The Eye

I came across The Eye years ago when it was recommended to me by my brother who saw it at a midnight showing at Uni.  I bought the R3 disc and it's been a favourite of mine since. 
 
The premise is simple: Mun, a young woman blind since the age of two, is given a cornea transplant to enable her to see.  As she slowly regains her sight, Mun begins to see more and more of a young boy who asks if she's seen his report card and strange spectral figures.  Going to her appointment one day, she sees a boy in the road and walks straight through him, only to find that a car crash has just killed the boy and that his spirit is being led away by a figure in black.  Confiding in her doctor, they establish that some spirits stay because they are suicides or victims of a violent death whereas others don't want to leave because they have unfinished business.  

Her psychologist, Dr. Lo, who is helping Mun to train her eyes and understand what she is seeing, overcoming 18 years of blindness, is in the shadow of his uncle, a respected consultant ophthalmologist who doesn't believe what his nephew says but agrees to divulge the donor's details to help them figure out why Mun can see the things she can.
 
Written and directed by brothers Danny and Oxide Pang, The Eye has proved to be massively successful and, like so many other Asian horror films, was the subject of an inferior American remake.  Its success is entirely warranted as The Eye is an extremely effective and creepy film with some genuinely gripping and unsettling scenes.  Angelica Lee won several best actress awards (including one at the Hong Kong Film Awards) for her performance which is extremely plausible and affecting. 
 
This film probably marked the high point in the Pang Brothers' careers, with the two sequels and a remake of their own film Bangkok Dangerous failing to meet the expectations that their early films showed.  The Eye is very well directed and edited so that the visual tricks work, with Mun's shifting bedroom and a particularly unnerving scene in an elevator highlighting their skill.
 

The Disc

 
Extra Features
All the disc has is Theatrical trailer, 2 teaser trailers, the UK TV spot plus an Asia Extreme trailer reel. 
 
The Picture
Not quite as sharp as it could be with a little bit of colour bleeding and some poor definition in the low light scenes but the visual and CG effects are excellent.  The location shooting adds to the impressive visuals - the last act takes place in Thailand with an obvious visual shift from Hong Kong.
 
The Sound
As well as the very good Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo are the quite superb Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and the DTS-ES 6.1 which, with its discrete surround mix is the pick of the three.  Delivering clear dialogue, terrific atmosphere and well orchestrated jumps, this is a superb soundtrack.  The film is very well scored by Orange Music with a good variety of quiet, subtle motifs to go with the louder, more atmospheric music.
 
The subtitles are clear and legible, making the film easy to follow.
 
Final Thoughts
Outside of Ringu, Dark Water and A Tale of Two Sisters, The Eye is one of the better Asian horrors of the last 10 years or so and is a film I really like.  It has an interesting and involving story that could have gone into an unconscious 'I see dead people' parody of The Sixth Sense but stays away from that by having a slightly more complex narrative and a great ending.