Wednesday, February 6, 2008

"The Eye" seems like a bad idea for a film

I haven't seen the new Jessica Alba film and probably won't but just the trailer makes me think this film is going to perpetuate some negative stereotypes about blind people. Also, I am someone who believes in the importance of organ donation, so a horror film that is basically about "cornea transplants turned evil" sends an awful message about how helpful organ donations and transplants can be.

One sentence in the trailer already argues my case that "The Eye" doesn't "get it" when it comes to blind people. "This surgery was supposed to make me normal," Jessica Alba's character says, after her new corneas start showing her scary things her donor saw and continues to see. The filmmakers need to understand that blind people ARE normal, and their only "difference" is their vision.

Reviewer Jason Pyles says "The Eye" resorts to a typical cliché about blind people: "Sweet, sweet Sydney Wells (Jessica Alba) is blind and has been since she was five years old. Over the past 15 years or so, she’s adapted quite well to her disability, and 'The Eye' demonstrates this by resorting to the overdone cliché where the blind person saves the seeing person from getting hit by a bus." He gives the film a rating of mediocrity.

Luckily, many reviewers don't have kind words for "The Eye." The consensus at the movie review site, www.rottentomatoes.com, is that it is "another tedious remake of an Asian horror film." But most people don't care about reviews, which probably accounts for "The Eye's" good box office receipts. In its first week, it has already made $12.4 million, whereas a quality disability-themed film like "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" has been out for 10 weeks and has only made $3.7 million at the box office. There's no accounting for taste, I guess. :-(