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{{short description|Film by David Moreau and Xavier Palud}}
{{Infobox Film
{{Infobox film
| name = The Eye | name = The Eye
| image = Poster theeye.jpg | image = TheEyePoster.jpg
| alt = Realistic drawing of a brown eye, with four fingers grabbing the bottom lid from inside.
| image_size =
| caption = Promotional poster for ''The Eye'' | caption = North American release poster
| director = ]<br>Xavier Palud | director = David Moreau<br>Xavier Palud
| producer = ]<br>] | producer = ]<br>]<br>]
| screenplay = ]
| writer = '''Original Screenplay:'''<br>Jo Jo Yuet-chun Hui<br>]<br>'''Screenplay:'''<br>Sebastian Gutierrez
| based_on = {{Based on|'']''|]<br />Jo Jo Yuet-chun Hui}}
| narrator =
| starring = ]<br>]<br>]<br>] | starring = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]
| music = ] | music = ]
| cinematography = | cinematography = Jeffrey Jur
| editing = | editing = ]
| distributor = ]<br/>] | studio = ]<br />]
| distributor = ]<br />]<ref>{{cite web|title=The Eye (2008)|website=]|access-date=17 February 2023|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64636-THE-EYE?sid=82a57c44-2341-4dfb-8d4b-998d112fcf30&sr=6.736256&cp=1&pos=0}}</ref>
| released = {{Flagicon|United States}} ], ]
| runtime = | released = {{Film date|2008|2|1}}
| country = {{USA}} | runtime = 98 minutes
| language = ] | country = United States<br>Canada
| budget = $12 million | language = English
| budget = $12 million<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2008/THEYE.php |title=Movie The Eye - Box Office Data |publisher=The Numbers |access-date=10 August 2011}}</ref>
| gross = $14,890,681
| gross = $58 million<ref name=mojo/>
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| website = http://www.lionsgate.com/theeye/
| amg_id = 1:336356
| imdb_id = 0406759
}} }}
'''''The Eye''''' is a 2008 ] directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, written by ], and starring ], ], ], and ]. It is a ] of the ]' 2002 ].

'''''The Eye''''' is a ] starring ]. It is a remake of '']'', a 2002 ]-]-] film. The film was rated PG-13 by the ] for "violence/terror and disturbing content."<ref>http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/movie/2757-eye</ref>


==Plot== ==Plot==
<!-- Per WP:FilmPlot, plot summaries for feature films should be between 400 and 700 words. -->
Sydney Wells, at the start of the film, is a successful classical violinist, although blind since the age of 5. She and her sister had been playing with firecrackers and they had been set off too close to her face, damaging her corneas.
Sydney Wells is a successful classical ]ist from ] who has been blind since she was five years old, caused by an accident with firecrackers. 15 years later, after celebrating conductor and pianist Simon McCullough's birthday during rehearsal, Sydney undergoes a ], which causes her eyesight to return a bit blurry at first. As time passes, Sydney's vision begins to clear; however, she also begins experiencing terrifying visions, mostly of fire and people dying. She also sees people who are already dead: on one occasion, a girl passes right through her. Sydney attempts to unravel the mystery of the visions and convince others, primarily her visual therapist and fellow violinist, Paul Faulkner, who helps her in her quest. She knows that she is not going insane.


Accompanied by Paul, Sydney travels to ], where the ] donor Ana Cristina Martinez was originally from. She discovers from Ana's mother that the images of fire and death are the result of an industrial accident that Ana foretold. Ana hanged herself because she was unable to stop the accident. Sydney forgives Ana's spirit, who leaves in peace. As Sydney and Paul begin their journey home, they are caught in traffic congestion caused by a police chase on the other side of the border. Sydney sees the little girl from her vision in the car beside her. She then realizes that this is what her vision has been all along: to save the people who are about to die from an accident.
Now, nearly 20 years later, Sydney undergoes a cornea transplant which causes her vision, albeit blurry, to begin returning. At first, she is confused and disoriented, unable to understand if what she sees is "real" or not. During her first night with her new eyes, her bedmate at the hospital dies, and Sydney, not understanding, watches her blurry figure being led away by someone else. During her stay, she also befriends a young girl named Alicia, who is there undergoing surgery for a brain tumor.


Still able to see the silhouettes of death, Sydney gets everyone off the highway, starting with a bus filled with people. She and Paul convince everyone to leave the bus and the cars by telling them that there is a bomb inside the bus. However, a driver leading the police chase rushes through the border barriers and collides with a ], igniting leaking gasoline in the process. Sydney sees the little girl trapped in the car, her mother lying on the ground in front of it, already being hit by a passenger and losing consciousness. Paul breaks open the window and gets the girl out. Paul and Sydney carry the girl and her mother to safety just before the tank truck causes a chain explosion. Sydney is blinded by flying glass fragments in the process.
As time goes on, Sydney's vision begins to clear up and she struggles to understand the new world around her. Her therapist, Paul Faulkner, feels that her strange visions are her mind's way of interpreting what it was never able to before: including visions of fire, death, and the number '106'. Her bedroom walls keep changing to stone and back again, and she sees what appears to be the ghosts of people around her, including a young woman who walks right through her in the street just before she sees her body lying on the ground.


After recovering at a hospital, she returns to Los Angeles to continue performing as a blind violinist, though with a more optimistic view of her condition.
When a Chinese diner suddenly explodes around her, she finds herself in the charred remains. She learns that the accident that burned the diner down occurred weeks prior, revealing that her visions are of the past. Fleeing back to her apartment, she viciously smashes every light source and covers her windows (and eyes). Days later, her therapist forces his way in and removes her blinds, telling her to return to the real world.


==Cast==
Upon discovering that the face that appears in the mirror is not her own (which she finds out through photographs of her in the past), she becomes desperate to figure out who and what is sending her these visions. She begs Paul for help and finally convinces him to drive her to Mexico (at the risk of losing his medical license), in order to find out what happened to her donor, Ana Cristina Martinez.
{{Cast listing|
* ] as Sydney Wells, a violinist who regains her vision after being blind since childhood
* ] as Helen Wells, Sydney's sister
* ] as Paul Faulkner
* ] as Simon McCullough
* ] as Dr. Hawkins
* ] as Miss Cheung
* ] as Ana Cristina Martinez
* ] as Rosa Martinez
* ] as Alicia Milstone
}}


==Production==
They go to Ana Christina's house where they meet her mother,who's face looks slightly deformed.Sydney then sees a shadow behind Ana Christina's mother just as she has a heart attack.As Paul takes her to the hospital,Sydney goes into Ana Christina's room and sees more images.It turns out that young girl had committed suicide after failing to stop a factory fire that killed many of the people in the village and severely injured her own mother. After the fire, the deeply superstitious villagers, who had seen her crying outside the homes of people who were to die, believe she caused the disaster, and drive her to hang herself , calling her a witch and throwing stones at her.
Remake rights to the ]' original 2002 Hong Kong film, '']'', were purchased by ].


The band ] provided instrumental versions of the songs, "Between Breaths" and "The Love Letter" that were used in trailers and on the official website for the 2008 film. In response to the buzz it created, ] of the electronic duo suggested a possible public release of all the CexCells songs in instrumental form.
Sydney and Paul return to the US to discover the border is closed due to a high-speed chase on the other side. Dozens of vehicles are left stranded behind the closed gates. In the middle of the group of cars is a gas tanker with the number "106" on the front and a camper with a young girl in it. Sydney puts the pieces together and realizes the images she kept seeing - the number 106, the bells, and the girl trapped in a fire - weren't of the past, but of the future. She rushes out of the car, screaming at everyone to flee, telling them a bomb is on the bus. The people listen and flee, just as a car smashes through the barriers and collides with the gas truck. The tanker explodes, completely destroying every vehicle in a chain-reaction down the highway.


Alba spent much time with the blind ] Jessica Bachicha to learn about how blind people lived, used the ], read ], etc.
Small shards of glass from the explosion destroy Sydney's new corneas, a price she feels was small to pay in order to save the lives of everyone on the highway.


This American remake follows '']'', a Hindi movie released in 2005, that is also based on the Pang Brothers' film.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}
==Cast==
*] as Sydney Wells
*] as Dr. Paul Faulkner
*] as Helen Wells
*] as Alicia Milstone
*] as Mrs. Cheung
*] as Ana Cristina Martinez
*] as Alex
*] as Simon McCullough
*] as Ghost Boy


==Production== ===Filming===
The filming was done primarily in ], and the surrounding areas. Sets were created using much of the downtown metro area, Sydney's apartment was built on a sound stage and was also filmed in Albuquerque. Exteriors were shot to look like the ] area. The establishing hospital shots — wherein Sydney is supposed to have had her sight-restoring surgery — are of ] in the ] district; 3/4 shots looking north- and southeast of the main 18-floor-high central building (the same building used for the television soap-opera '']''). Fictionally, the burned-out Chinese restaurant is supposed to be located just three-blocks from where Sydney lives; the exterior scene, in which Sydney is about to get into a taxicab and travel to Mexico, was filmed on 7th Street, just east of ], in the downtown area. Shots of Dr. Faulkner's office building are of the Forestry building at the ] (UBC). Several other scenes, including outdoor shots, were shot in Albuquerque.<ref>Wendy R. Williams (2008-01-29). . ''New York Cool''. Retrieved 2010-11-28.</ref>
<!-- Deleted image removed: ] -->


==Reception==
Remake rights to ]' original 2002 Hong Kong film, '']'', were purchased by ], and their remake follows '']'', a Hindi movie released in 2005, that is also based on the Pang Brothers' film.
===Critical reception===
The film received generally negative reviews from critics, many considering it inferior to the original. On the ] website ], the film received an ] of 22% based on 78 reviews, with an average rating of 4.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Featuring wooden performances and minimal scares, ''The Eye'' is another tedious remake of an Asian horror film".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008606_eye/ |title=The Eye (2008) |website=] |publisher=] |access-date=January 2, 2019}}</ref> On ], the film has a weighted average score of 36 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-eye |title=The Eye Reviews |website=] |publisher=] |access-date=June 17, 2018}}</ref>


Jessica Alba's performance was generally criticized as well; Jeannette Catsoulis of '']'' called it "vapid".<ref>{{cite web |title=It's Enough to Make Anyone Blink |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/movies/02eye.html |first=Jeannette |last=Catsoulis |work=The New York Times |date=February 2, 2008}}</ref> Alba was nominated for a ] for the film. However, she won the Choice Movie Actress: Horror/Thriller award at the ] for her performance in the film.
==Themes==


===Box office===
Using the pretext of a psychological thriller and paranormal experiences, the film explores mental illness, and in particular, of the ] known as ], referred to in the story as ].
The film opened in second place at the U.S. box office with $12.4 million.<ref name=mojo>. '']''. Retrieved 2011-08-11.</ref> As of August 10, 2011, the film has a domestic gross of $31,418,697 with a foreign gross of $25,545,945 totaling an international gross of $56,964,642. In the United Kingdom, it grossed $1,398,958 in its opening weekend at #2.


===Accolades===
Other themes include the concept of ], or ], perhaps becoming a popular cultural crossover from Asian beliefs about the unknown- since this film was a remake of a Hong Kong horror flick, and still retains Asian themes in the 2008 version.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Award/Festival
! Category
! Recipient(s)
! Result
|-
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | 2008
| Fright Meter Awards
| Best Supporting Actress
| {{center|]}}
| {{Nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| ]
| Best Thriller
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | ''The Eye''
| {{Nom}}
|-
| Best Horror Poster
| {{Won}}
|-
| ]
| Choice Movie: Horror/Thriller Actress
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | ]
| {{Won}}
|-
| {{center|2009}}
| ]
| ]
| {{Nom}}
|-
|}


==Home media==
The story of this American version borrows narrative elements, consciously or not, from previous thrillers ] a film about a deadly human body-part transplant (a hand); ], which features a child trapped in a burning automobile; and ], in which the prognosticated, climactic bridge catastrophe threatens to take many human lives.
The film was released on ] and ] on June 3, 2008.


==Critical reception== ==See also==
* ]
The film received generally negative reviews from critics. As of ], 2008, the review aggregator ] reported that 25% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 28 reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008606-eye/ |title=The Eye - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=2008-02-02 |publisher=]}}</ref>
* '']'', a 1990 Telugu movie with a similar plot

== Box office performance ==
The film opened in second place at the box office with $13 million, recovering its $12 million budget<ref>, '']''. Accessed ], ].</ref>.

As of ], ], the film has a domestic total gross of $14,890,681.


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{Reflist}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{Commons category|The Eye (2008 film)}}
*
* * {{Official website|http://www.lionsgate.com/theeye}}
*{{imdb title|id=0406759|title=The Eye}} * {{IMDb title}}
*{{rotten-tomatoes|id=10008606-eye|title=The Eye}} * {{rotten tomatoes|10008606_eye}}
*{{metacritic film|id=eye2008|title=The Eye}} * {{Metacritic film}}
*{{mojo title|id=eye07|title=The Eye}} * {{mojo title|eye07}}
*{{amg movie|id=1:336356|title=The Eye}}
*
*
*


{{-}}
{{The Eye}} {{The Eye}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Eye (2008 film), The}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Eye}}
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] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]

]
]
]

]
{{2000s-horror-film-stub}}
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
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]

Latest revision as of 14:27, 23 December 2024

Film by David Moreau and Xavier Palud
The Eye
Realistic drawing of a brown eye, with four fingers grabbing the bottom lid from inside.North American release poster
Directed byDavid Moreau
Xavier Palud
Screenplay bySebastian Gutierrez
Based onThe Eye (Jian gui)
by Pang brothers
Jo Jo Yuet-chun Hui
Produced byPaula Wagner
Don Granger
Michelle Manning
StarringJessica Alba
Alessandro Nivola
Parker Posey
Rade Šerbedžija
CinematographyJeffrey Jur
Edited byPatrick Lussier
Music byMarco Beltrami
Production
companies		Cruise/Wagner Productions
Vertigo Entertainment
Distributed byLionsgate
Paramount Vantage
Release date
  • February 1, 2008 (2008-02-01)
Running time98 minutes
CountriesUnited States
Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million
Box office$58 million

The Eye is a 2008 supernatural horror film directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, written by Sebastian Gutierrez, and starring Jessica Alba, Parker Posey, Alessandro Nivola, and Rade Šerbedžija. It is a remake of the Pang brothers' 2002 film of the same name.

Plot

Sydney Wells is a successful classical violinist from Los Angeles who has been blind since she was five years old, caused by an accident with firecrackers. 15 years later, after celebrating conductor and pianist Simon McCullough's birthday during rehearsal, Sydney undergoes a cornea transplant, which causes her eyesight to return a bit blurry at first. As time passes, Sydney's vision begins to clear; however, she also begins experiencing terrifying visions, mostly of fire and people dying. She also sees people who are already dead: on one occasion, a girl passes right through her. Sydney attempts to unravel the mystery of the visions and convince others, primarily her visual therapist and fellow violinist, Paul Faulkner, who helps her in her quest. She knows that she is not going insane.

Accompanied by Paul, Sydney travels to Mexico, where the cornea donor Ana Cristina Martinez was originally from. She discovers from Ana's mother that the images of fire and death are the result of an industrial accident that Ana foretold. Ana hanged herself because she was unable to stop the accident. Sydney forgives Ana's spirit, who leaves in peace. As Sydney and Paul begin their journey home, they are caught in traffic congestion caused by a police chase on the other side of the border. Sydney sees the little girl from her vision in the car beside her. She then realizes that this is what her vision has been all along: to save the people who are about to die from an accident.

Still able to see the silhouettes of death, Sydney gets everyone off the highway, starting with a bus filled with people. She and Paul convince everyone to leave the bus and the cars by telling them that there is a bomb inside the bus. However, a driver leading the police chase rushes through the border barriers and collides with a tank truck, igniting leaking gasoline in the process. Sydney sees the little girl trapped in the car, her mother lying on the ground in front of it, already being hit by a passenger and losing consciousness. Paul breaks open the window and gets the girl out. Paul and Sydney carry the girl and her mother to safety just before the tank truck causes a chain explosion. Sydney is blinded by flying glass fragments in the process.

After recovering at a hospital, she returns to Los Angeles to continue performing as a blind violinist, though with a more optimistic view of her condition.

Cast

Production

Remake rights to the Pang brothers' original 2002 Hong Kong film, The Eye, were purchased by Cruise/Wagner Productions.

The band Blaqk Audio provided instrumental versions of the songs, "Between Breaths" and "The Love Letter" that were used in trailers and on the official website for the 2008 film. In response to the buzz it created, Jade Puget of the electronic duo suggested a possible public release of all the CexCells songs in instrumental form.

Alba spent much time with the blind soprano Jessica Bachicha to learn about how blind people lived, used the white cane, read Braille, etc.

This American remake follows Naina, a Hindi movie released in 2005, that is also based on the Pang Brothers' film.

Filming

The filming was done primarily in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the surrounding areas. Sets were created using much of the downtown metro area, Sydney's apartment was built on a sound stage and was also filmed in Albuquerque. Exteriors were shot to look like the Downtown Los Angeles area. The establishing hospital shots — wherein Sydney is supposed to have had her sight-restoring surgery — are of Los Angeles General Medical Center in the Boyle Heights district; 3/4 shots looking north- and southeast of the main 18-floor-high central building (the same building used for the television soap-opera General Hospital). Fictionally, the burned-out Chinese restaurant is supposed to be located just three-blocks from where Sydney lives; the exterior scene, in which Sydney is about to get into a taxicab and travel to Mexico, was filmed on 7th Street, just east of Figueroa, in the downtown area. Shots of Dr. Faulkner's office building are of the Forestry building at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Several other scenes, including outdoor shots, were shot in Albuquerque.

Reception

Critical reception

The film received generally negative reviews from critics, many considering it inferior to the original. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 22% based on 78 reviews, with an average rating of 4.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Featuring wooden performances and minimal scares, The Eye is another tedious remake of an Asian horror film". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 36 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Jessica Alba's performance was generally criticized as well; Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times called it "vapid". Alba was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for the film. However, she won the Choice Movie Actress: Horror/Thriller award at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards for her performance in the film.

Box office

The film opened in second place at the U.S. box office with $12.4 million. As of August 10, 2011, the film has a domestic gross of $31,418,697 with a foreign gross of $25,545,945 totaling an international gross of $56,964,642. In the United Kingdom, it grossed $1,398,958 in its opening weekend at #2.

Accolades

Year Award/Festival Category Recipient(s) Result
2008 Fright Meter Awards Best Supporting Actress Parker Posey Nominated
Golden Trailer Awards Best Thriller The Eye Nominated
Best Horror Poster Won
Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Horror/Thriller Actress Jessica Alba Won
2009 Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Actress Nominated

Home media

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 3, 2008.

See also

References

  1. "The Eye (2008)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. "Movie The Eye - Box Office Data". The Numbers. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  3. ^ The Eye (2008). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  4. Wendy R. Williams (2008-01-29). Jessica Alba Talks About 'The Eye'. New York Cool. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  5. "The Eye (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  6. "The Eye Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  7. Catsoulis, Jeannette (February 2, 2008). "It's Enough to Make Anyone Blink". The New York Times.

External links

The Eye films
Films
Remakes
Categories: