The Eye

R

Released Jun 6, 2003

1h 38m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

List

64%

Tomatometer

102 Reviews

72%

Audience Score

25,000+ Ratings

After 18 years of blindness, 20-year-old violinist Wong Kar Mun (Lee Sin-Je) regains her vision when she undergoes a corneal transplant. She's overjoyed with the procedure, but Mun's elation dissipates when she begins experiencing ghostly encounters. Desperate to discover why she now sees ghosts, Mun turns to a psychologist, Dr. Wah (Lawrence Chou), who believes the new corneas are causing the problem. When Mun and Wah travel to her cornea donor's hometown to investigate, her symptoms worsen.

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Critics Consensus

Conventional ghost tale with a few genuine scares.

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Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

Rated: 1/5

May 13, 2009

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 4/5

Dec 30, 2006

Full Review

Geoff Pevere

Toronto Star

With its spooky first-person rendering of Mun's experience -- blurred, tentative, disoriented -- The Eye creates a world of constant and imminent upheaval.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 21, 2003

Full Review

James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

Rated: 2/5

Oct 18, 2008

Full Review

Reel.com

Rated: 1/4

Oct 18, 2008

Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

Is it a horror, a thriller, a tragedy, a disaster pic, or a romance? It's never really sure, but either way it limps along through various dips into different genres and often times is scrambled and confused...

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 5, 2008

Full Review

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MasaHiro X

Honestly has a fantastic atmosphere, scares and spooky moments… this film feels like a thriller film, there's a few moments that are silly but over all it's got tremendous atmosphere and spooks. Definitely should be considered a classic in the horror genre. This movie may have a few flaws but overall it's a pretty solid horror film! Definitely does blur the lines between horror and thriller however.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/08/23

Full Review

Justin T

This is a more thoughtful but less intense version of The Grudge (2002). It also has shades of Final Destination (2000) except on a far more intelligent scale. I really enjoyed this. It is not too scary so if you want an easier ride then this is perfect. It is very thoughtful so if you want to exercise your brain then this is perfect. Everything is very solid about the film and seems to have been completed to the highest standard. It is not too long although occasionally runs a little slow although this is barely a problem. I really liked it. It isn't scary but that is not what it was made for. Well worth watching.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/05/23

Full Review

Des M

Original asian horror movies are always so much better than the hollywood remakes.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/20/22

Full Review

Liam D

Much more of a really amazing suspenseful ghost Thriller than a horror movie and it has a shocking final act to make it stand out in Asia cinema

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/18/21

Full Review

Emil T

The Eye is a supernatural thriller that has its moments of definite terror, yet others that resemble something out of a sentimental epic, conjoined for a gripping story set to film. If you're able to overlook the movie's atmosphere that feels like we've delved backwards in time, you'll discover that even the most unlikely of foreign nations (in this case, Hong Kong and Singapore) has the ability to intrigue us enough to disregard subtitles, a low budget and an unacquainted cast. The Pang Brothers' The Eye commences at a hospital in Hong Kong, where 20-year-old classical violinist Mun (Lee Sin-je) is about to undergo a risky cornea transplant, which will allow her to see for the first time since she was two. Shortly after surgery Mun has blurred visions that she can't seem to decipher, visions that ascend into frightening apparitions and deathly prophecies. Haunted by these ghostly images and eerie hallucinations, Mun seeks the help of her psychologist Dr. Wah (Lawrence Chou), who finds himself smitten with his charming patient. The two set out to disentangle Mun's mysterious abnormality, finding themselves in Thailand to learn more about Ling, the donor of Mun's plagued corneas. They discover that Ling had similar visions herself, ones that had her cast as a witch, and that compelled her to take her own life. Once Mun is able to rectify Lin's unresolved issues it seems that all is okay again, until Mun now discovers her ability to forecast fatalities and catastrophes, such as the one that restores her blindness at the film's finale. High-tech graphics aren't exactly The Eye's big selling point, and some of the acting is delinquent, but as a whole the film was better than I could've imagined, which highlights my own ignorance to Asian cinema. The 98-minute film, which found its way into just over a dozen North American theatres in the summer of '03, was remade by American filmmakers last year (starring Jessica Alba), but critics suggested we avoid it altogether. In my humble opinion, stick with the original and settle in for a competent thriller that doesn't need Hollywood to render it worthy for our accustomed eyes.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/16/21

Full Review

Audience Member

Not particularly deep, a missed opportunity around the premise really but not irredeemable

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

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Danny Pang

Director

Oxide Chun Pang

Director

Lee Sin-Je

Wong Kar Mun

Lawrence Chou

Dr. Wah

Yut Lai So

Yingying

Candy Lo

Yee

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Synopsis

After 18 years of blindness, 20-year-old violinist Wong Kar Mun (Lee Sin-Je) regains her vision when she undergoes a corneal transplant. She's overjoyed with the procedure, but Mun's elation dissipates when she begins experiencing ghostly encounters. Desperate to discover why she now sees ghosts, Mun turns to a psychologist, Dr. Wah (Lawrence Chou), who believes the new corneas are causing the problem. When Mun and Wah travel to her cornea donor's hometown to investigate, her symptoms worsen.

Director: Danny Pang, Oxide Chun Pang
Producer: Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Lawrence Cheng
Screenwriter: Yuet-Jan Hui, Danny Pang, Oxide Chun Pang
Distributor: Palm Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 6, 2003, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 15, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $503.7K
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby EX, Dolby A, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)