The Worst Film Ever

Memorable, crazy movie

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Best movie ever!

THE EYE is one of my favourite Asian horror movies: a sublime ghost train ride of a movie, packed full of spooky sequences (not to mention THAT famous lift scene). So, from the outset, THE EYE 2 has its work cut out to even be mentioned in the same territory, let alone equal that first film's success. Having just finished watching it, I can confirm that, while it's nowhere near the same level of quality as the first movie, it turns out to be a fairly decent horror film in its own right.The story follows on from the first film's but goes off on a tangent. This time around, the lead is a suicidal woman (played by THE TRANSPORTER's Shu Qi) whose attempt to kill herself leads to her being able to see ghostly spirits. Oh, and she's pregnant. The whole storyline is centred around the pregnancy and pregnant women in general, which makes for an intriguing slant on the first film's story. Of course, it's also an excuse for lots of creepy shots of ghosts just hanging around.The material definitely feels looser this time around. Danny & Oxide Pang paint their film in broader strokes, throwing in a couple of Hong Kong urban legends (the faceless woman and the voice at the bus stop) that make no sense in relation to the plot but which make good fright scenes anyway. Although an attempt to emulate the first film's lift scene is an unmitigated disaster (those underwater swimming-style effects shots made me chuckle if anything) a lot of the other scary moments are effective, particularly a moment involving a couple of ghosts at the bus stop.It's not a great movie, which is mainly down to the writing; the script dictates that the leading character is selfish and repellent for much of the running time, so there's a distinct lack of somebody to root for. Shu Qi acquits herself well in the fright stakes, but fails to elicit any sympathy for her character's plight. Watch out for a welcome cameo from HARD BOILED's Mad Dog, Philip Kwok, as a Buddhist master. Overall, as Asian horror films go, this is one of the better ones (and trust me, I've seen my fair share of ones that aren't).

After reading many reviews of this film i didn't go in to this film with high hopes, many reviews said the film was like a soap opera in parts and relied to heavily on jump scares. Although the film has many jump scares i found the acting was top notch and the film was not only scary, in parts it was disturbing too.The story starts with Cheng a pregnant woman who is struggling to survive because the father of her baby wants nothing to do with her, Cheng tries to commit suicide but fails and in replacement she gains the ability to see ghosts. While the story has very little to do with the first i still found it entertaining trying to figure out why the ghosts were drawn to pregnant woman. Cheng is also haunted by the same woman who seems to stalk her everywhere she goes but unfortunately this part of the story was predictable and easy to work out, so when the twist is revealed there is no big shock still the story may not be the most original but its still interesting. Now this is a horror film so you will be expecting lots of scares right? well its kind of a mixed bag here, there are plenty of scares throughout and most succeed but a few fail. For instance the bus stop scene i'm not going to ruin anything but this was one of the most effective and disturbing scenes iv seen in a while, On the other hand the taxi scene was just strange and borderline laughable. The film is creepy throughout as ghosts are shown in most scenes but they look like just normal people so this might put some people off the film. I wouldn't let it though because when its revealed why they are drawn to pregnant woman the placement of the ghosts in each scene makes sense and is probably the scariest part of the film. But these creepy scenes don't forgive the fact the rest of the the scares are jump scares, i didn't mind this as they were done better than most Hollywood horror films but the music that accompanied the jumps sounded like something off a video game. Still the film had me jumping out of me seat more times than the average horror film. I would recommend this film to anyone who wants to see horror that focuses equally on story as well as scares. The acting is top notch and there aren't many characters so the few there are, are developed well. The film has many interesting and original ideas but it does steal some from other horror films, still the film is jumpy, scary and disturbing everything a horror movie should be.

~Spoiler~The Eye 2 sees the Pang Brothers back in familiar territory. This time out they're telling a completely different ghost story that has little to do with the original film. The new story follows a pregnant Shu Qi as she tries to kill herself multiple times and something will not let her die. Once again there are some chilling moments but I was ultimately let down. I watched Stir of Echoes, The Eye, and The Eye 2 back to back to back; I'm ready for an evil ghost movie. The ghosts in this film just hang around pregnant women while they are waiting to be reincarnated. The idea would have made a good anthology episode, but hardly warrants a feature film. That's the main flaw here, it didn't hold my attention. And I found Shu's character to be very annoying. She whines all the time and even after she knows the ghosts don't have evil intentions she is still afraid they are going to hurt her baby. If Philip Kwok tells you the ghosts just want to be reincarnated, you believe him. I know they are capable filmmakers, but the Pang Brothers have yet to seriously impress me.

When the DVD of "The Eye 2" slid into my player, I had began to think I'd seen most of the scary scenes that Asian cinema had to offer. Don't get me wrong, I love Asian movies - it's just that in recent months, every film I'd watched had the same Ringu-like ghosts, the same overall feel.For me, "The Eye 2" felt like a breath of fresh air. As a very loose sequel to the first movie, this film has a lot to offer. There are some genuinely effective "BOO!" moments in the first half, and a real sense of unease throughout the proceedings.The very beautiful and extremely talented Shu Qi plays the central character, Joey, who's failed suicide attempt opens communication channels with the world of the dead. This is a cue for ghosts to present themselves at every opportunity...and not just in the dead of night. The feeling that Joey isn't safe at any time is effective and the ghostly apparitions managed to take me by surprise on more than one occasion, nearly leading to a trip to the dry cleaners. By borrowing from urban ghost stories, the directors include some very effective and chilling set pieces into their movie.For the sake of realism, Shu Qi certainly had to go through some pretty unpleasant experiences - in the first 10 minutes of the film, there's a hospital scene that some may find difficult to watch.The Pang Brothers have delivered, in my opinion, a better film than "The Eye". While the pay-off in this film couldn't match the sheer spectacle of the first, "The Eye 2" has a satisfying conclusion and its ideas will linger with you once the credits have rolled.