While THE EYE remake has recently hit the US, there have already been two sequels to the 2002 original. I've only just caught up on THE EYE 2, but it has renewed my interest in the movies of the Pang Brothers. After really enjoying the sustained creepiness of their version of THE EYE, I cooled off after seeing BANGKOK HAUNTED and THE TESSERACT, both of which were far less gripping.
But THE EYE 2 succeeds as a well-conceived sequel, faithful to the premise of the original, without slavishly copying it. There's a new set of characters and a whole new haunting.
Reversing the locations of the first film, the story starts in Bangkok as Joey (Shu Qi) tries some shopping therapy to get over a messy relationship break-up. After her ex refuses her phone calls, she attempts suicide in her hotel room. But the resulting near-death experience activates her ability to see ghosts...
When she returns to her home in Hong Kong, she discovers she's not only pregnant, but haunted. When she gets trapped in a hospital lift, a terrifying incident convinces her that the ghost will try to kill her unborn baby...
This could actually be the worst film to watch if you're expectant parents. Shu Qi gives a sustained and emotional performance, spending much of the story terrified that she's going to lose her baby. It's difficult not to sympathise with her enduring this gruelling ordeal, despite some revelations about her character.
The various haunting scenes are imaginatively shot and cleverly conceived. Though I didn't find as many scares as creepy as the first film, there are some powerful and grisly shocks. The only real mis-step in the story was a couple of scenes with a rapist - his character looked more like a sitcom geek.
But considering that Oxide and Danny Pang started out in grading (tweaking the colours of film for a stylised look) and editing, they here avoid the current overblown trend for flashy editing and surreal colouring.
The Pangs are currently in the US, directing a remake of one of their earlier films (is that called re-directing?), BANGKOK DANGEROUS, now starring Nicolas Cage.
After such a rewarding experience with THE EYE 2, I've now to catch up on more past Pang product, like AB-NORMAL BEAUTY, OMEN and EYE INFINITY, the third of the EYEs.
THE EYE 2 is out on DVD in the US and UK, though I watched the Hong Kong disc, which has DTS sound and a (slightly) alternative ending.
Exte - Hair Extensions
It's good to see actress Chiaki Kuriyama finally back in a Japanese horror film. But with Sion Sono directing, it was never going to be a straightforward affair. Sono also wrote and directed the infamous SUICIDE CIRCLE aka SUICIDE CLUB (2002), with its unbelievable opening sequence where dozens of schoolgirls join hands at the edge of a subway platform and then jump under a train. Despite a central story of an investigation into the serial suicides, the director tied in a bizarre subplot involving a girl band. The opening was a great hook, the dramatic scenes were gripping and downbeat, but Sono was obliquely exploring other themes - the sort that only film critics seem to understand. The bizarre song and dance... Read full review...
