THE EYE (2002)

In a world of everlasting darkness where sound, touch and smell guide you through the daily grind, hope exists. For Mun who, although happy, dreams one day of being able to see her own reflection in the mirror, gets a second chance to see the world when she undergoes a cornea replacement operation to restore her long lost sight. The operation is a resounding success as Mun's vision slowly starts to return and little by little the blurring fades as her new world is brought into focus. But as she gradually embrace what was once lost to her, she begins to have terrifying and unexplained visions of another dimension.
This smolderingly tense horror from the brilliant minds of the Hong Kong born Pang brothers is yet another fine example of a film ripe for western picking. It is one of the most thickly atmospheric movies I have seen in an ice age which wastes no time in getting the hairs standing up on the palms of your hands (yes, you read that right) and sucks you into another world full of eerie sounds and subtle hallucinations. To achieve the chilling atmosphere which runs through the core of the film, the Pang brothers have kept the reality of our female protagonist in an almost constant state of the mundane with the world often going on around her as she encounters visions that are truly disturbing. This often leads to a heightened involvement with the story as the viewer constantly tries to second guess the coming of the next horror whilst peering into the dark corners of the screen with a cushion firmly at hand just in case.

The movies origin's obviously dictate the inclusion of subtitles which are frankly a blessing over the inclusion of clumsy dubbing voiced by western chimps. For those of you reading this (No, not you Mum) thinking "no way am I going to watch a film which requires READING", then think again. This has to rate as one of the better films for introducing a fledgling horror fan to the freakish joys of Eastern cult cinema. Trust me, you will find the change of pace and rich visual flair a real joy compared to the Americanised 'TV Meal' approach.

Tartan have gone all out to ensure that this release is a little 'different' starting with the wonderful packaging which see's the normal DVD case nestle neatly within a plastic box containing an image sheet which seemingly shifts when the angle changes. 'Cosmetic' you might think? Well you might be right if it wasn't for the audio/visual enhancements that help soup-up the already outstanding presentation. Digitally remastered anamorphic nightmares drip from the screen aided in their mission to frighten onlookers by a restrained DTS-ES 6.1 and Dolby 5.1 EX sound track which attacks the senses from all sides to truly immerse the lucky few.
Seemingly after all the effort spent on bringing the best technical experience to the home viewer, little inspiration was left for the addition of any substantial special features with the inclusion of only a hand full of trailers (all be it for some excellent looking upcoming Tartan 'Asia Extreme' titles) to fill out the package. If you can live without these distractions then you can't really fault this disc with it's gorgeously rich sound that will assist in jangling the nerves of those with the equipment to handle it, and a rock solid picture who's vibrancy helps convey a dark and alienated world filled with ghostly images and unsettled spirits.

Score

9 / 10