The Eye 2 - Not Necessarily A Sequel. Interesting But Hard To Follow.

The Eye 2 (Gin Gwai 2) is an Asian horror film by the Pang brothers, who did the original, The Eye, as well as The Tesseract and Bangkok Dangerous.  Although touted as a sequel to The Eye, this film is more of a stand alone production with it’s own storyline.  The fact that this film is not merely a sequel works to it’s advantage, creating opportunities to go in different directions without the constraints of remaining true to some previously determined formula. 

I like the Pang brothers.  I thought Tesseract covered some new territory in a well constructed piece of cinema.  In the first Gin Gwai, the main character discovers the spiritual world following a cornea transplant.  Rather than bringing back the other characters and trying to create a continuation of the first film, the writers (Lawrence Cheng and Jojo Hui) created a new set of circumstances surrounding the delicate topic of suicide, which plays a prevalent role in the film.  The choice to go in a new direction with this film seemed to be a wise one.  The Pang brothers who produced the movies along with the writers managed to deliver a fresh look at the original concept in The Eye 2, without using the original as a crutch.

In The Eye 2, Joey Cheng(Shu Qi) has a deepening relationship with a man named Sam (Jesdaporn Pholdee).  Joey does not realize that Sam is married.  At the beginning of the film, you witness a cell phone conversation between Joey and Sam from Joey’s point of view.  The telephone call gives the impression that Sam does not want to see Joey anymore.  There is a bit of a misunderstanding, because Sam’s wife (Eugenia Yuan) overhears his conversation while he is speaking to Joey.  The misunderstanding leads to a failed suicide attempt by Joey.

As the film progresses, we begin to see overlapping points of view regarding the conversation between Joey and Sam.  Additionally, we find that Joey has become haunted, with a spirit taunting her leading those around her to think that Joey has emotional problems.  Joey does not fully understand what it happening to her and seeks guidance from Buddhist Monks.  The Monks assist Joey in understanding the spirits she is seeing, but Joey does not want to give in.  To avoid spoiling major plot twists, suffice it to say that Joey is pregnant and does not want to have her baby.  Her realization of the events that she is experiencing creates some good creepy fun.

The Eye 2 deals with interesting issues like Karma and Reincarnation.  The reincarnation angle of the movie actually makes it a little less spooky, although the creepy factor remains high enough to keep the suspense level up.  There were elements of The Sixth Sense in the film, although the concept was not stolen from that film.  The idea for this film is more rooted in the religious traditions of the Far East.  The writing is a bit confusing at times, but the overlapping stories eventually work well together to tie together some interesting plot twists.  The writers did a good job of keeping the pace moving while maintaining a decent level of eeriness.

The Eye 2 was released in 2004.  This 95 minute film was released by Applause Pictures.  The film contains sub-titles, which may be a negative for some viewers.  The Motion Picture Association of America settled on an R Rating for the imagery depicted in the film.  The creepiness combined with the constant suicide theme may be a bit much for younger viewers.  There is a small amount of gore, but not enough to earn an R Rating.  The rating is probably a product of the subject matter taken as a whole.  Kids prone to nightmares should probably stay away from this one.  It should be fine for most teenagers.

I enjoyed The Eye 2, but found that I had trouble following the plot at times.  It was not overly complicated, but the time frames jumped around a bit.  The writers did a good job of indexing key points to assist the viewer in tracking the movement, but it still got confusing at times.  I thought the movie was worthwhile, providing a fresh look at some old concepts.  However, it was probably nothing more than a rainy day type film.  If you like the Asian Horror genre, then this is a must see.  If you are more into Hollywood films, then you may not enjoy this film.  As a whole, I would give The Eye 2 three stars with a moderate recommendation.