The Eye parents guide

The Eye Parent Guide

Overall C

Sydney Wells (Jessica Alba), who has been blind since childhood, undergoes an experimental transplant operation in the hopes of regaining her sight. However, the young woman fears the surgery may have worked too well, when she begins to see shadowy images she suspects are part of the supernatural world.

Release date January 31, 2008

Violence C-
Sexual Content B-
Profanity B-
Substance Use B

Why is The Eye rated PG-13? The MPAA rated The Eye PG-13 for violence/terror and disturbing content

Run Time: 98 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Yet another “I can see dead people” horror movie, The Eye pits its young female protagonist (perhaps if men were better screamers, they would get more leads in this genre) against death itself.

Sydney Wells (Jessica Alba), an accomplished violinist, has been blind since a firecracker accident when she was five. Looking like she has a serious case of cataracts (one of many medical blunders in this film), she nervously awaits her surgery date, hopeful that her sight will be restored. But the blurred images she initially sees after having the bandages removed are not filled with the beauty she has been dreaming of for the past two decades.

The problems begin in the middle of the first night of her lengthy hospital stay (she must have excellent insurance coverage) when she sees what appears to be her incapacitated elderly roommate heading out the door. Running after her, she discovers a dark menacing figure escorting the lady down the deserted hall (this hospital seems to have a serious lack of help on the night shift). This strange aberration is followed by other horrific dreams such as mirages of her bedroom morphing into an adobe home, a fire and “ghosts.” (One of these phantoms likes riding the elevator in an apartment building, while another is an anxious child concerned about losing his report card).

Desperate for help, she turns to Dr. Paul Faulkner (Alessandro Nivola) a therapist who specializes in helping people who have had their sight restored (definitely a niche market). His solution is to repeatedly tell her she’s seeing things that are not real. But Sydney believes the images are part of the life experiences of the deceased cornea donor. And she’s convinced there is a message she is supposed to be receiving through all of this.

Aimed at the usual horror movie demographic (teens through twenties), this remake of an Asian film will hold issues of concern for parents—the greatest being characters preparing to and committing suicide (one by hanging, another by jumping from a high-rise window). Amidst the frequent jump scenes there are also depictions of people on fire, bleeding, and screaming for help. About a half-dozen mild and moderate profanities are included. Sexual content consists of a momentary (and needless) view through obscured glass of Alba in the shower.

With heavy doses of scary music, squeaky doors and haunting winds, this thriller doesn’t stray far off this genre’s beaten path. And with the horrific “escorts” sent to take dying people away, the movie does nothing to promote death as being a spiritual or peaceful experience. That leaves little reason to encourage your teens to open The Eye and see what’s inside.

Starring Jessica Alba, Parker Posey, Alessandro Nivola. Running time: 98 minutes. Theatrical release January 31, 2008. Updated

The Eye
Rating & Content Info

Why is The Eye rated PG-13? The Eye is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for violence/terror and disturbing content

The Eye is likely to be a poor choice for anyone who doesn’t enjoy “made you jump” moments. Depictions of suicide will also make it inappropriate for many viewers. During the movie, the protagonist sees people being lead away to death by menacing looking humanoids. As well, she has repeated visions of people being burned in a fire, during which we see people in flames and bleeding. Two characters are depicted committing suicide—one jumping from a high-rise window and another who is seen explicitly dying from hanging. A woman cuts herself on glass and is shown bleeding. A naked woman is seen behind an obscured glass shower door—no explicit details are evident. Half-a-dozen profanities are heard, including a scatological expletive. A woman drinks sherry to calm her nerves.

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The Eye Parents' Guide

The protagonist in this movie begins having memory flashes from another person’s life after receiving a cornea transplant. There is some investigation being done to investigate this rare phenomenon. Check out this page by Leslie Takeuchi, to learn about some of the explanations and evidence of current research in this area: http://www.med.unc.edu/wellness/main/links/cellular%20memory.htm

Home Video

The most recent home video release of The Eye movie is June 2, 2008. Here are some details…

DVD Release Date: 3 June 2008

The Eye is releasing to DVD in both widescreen and full frame versions. The theatrical trailer is included with the disc. Audio tracks are available in English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0), with subtitles in English and Spanish.

Related home video titles:

The original “I see dead people movie” is The Sixth Sense. A mother, forced to live in the dark because of her children’s hypersensitivity to light, begins to believe their home may be haunted in The Others. This horror movie is a remake of an Asian film, just like One Missed Call and The Grudge.