'The Eye' - A Movie Review

No, you’re not seeing things. You’re just trying to decipher why a young mysterious boy was asking you about his report card.

Directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palus, The Eye is a 2008 remake of the Japanese thriller of the same name. After a successful cornea transplant, violinist Sydney Wells witnesses haunting visions and ghosts. Now it's her duty to figure out what these visions mean before it is too late.

I don’t want to call The Eye a bad movie because it was still entertaining and had some nice jump scares. It could have had a better storyline. At times scenes that were supposed to be scary came off as humorous. The Eye was trying too hard copying from an already existing film instead of creating something new and different.

Jessica Alba is the best part of this movie. Everything from her genuine reactions of horror, her studious research for the part of a blind woman, and her utmost confidence and persistence saved the film. As Alba stated, acting in The Eye helped her expand her acting abilities.

Alba could have carried the film herself but a few supporting actors are along for this ghostly tale. Alessandro Nivola, Parker Posey, Fernanda Romero, Rachel Ticotin, Danny Mora, and Chloe Grace Moretz were present to either connect with or make Alba doubt her sanity in every scene of the film.

I do have to give a hand to Chloe Grace Moretz, who agreed to shave her head for her role as the optimistic child cancer patient. Although it's obvious what her demise will be in a film like this, one can’t help but root for Moretz because she is so joyful and courageous.

The jump scares that the film so heavily relies on come off as cheesy. Ghosts look strange even in the frightening makeup that was provided for the film.

One scene that could have been scarier took place in an elevator. Knowing that she is not alone in this claustrophobic space, the suspense is ruined with the ghost turned away from viewers looking as if it is doing something else and was interrupted when someone walked into the elevator, interrupting their solitude.

However, I did enjoy a couple of creepy scenes involving a little boy asking about a report card. While I had a few questions, the delivery and setup of the scenes made my skin tingle.

Special effects could have been better such as the incorporation of dark figures who represent death. They were interesting to watch giving viewers an apprehensive feeling. They conveyed well to the story and were eerie whenever they appeared. I wish they could have had a bigger part and were explained more.

While the movie relies on jump scares, insane visions where workers burned in a fire, and Sydney constantly doubting her sanity, writers incorporated an interesting angle about finding the patient who Sydney got her corneas from. But instead, that subplot falls fla,t revealing that these visions are of a premonition that she needs to stop.

Don’t get me wrong, The Eye is entertaining and has its eerie moments. I wish it could have had a better development that gave Jessica Alba a chance to shine her acting abilities instead of reacting to constant jump scares. It could have gone through a better and thorough edit by the writers who I think had writer's block for most of the film.

If you want to give it a watch be sure you’re not sitting in the ghost’s favorite chair and find The Eye on Netflix. Jessica Alba is not to be missed!