Here is the latest American remake of one of Asian cinema’s recent blockbuster hits. The Eye is director David Moreau’s take on a young girl’s twisted visions following the surgical restoration of her sight. Sydney Wells (Jessica Alba) is a highly renowned concert violinist whose sight was scarred after a childhood accident. In order to overcome the extreme guilt she feels about her sister’s blindness, Helen Wells (Parker Posey) arranges for Sydney to have a life changing corneal transplant surgery. Sydney’s operation is successful, but before she is able to embrace her restored sense, she falls victim to terrifying images of horrific death and ghastly afterlife. In order to salvage her sanity, Sydney resolves to uncover the identity of her donor and unlock the mystery behind the frightening apparitions only she can see.

For the most part, I enjoyed this. The Eye makes good on the kind of horror that's great for being...well, senseless. Here is the classic conundrum of the pitiful, innocent victim of circumstance: the beautiful blind girl fatefully forced outside the realm of normal vision no matter what she does to help herself. And so even though the storyline eventually becomes a little silly, Alba’s character is sufficiently strong and she carries a thoroughly convincing and somewhat heartfelt performance. And, of course, Alba’s face is so gorgeous that fright befits it beautifully.

I’d never thought I would write this, but here it goes: “Jessica Alba was the only person who could act in this film.” Even Parker Posey was so ineffectual here that I can’t imagine what she was thinking when she took on this role. The same goes for Alessandro Nivola (Dr. Faulkner), who exhibits neither sympathy nor sexual tension around Alba, making his performance essentially worthless to the emotional value of the film. There is really nothing exciting going on between any of the characters in this movie. A lot of this problem probably relates back to a relatively dry script; The Eye rests mostly on visual effects and thus looses its focus when it comes to compelling dialogue.

Here’s the thing: The Eye is everything it ought to be and nothing short of what it promises. Anyone who’s seen the film’s preview should know enough not to expect another Sixth Sense; since The Eye centers around rather gimmicky scare tactics (and lovely Jessica Alba) the single sense you’ll satisfy is your sight. But, for what its worth, The Eye makes a terrific Friday night date movie for its choice chilling moments and its pleasantly sluggish story.

Liz Licorish
LizFlix@ElitesTV.com