Eye is actually one of the better. Released in 2008, the film stars Jessica Alba as Sydney Wells. It is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong-Thai-Singaporean film of the same name, “Jian Gui,” which in my opinion is also the better of the two. Today I will review The Eye on Blu-ray.

Sydney Wells, at the start of the film, is a successful and classical violinist, although blind since the age of 5. She and her sister had been playing with fireworks, and they had been set off too close to her face, damaging her eyes. Now, nearly 20 years later, Sydney undergoes an eye transplant which causes her vision, albeit blurry, to begin returning. At first, she is confused and disoriented, unable to understand if what she sees is “real” or not.

As time goes on, Sydney’s vision begins to clear up and she struggles to understand the new world around her. She explains to her therapist, Dr. Paul Faulkner (Alessandro Nivola), that she sees visions of fire and death and people dying. Although skeptical at first, Paul later feels that her strange visions are her mind’s way of interpreting what it was never able to before. When a Chinese diner suddenly explodes around her, she finds herself in the charred remains. She learns that the accident that burned the diner down occurred weeks prior, revealing that her visions are of the past.

Upon discovering that the face that appears in the mirror is not her own (which she finds out through photographs of her in the past), she becomes desperate to figure out who and what is sending her these visions. She begs Paul for help and finally convinces him to drive her to Mexico (at the risk of losing his medical license), in order to find out what happened to her donor, Ana Cristina Martinez. They meet her mother, Rosa, who states that her daughter could see death and that as a child she would look at houses and cry, and later in the day somebody in that house would die. This leads to a series of flashbacks that tell the mystery of what really happened to Ana Christina. After this Sydney and Paul return to the United States to discover the border is closed due to a high-speed chase on the other side. The story then turns to a series of events that tie together the images of Sydney and Ana; finally once and for all putting closure and meaning to the paranormal visions.

As I said before The Eye isn’t bad, but it isn’t all that great either. In a market flooded in English remakes like The Ring 1 and 2, The Grudge 1 and 2, and One Missed Call, it’s really hard to come up with something unique, and honestly worth watching. Most of these remakes have been…. bluntly put… utter crap, so it is refreshing to at least get a decent horror in The Eye remake. There are two things that make this film the leader of the remake pack, one the acting, and two the story. Acting is surprisingly pretty strong throughout the movie; Alba definitely gives one of her better lead performances. Supporting cast members Parker Posey and Alessandro Nivola also provide a nice extra boost. The second surprise was the story, which although still kinda predictable and campy, was still the best one translated and re-written for North American consumption. If you haven’t seen The Eye yet, no pun intended, give it a rent/buy.

Video

The Eye comes to us via 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 (2.35:1) and for the most part it’s a clean and impressive transfer. This should be expected as The Eye is a new release so there are no excuses for laziness. Color is sturdy and vibrate, especially during daytime scenes. Like many discs lately, unfortunately The Eye suffers from Black crush and it’s definitely on the heavy side. During many of the dark/night scenes I noticed a lot of detail was lost or appeared blurry, which is unfortunate. Contrast and sharpness are very good though so this helps relieve a bit of the crush noted above. Overall the video isn’t demo quality, but it’s still really really good, and worlds ahead of standard DVD.

Audio

Audio comes from a few different sources, for English your offered a DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 7.1 Surround (48kHz/24-bit). The French track is French Dolby 2.0 Surround (192kbps) and the Spanish, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (448kbps). The DTS-HD MA mix is very good, as DTS-HD tracks always are. Sounds are clean, crisp and life-like; this adds a very nice sense of creepiness and eeriness to the film. I also enjoyed the immersive effect of the surround sound, as all channels seemed to be used correctly to place the viewer in the center of the action. Highs, mids, and lows also feel appropriate; bass is nice and not too heavy or light. Overall the audio transfer, like the video, doesn’t disappoint.

Special Features

Special Features are presented in a mix of HD and SD, where most are in HD. Also included is a Digital Copy of the film for those on the go. Overall the specials are ok, but nothing ground breaking or inventive.

Featurette: “Becoming Sydney” - Presented in HD, it explains the process Jessica Alba underwent to prepare for the role, including working with the blind and playing the violin.
Featurette: “Birth of The Shadowman” - An HD look at the films main ghost.
Featurette: “The Eye: An Explosive Finale” - A look at the set up and filming of the end of the movie, presented in HD.
Featurette: “Shadow World: Seeing the Dead” - A very cheesy attempt to make us believe that this film is a real life account, and that seeing visions after eye surgeries are common???? Least it’s in HD.
Deleted Scenes - Eight scenes not shown in the film, in SD and nothing all that great.

Final Thoughts

In the plethora of Japanese/Chinese remakes headed to the North American market, The Eye is one of the best we have gotten to date. While no Oscar winner, it still has a decent story supported by a strong cast of characters. If you’re into horror like me, pick it up and give it a view on Blu-ray. Both video and audio are treats to the senses, so you won’t be disappointed in those departments. Special features are ok, but nothing amazing, but overall do provide some extra hours of entertainment.