Eye, The [(w/DIGITAL COPY)]

Also true to Asian horror-movie tradition, there are a few creepy kids along the way doing what creepy kids always do in these kinds of movies: hang around looking creepy. And true to time-honored horror-movie tradition in any country, nobody believes the character who sees things that others cannot see or explain.

A lot happens in "The Eye" without a lot actually happening. We mainly get mood without substance, the whole middle of the picture being redundant beyond hope. Then we get a melodramatic climax that appears almost random, as though the filmmakers merely said, "OK, folks, we've got to wrap it up; let's go for the big finish."

Ultimately, "The Eye" is more corny than scary or moving. Its plot doesn't really work as a good ghost story or supernatural thriller, and in the hands of Ms. Alba, its main character never often makes us care for her plight. So while it's all very slick and polished, it doesn't leave us with much more than a feeling that we've been there and seen it all before.

Video:
I can't say I agree with the directors' choice of hues and tones, but, hey, it's their picture. No major complaints about the MPEG4/AVC, 1080p, BD25 transfer, though. It does a decent job reproducing the movie's odd color scheme, this one running high to blacks, browns, and golds, with shades rich and deep. The object delineation is good, too, but inner detailing loses a little something as the general look of the picture is rather dark.

Audio:
The DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio is the best and spookiest part of the movie and rather upstages everything else. It displays a quick transient response, a taut, deep bass, and ultra clarity, without a trace of hardness or edge. Appropriate to a horror story, you'll find an abundance of surround activity, most of it more fascinating and more worthy of repeat listening than the story line that accompanies it.

Extras:
There's a fair share of bonus materials on the disc, although they're all fairly brief, starting with eight deleted scenes that total about twelve minutes in all. Then there are four featurettes. The first one is "Birth of the Shadowman," about a minute and a half with the actor who plays one of the characters in the movie. Next is "Becoming Sydney," about five minutes dealing with Ms. Alba's portrayal of the main character. After that is "Shadow World: Seeing the Dead," a bit over eight minutes that try to make the case for the story's parapsychology. And the fourth item is "The Eye: The Explosive Grand Finale," six minutes on the special effects and location shooting of the movie's climactic sequence.

The disc also comes with eighteen scene selections; a widescreen theatrical trailer; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; English and Spanish subtitles; and English descriptive audio services for the visually impaired (a narrator reports on everything that's going on). The keep case also contains a digital copy of the movie in standard definition for download and viewing on an iPod, PC, or other compatible device.

Parting Shots:
In all, "The Eye" is a pretty ordinary ghost story. Its Asian origins mean it's going to have plenty of shadows and blurry shots and creepy kids, plus a slow, moody pace. But because it's an American remake, it adds absurd theatrics and eye-catching pyrotechnics. The result is a film that does a lot less than we'd like. It's neither scary nor disturbing, neither suspenseful nor involving. It's just well-made, dark-toned confetti.

In fairness, the Wife-O-Meter, who usually doesn't take to these kinds of things, liked the film better than I did. She said it kept her engaged until the big finale, where it tended to fall apart. Her score was a 6/10.

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