Starring: Qi Shu, Eugenia Yuan, Jesdaporn Pholdee, May Phua, Alan Tern Directed By: Danny Pang, Oxide Pang Chun Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Lions Gate Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: August 09, 2005 Running Time: 98 minutes Theatrical Release Date: 2004
Product Description: Once again the pang brothers explore the troubled & complicated relationship between the spirit world & the living. Joey a young beautiful woman is pregnant & sure that something or someone wants to make sure she stays that way! Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 05/22/2007 Run time: 98 minutes
Amazon's preview system stinks! Listen, The Eye 2 is actually a fairly good movie, but if you've never seen it before and you click on the preview button to watch a short clip of the movie all you see is the opening credits. Does Amazon think people who are on the fence about renting this movie are going to say, "Oh ... I'm sure this movie will be great, just look at who the director of photography is!"
If you're going to offer a preview clip, offer a preview clip from somewhere inside the movie. The credits are absolutely worthless.
Credible follow-up, though not a sequel Typical Pang Brothers: inventive camera-work, thoughtful sound design, well constructed scenes, a few jolts, and a story line that mixes fantasy, flashbacks, hallucinations and dreams with some present tense reality and impossible events (like jumping pregnant off a building roof and ending up with only a few scratches and a healthy baby. Call it a script.
No secret, I guess, that the Pang Brothers have their own personal logic and/or they can't be bothered with cohesiveness to their stories as long as there's a general thrust of somebody doing something questionable so the scaries can come after them until they fess up in an ambiguous way. I don't care. They do everything else well enough for me to enjoy their films.
Big pleasant surprise was anorexic super-model Shu Qi nailed her part. She was beautiful and convincing.
There is no reason for this film to be called EYE 2 except for capitalizing on the success of the original EYE which dealt specifically with a blind person getting an eye transplant from ... drum roll please ... someone who didn't die right--the basis of most Asian horror--so they haunt until a remedy is found.
I'm pretty sure Shu Qi had 20/20 vision in this movie, but she was messing around with a married guy, causing the wife to commit suicide (didn't die right), comb her hair over her face like a good Asian horror girl should so she can effectively haunt the nasty mistress who is pregnant with her cheating husband's child.
The MIA husband of some other pregnant girl also haunts our heroine for some reason. I dunno.
They don't show it but at one point Shu Qi practically bites the face off some other guy. That was fun to think about.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES - MUCH BETTER THAN THE EYE 1 Plot-wise, this isn't a direct sequel to "The Eye". It has a completely new storyline, characters, etc. It is AMAZING. The storyline is wonderful, the actors are great and it's beautifully directed. It is A MUST-SEE for anyone that enjoys horror with depth.
Awesome sequel This really dips into some of the culture in Asia. a great sequel from the first and yet not an atypical sequel....you gotta love it!!!
Somewhat Of A Letdown: Will Appeal To Some My review of "THE EYE 2," refers to the Region 4 import from Cinema East. While I believe that the first of "THE EYE" trilogy films from the Pang Brothers was great, this one is a let down. It felt more like a TV DRAMA which incorporated a few scare scenes in the film. Everything which made the first film great is missing from this one: The nuance of horror, and the suggestion of terror. If you are looking for a film that moves along similar lines as this film, I would suggest the film "INNER SENSES" which was the last film by Leslie Cheung, prior to his suicide in 2003. That is a great film, and highly recommended. The narrative for me in this film did not flow as smoothly as the first film. And while it is difficult to carry this through with a follow up film, and I also realize that this film is NOT a sequel, it still left me empty and wanting.
Sure, there is the occasional scene or two that were a bit unsettling. But this does not make up for the film as a whole. Moreover, even though it is not a sequel to the first film, I believe that this film never measured up as a good horror film to begin with. [Very few ever do]. And part of this had to do with the fright aspect of the film. What frightens you? What is it about a horror film that unsettles you while you watch it? Hopefully not the gore? And certainly not the scenes that jump right out at you? If so, then maybe this film is for you. For me, it is the subtle nuance of horror, and more importantly, the suggestion of horror. The way a films narrative explores an area that triggers your brain with a fright that is unsettling. Something that puts you on the edge of your seat. That element of horror you never see coming---and then the film hooks you right in. This usually occurs in the beginning of a horror film, and then carries on to the middle and then surprising you in the ending. This film had none of these elements.
The film itself centers on a pregnant woman named Joey (Shu Qi). After attempting suicide, she begins to see ghosts. Later she goes to a Buddhist monk who tells her that she is seeing these ghosts due to Karma. Moreover, he tells her that two experiences lead one to see the spirit world. The birth of a child, and more importantly, if a person has a near death experience. Since she survived her suicide, and was near death, she tries to rid herself of these ghosts--or ghost. She has an ex-lover named Sam (Tik Jesadaporn Pholdee) who has a strong connection to what Joey is now going through. And I do not wish to spoil this for you. There are better Asian horror films out there. And while this one is better than a lot I have seen, it's still not that good. I would recommend that you rent the DVD prior to buying the film. It appears a lot of people like this film. Therefore, I recommend it with caution, and advise viewers to rent it first [Stars: 2.5]
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
