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(About Our Ads) "THE EYE" (2008) (Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor Extreme Moderate Heavy None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor Moderate Heavy None Minor Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild None Heavy Moderate Moderate QUICK TAKE: Horror: A blind violinist's cornea transplant leaves her seeing things the donor saw, including fiery deaths, as well as visions of "the spirit world," dead people, and horrible accidents. PLOT: Professional violinist Sydney Wells (JESSICA ALBA), blind since a fireworks accident when she was five years old, receives a cornea transplant. Though Dr. Haskins (OBBA BABATUNDE) assures her that her blurry vision following surgery is normal, she worries when she begins to have visions of "things that aren't there," especially a figure called a "Shadowman" (BRETT HAWORTH), who takes away people who are dying (and usually afraid). As Sydney's visions become more violent (she sees people in fires and explosions, a boy who commits suicide and a young woman hit by a car), she becomes more concerned that these eyes are not "hers." When her therapist, Paul (ALESSANDRO NIVOLA), is skeptical, she becomes upset. This feeling is compounded when she realizes that when she looks in the mirror, she sees her donor, Ana (FERNANDA ROMANO) instead of the version of herself everyone else sees. At first, Sydney withdraws into her apartment, shutting the windows and wearing a blindfold in order to feel blind again. Then she decides to research the possible causes of her visions. When she learns Ana was from Mexico, she convinces Paul to drive with her to find Ana's mother, Rosa (RACHEL TICOTIN). Here they learn about Ana's difficult life, and her own distress over the visions she saw. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they like horror movies (especially U.S. remakes of Japanese ones) and/or are fans of Jessica Alba, they might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For violence/terror and disturbing content. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JESSICA ALBA plays Sydney, who becomes increasingly frightened by the visions of death her new eyes reveal. Intrepid at last, she pursues the possibility of "cellular memory," seeks out the identity of her donor and figures out the mystery. ALESSANDRO NIVOLA is her therapist, who first doesn't believe her, then does. PARKER POSEY is Helen, Sydney's sister, a flight attendant who feels guilty because she was with Sydney when firecrackers blinded her as a child. RACHEL TICOTIN plays the mother of the eye donor, mourning her dead daughter and helpful to Sydney. FERNANDA ROMERO plays Ana, the eye donor who was able to see ghosts and spirits, and who committed suicide. TAMLYN TOMITA plays Sydney's neighbor, who appears in one scene, to notice that Sydney can see her dead son. CHLOE MORETZ plays Alicia, a brave little girl (with a tumor) Sydney meets at the hospital. OBBA BABATUNDE plays Sydney's eye surgeon, kindly but unaware of what havoc he's wreaked. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this horror film that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of a handful of expletives, while a few colorful phrases are also present. A brief scene shows a woman in a shower, but nothing explicit is seen, while she's later seen in her underwear. Violence consists of ghostly beings taking or attacking humans, while several scenes feature people in fires, and a vision shows a suicide by hanging. Those scenes, various spooky/ghastly visuals, and potential moments of peril might be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to viewers, particularly younger ones and those with low tolerance levels for such material. Some of the violence has bloody results, while there's other bloody imagery. Some bad attitudes are present, there's a little bit of alcohol content, and some tense family material occurs. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's some handheld camerawork, as well as a swirling camera shot that might induce that reaction. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Sydney's doorman tells her, "On the night before my mother's surgery, she had two glasses of sherry. Steady as a rock the next day." Sydney drinks a little bit of sherry from the bottle. BLOOD/GORE There are repeated shots of bloody eyes in a scary montage that occurs several times in the film (about four times). On the street, Sydney is almost is hit by a car, and then walks through a blond woman, who turns out to be the victim of a car hitting her. The blond woman is dead on the street, with a small smudge of blood on her head. A Shadowman takes her away, but not before looking at Sydney and making a very scary face and roaring. In a vision, a man on fire grabs Sydney's arm, and sizzling burn marks appear on her arm when she wakes on her own sofa, then the burn marks fade away. Sydney goes into a Chinese restaurant, where she sees a cook chopping meat (sometimes this looks red and nearly bloody, but in other shots it looks cooked). In the elevator in her building, Sydney sees a man facing the corner. She's afraid and doesn't get in. After she gets into an empty elevator, the man appears behind her and begins to float toward her, with the camera focused first on his bare feet, then on his face, which is half missing and bloody. Sydney smashes a window with her arm, so it is bloody. She washes it in her sink, and blood goes down the drain. Paul comes to Sydney's apartment, sees the broken glass and bloody bandage on her arm, and takes her to the ER for stitches. Sydney has a vision of Ana in a basement with stone walls. She stands on the ratty chair and hangs herself (she convulses violently). Sydney runs to her, and bangs the pipe from which the rope is hung. She almost saves her, but Ana dies (there are bloody marks on her neck). An explosion sends glass into Sydney's eyes. She ends up on a gurney in the hospital, her face cut and bloodied, her eyes damaged again. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Sydney and Paul argue repeatedly, mostly because he doesn't believe that her visions are real. In a couple of instances, he is especially short with her (after the Chinese restaurant fire, especially), suggesting that he's not treating her so much as scolding her. Mad at Paul for doubting her, Sydney says, "When we first met, I didn't think you were such an ass." When Sydney is frightened by a ghost, her conductor/mentor tells her, "Get a hold of yourself!" rather than offering to help. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Sydney walks on the sidewalk, hears a bus coming, and pulls back a skateboarder in the nick of time (a tense, loud moment). Sydney wakes at night in the hospital and sees her elderly roommate being removed by a Shadowman. Sydney follows her into the hallway, where the scene turns scary. There are blurry images of a long hallway and the Shadowman, and the old woman moans and eventually shrieks. Sydney is at the center of swirling camera and close up shots with lots of cuts and dark shadows, while footsteps echo and there is scary music. The woman is whisked away with a whooshy sound effect, then approaches Sydney, saying, "I'm freezing," before she's whooshed away for good. A surprise party startles Sydney, the handheld camera and increasingly speedy cutting indicates her anxiety amid the crowd of people. Sydney wakes at night, and hears a noise in the kitchen that entices her to explore. She opens the oven, which explodes in flames, but she then wakes in a panic as it's a nightmare. In bed, Sydney looks around her room, which changes to another room via a scary blotching effect. In a sidewalk crowd, Sydney is bumped and pushed, and she looks scared and worried. In her apartment, Sydney hears a child's voice and looks in the hallway, with the camera following or leading her. A jump shot shows her surprise when she sees little Tomi, in a raincoat, worried about his report card and his father's violent reaction ("My father's going to kill me"). He then disappears when she turns away. At a coffee shop, regular noises (coffee machines, dishes moved) are amplified, indicating Sydney's tension, accompanied by scary music. In the coffee shop, a female ghost appears to Sydney, with too much mascara and a scared look on her face. "I'm gonna do it," she says, then jumps across the table at Sydney, who falls off her chair to get away, upsetting other customers in the shop. Bloody eyes appear in repeated montage (appearing four or five times) that includes graffiti reading "Bruja" ("Witch"), as well as a blond girl trapped inside a window with flames behind her. This is accompanied by screams on the soundtrack. In her apartment, Sydney has another vision, this time fire in the building with smoke that causes her to cough. Sydney sees a vision of a fire in a ceramics factory and hears victims screaming. A man on fire grabs her arm, and sizzling burn marks appear on her arm when she wakes on her own sofa, then the burn marks fade away. On the street, Sydney is almost is hit by a car, and then walks through a blond woman, who turns out to be the victim of a car hitting her. The blond woman is dead on the street, with a small smudge of blood on her head. A Shadowman takes her away, but not before looking at Sydney and making a very scary face and roaring. A fire explodes (loudly and violently) in the Chinese restaurant, Sydney ducks down, and when she looks up, the building is burned down around her. Paul then arrives to inform her that the building burned down last week and five people died. In the elevator in her building, Sydney sees a man facing the corner. She's afraid and doesn't get in. After she gets into an empty elevator, the man appears behind her and begins to float toward her, with the camera focused first on his bare feet, then on his face, which is half missing and bloody. In the hallway, Sydney sees Tomi again (the boy in the raincoat). When she tries to escape him, he keeps asking her about his report card, then appears at the window at the end of the hallway. He falls through the open window and she rushes to see, finding the window closed. She smashes it with her arm, leaving it bloody. Sydney sees Tomi in the hallway, his image "echoey" and spooky. Sydney smashes lamps in her apartment, shuts blinds and puts blankets on the windows, and the screen goes black. A faint scream then sounds. In the hospital, Sydney sees Alicia's ghost, who tells her, "My golf ball's gone," then walks away with a Shadowman. Sydney sees Tomi standing behind his mother near the elevator, and the mother looks afraid. In the mirror, Sydney confronts Ana, but Ana won't speak back, and only has Sydney pull her own eye open with her hand. Sydney then smashes the mirror. Sydney and Paul drive to Mexico to find out about her donor, Ana. From the car, they see a burned-out ceramics factory, and ask a young boy with a scarred face what happened. He says there was a fire and many people died. In Abasolo, Sydney and Paul meet Ana's mother, Rosa Martinez, who turns around slowly, as if she's going to be scary, and it turns out her face is scarred (she was in the fire at the factory). In Ana's room, Sydney has a vision of the fire at the ceramics factory, where people are trapped inside, and run and scream, as flames fill shelves. Sydney has a vision of Ana in a basement with stone walls. She stands on the ratty chair and hangs herself (she convulses violently). Sydney runs to her, and bangs the pipe from which the rope is hung. She almost saves her, but Ana dies (there are bloody marks on her neck). At the U.S border, driving home, Sydney sees a fire and people trapped. She realizes her vision is about the line of cars where she and Paul are waiting. She and Paul urge everyone to get out of their cars just in time, because a car being chased by police crashes into a gas truck and explodes -- hugely -- and causes all the other cars to catch fire. Sydney saves a little girl from a Winnebago (Paul smashes the glass in a window to pull her out). One of the several explosions in this accident sends glass into Sydney's eyes. She ends up on a gurney in the hospital, her face cut ad bloodied, her eyes damaged again. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "When we first met, I didn't think you were such an ass" and "What the hell is going on?" Exploring her new face, Sydney makes faces -- wide mouth, big smile, and tongue out. In the mirror all she sees is a blur. When Sydney becomes upset, she smashes the lamps in her apartment. JUMP SCENES In her apartment, Sydney hears a child's voice and looks in the hallway, with the camera following or leading her. A jump shot shows her surprise when she sees little Tomi, in a raincoat, worried about his report card and his father's violent reaction ("My father's going to kill me"). He then disappears when she turns away. In a coffee shop, a female ghost appears to Sydney very suddenly, not quite a jump shot, but startling. A jump shot reveals a shadowy figure in the hallway at Sydney's apartment complex. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A heavy amount of scary music occurs in the film, some loud, but most is low and spooky. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 ass, 1 hell, and 1 one use each of "Christ" and "Dios mio!" SEX/NUDITY In the shower, Sydney crouches down. We see her from the front, bare shoulder, with her arm wrapped in plastic and a bandage in front of her. From outside the shower, we see her blurred form, naked but not explicit. Sydney emerges from the bathroom in a camisole top and underpants. Sydney wears a gown on stage to play the violin, showing cleavage. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Helen and Sydney sit together after the operation, and we learn Helen feels responsible for the accident with firecrackers that blinded Sydney when they were young. When Sydney sees her photograph with Alicia, and says it's not her, Helen looks worried. Tomi says he's worried that his father is "going to kill" him for a bad report card. Helen worries that Sydney is not answering her phone, and leaves repeated messages: "Sydney, you're scaring me." Helen hears Sydney break a mirror and rushes toward the bathroom, saying, "What the hell is going on?" Sydney sees Tomi standing behind his mother. The mother looks afraid and asks, "You see him, don't you?" Rosa, very sad, tells Sydney and Paul that Ana had visions of ghosts and deaths about to happen, adding that she used to sit outside houses where people were about to die and cry, and that the townspeople called her a "witch," that she was "alone," and "She could see death." TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Blindness, as well as being able to see after many years of not seeing. Suicide. How artists see or interpret the world. Cellular memory. Lingering sibling responsibility for childhood accidents. Visions and spirits. The significance of Sydney and Paul's crossing the border into Mexico to discover the roots of her scary new experience. Doctors' responsibility to believe their patients and not yell at them. VIOLENCE Sydney wakes at night in the hospital and sees her elderly roommate being removed by a Shadowman. Sydney follows her into the hallway, where the scene turns scary. There are blurry images of a long hallway and the Shadowman, and the old woman moans and eventually shrieks. Sydney is at the center of swirling camera and close up shots with lots of cuts and dark shadows, while footsteps echo and there is scary music. The woman is whisked away with a whooshy sound effect, then approaches Sydney, saying, "I'm freezing," before she's whooshed away for good. Sydney wakes at night, and hears a noise in the kitchen that entices her to explore. She opens the oven, which explodes in flames, but she then wakes in a panic as it's a nightmare. In a coffee shop, a female ghost appears to Sydney, with too much mascara and a scared look on her face. "I'm gonna do it," she says, and then jumps across the table at Sydney, who falls off her chair to get away, upsetting other customers in the shop. Bloody eyes appear in repeated montage (appearing four or five times) that includes graffiti reading "Bruja" ("Witch"), as well as a blond girl trapped inside a window with flames behind her, accompanied by screams on the soundtrack. Sydney sees a vision of a fire in a ceramics factory and hears victims screaming. A man on fire grabs her arm, and sizzling burn marks appear on her arm when she wakes on her own sofa, then the burn marks fade away. On the street, Sydney is almost is hit by a car, and then walks through a blond woman, who turns out to be the victim of a car hitting her. The blond woman is dead on the street, with a small smudge of blood on her head. A fire explodes (loudly and violently) in the Chinese restaurant, Sydney ducks down, and when she looks up, the building is burned down around her. Paul arrives to inform her the building burned down last week and five people died. In the hallway, Sydney sees Tomi again (the boy in the raincoat). When she tries to escape him, he keeps asking her about his report card, then appears at the window at the end of the hallway. He falls through the open window and she rushes to see, finding the window closed. She smashes it with her arm, leaving it bloody. Sydney smashes lamps in her apartment, shuts blinds and puts blankets on the windows, and the screen goes black, and a faint scream sounds. In the mirror, Sydney confronts Ana, but Ana won't speak back, and only has Sydney pull her own eye open with her hands. Sydney then smashes the mirror. Sydney and Paul drive to Mexico to find out about her donor, Ana. From the car, they see a burned-out ceramics factory, and ask a young boy with a scarred face what happened. He says there was a fire and many people died. In Ana's room, Sydney has a vision of the fire at the ceramics factory, where people are trapped inside, and run and scream, as flames fill shelves. Sydney has a vision of Ana in a basement with stone walls. She stands on the ratty chair and hangs herself (she convulses violently). Sydney runs to her, and bangs the pipe from which the rope is hung. She almost saves her, but Ana dies (there are bloody marks on her neck). At the U.S border, driving home, Sydney sees a fire and people trapped. She realizes her vision is about the line of cars where she and Paul are waiting. She and Paul urge everyone to get out of their cars just in time, because a car being chased by police crashes into a gas truck and explodes -- hugely -- and causes all the other cars to catch fire. Sydney saves a little girl from a Winnebago (Paul smashes the glass in a window to pull her out). One of the several explosions in this accident sends glass into Sydney's eye. She ends up on a gurney in the hospital, her face cut and bloodied, her eyes damaged again. Reviewed February 1, 2008 / Posted February 1, 2008