Sydney Wells (Jessica Alba) lost her sight in a childhood accident. Years later, her big sister (Parker Posey, in a disappointingly flimsy role) still feels guilty and arranges for a cornea transplant that restores Sydney's vision but also has an unexpected side effect. She now has the ability to see nasty spirits escorting the recently (or soon-to-be) deceased to the afterlife.
Big question: Will Alba ever again appear in a movie that screens for critics to review before it opens?
Skip it: Not as bad as you might expect—especially considering the whole no screening thing. Alba makes for a solid B-horror movie heroine in a role that plays to her strengths: good looks, a sweet personality and an undeniable vulnerability (something that has hindered her attempts at the action genre). Still, there just isn't much weight here for the sex symbol to carry on her slender shoulders.
Catch it: For the inevitable "I see dead people" joke courtesy of Sydney's doctor (Alessandro Nivola).
Bottom line: A professionally crafted horror movie for the broadest possible audience—the scares are fairly tame, there's no gore and the spirits are anonymous-looking amorphous blobs. That approach might have worked if there was any mystery to Sydney's situation or the film's elaborate climax provoked any reaction stronger than a shrug. "The Eye" never aspires to be anything more than slick sleepover fodder, but at least that qualifies as a step up for Alba.
Bonus: Renee Zellweger was originally going to star, but when she dropped out the producers obviously decided to go in a different direction.
(9 ratings)
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