The Eye
Picture: B Sound: B Extras: B- Film: B-
From the Pang Brothers
comes 2002’s film The Eye, which
made its way to the U.S. some sensation as it intrigued audiences all over
the world. It was said to be in the
fashion of Ringu, which was then
later remade in the states as The Ring. In some ways the comparison holds up, but in
others it does not. The Eye is
classified as a horror film, yet that does not totally hold true. In some ways it deals more with the
psychological twists and not in the same way as Alfred Hitchcock, who was
dealing with the psyche in other ways.
In The Eye we are brought
into a world almost like an Edgar Allan Poe story that has come to life. We are more afraid of what is just beyond
what we know.
Our story is about a blind
girl who gets a transplant that will allow her to see again, but with her new
sight she now sees ghosts. Her mission
now is to find the person that gave her the cornea transplant; or rather the
dead person from who it came from in order to figure out what she is having
these new visions. Problem number one
with the story is the simple fact that it is rather pretentious to begin
with. However, the Pang Brothers manage
to incorporate some interesting visuals in order to suspend our disbelief. Not only that, but we are not subjected to
some of the toned down intellect that is plaguing our Hollywood system, which is a nice touch.
Released through Palm DVD,
The Eye is presented in a 1.85 X 1
anamorphic transfer, which looks ok, but has some issues with detail, depth,
and even a prominent color palette. The
overall scheme seems toned down even less than it should. Patterns or objects in the distance are never
as sharp as they could be. There is also
a general softness to the picture, but even given all these minor drawbacks the
film still comes across in a watchable version.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 EX mix allows for an encoded matrixed middle rear
channel to be heard for those with 6.1 systems.
The disappointing factor here is that the soundtrack never becomes as
engaged as one might expect or hope for.
DTS would have been a nice touch, which would have allowed for a better
bass management and overall fidelity would have been increased. Palm has yet to issue a DVD theatrical film
with the DTS option though.
Also included are a few
extras, which include a making of featuring some interviews and other odd and
end type of stuff; nothing that is overly important to the disc. The
Eye makes for a decent evening of entertainment. Fans of Stephen King or Edgar Allan Poe might
find this a nice buy. Those who are
expecting full gore are not going to be satisfied and those want sheer mystery
will be left unfulfilled as well.
- Nate Goss
