Jessica Alba in for some eye-popping surprises in THE EYE(2008).
© Lionsgate & Paramount Vantage

Mania Grade: C-
Title: The Eye
Rating: PG-13
Starring: Jessica Alba, Parker Posey, Alessandro Nivola
Writers: Sebastian Gutierrez based on an original screenplay by Jo Jo Yuet-chun Hui
Directors: David Moreau & Xavier Palud
Distributor: Lionsgate & Paramount Vantage

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THE EYE

A generic Hong Kong horror remake, with a little touch of the sixth sense. In The Eye, we meet Sydney Wells (Jessica Alba), a blind, but accomplished concert violinist who undergoes a corneal transplant....It is after she receives such transplant, to regain eyesight she hasn't had since childhood, that she starts to see and feel things that aren't supposed to be real... It turns out, she had inherited the eyes of a woman who could see dead people and see accidents that she could have prevented. Sydney feels helpless and thinks she might be going crazy, and it doesn't help that the people around her do not believe her, but she feels compelled to discover why she is experiencing such things and goes on a quest to find out the truth

This movie is yet another Hollywood remake of a previous smash-hit Asian film, originally directed by the Pang Brothers back in 2002. Unfortunately, much like The Grudge, One Missed Call and many others, it fails to capture what made the original source material so interesting for audiences. Jessica Alba proves that she can carry a movie, and some of her scenes in this movie are very well acted but they can't overcome other aspects which take away from the experience. The directors, David Moreau & Xavier Palud, fail to explore her character in depth and choose to go for the random scare plot-devices and generic scenes that plagued most horror films. Parker Posey and Alessandro Nivola also star in this movie, and their talents, much like Alba's, go to waste too.

I do have to admit though, that there were some good horror scenes inside the end product but they were few and far between other issues, which took away from the pleasure of the experience. The scenes themselves didn't make much sense if you try to connect them to the movie. The plot evolves to a fast pace and lots of questions are left unanswered, like, how did Sydney end up with the eyes of a Mexican woman, who has never been to the United States, and has no connection to anyone in that country. And The Sixth Sense type plot twist that comes half way in the movie does little to explain or make sense in the story...

I only recommend this movie if you are a fan of these generic remakes, or a fan of Jessica Alba, but other then that, I suggest you save your money or go rent the original movie