Studio: Arrow Video
Release Date: 4/21/2026
Rating: R
Film Grade: C
The Story: Wong Kar Mun lost her sight at the age of two, but fortune has smiled upon her. She’s about to get a cornea transplant that may restore her vision. What should be looked at as a blessing comes with its own consequences as she starts seeing ghosts that are invisible to those around her.
My Take: The concept of medical transplants leading to unforeseen hazards is not new to cinema, reaching back to early entries like the silent feature The Hands of Orlac, to Oliver Stone’s The Hand, and even Steve Martin’s The Man with Two Brains. While The Eye is billed as horror, it has more in common with folk and fairy tales. Part of this is attributable to Asian culture, as their perspective on ghosts is much less frightening than Western culture sees them.
Brothers Danny and Oxide Pang (Bangkok Dangerous) direct from their own story with scriptwriting help from Yuet-Jan Hui. Producer Peter Ho-Sun Chan and Hui had collaborated earlier on the Going Home segment from the first
Three trilogy, which was the best realized of the stories. That same type of storytelling is employed here, with things starting out on the mundane before turning into the fantastical.
Mun has to make adjustments to her life after the operation. We watch as she starts to see things again that she’s only known by touch, something those of us blessed with eyesight take completely for granted. Not to mention that she can’t read. There are also unforeseen social adjustments that she didn’t expect. These aspects are handled very well by the film as we see the support structure around her life and the challenges that come with regaining what was once lost.
The supernatural aspects are slowly introduced. First with fleeting glimpses and disturbing dreams but building towards an undeniable reality. A reality that is easier for some to believe and accept than it is for others. It isn’t long for Mun and the audience to wonder if her newly regained sight is a gift or a curse. How she resolves that makes up the last act of the story.
There’s a romantic element to the film that doesn’t completely work due to how sudden and superficially it’s handled. It’s a part of the film that could have used more development or been excised completely.
Visuals: The 4K disc feels very film-like. There is some grain, as expected, but it’s never distracting. In the extras, there’s a clip from inside a taxicab where the rear window sparkles with grain. That’s absent in the actual disc, so I’m not sure if some digital smoothing was used or if the clip in the extras is from a bad source. If they did employ grain reduction, I didn’t notice any negative effects like waxy faces. The overall color palette tends toward the bland, keeping the film grounded.
A variety of innovative filming techniques were used, such as the opening credits appearing in braille morphing into English words, and ghost that have a translucent and hazy effect that works surprisingly well. There are flashback scenes in black and white and the movie is intentionally blurry when shown from Mun’s perspective immediately after she regains her sight. Mun’s viewpoint of the overhead operating room lights immediately triggered flashbacks of my own cataract surgery a couple years prior, a very effective shot.
Audio: The movie is front channel heavy with some occasional use of surrounds. The score uses percussion for some of the more intense scenes, later tempering them with soft, lyrical piano notes. Strings are used in the plot but also added later to build tension. Dialog is clear, and there are subtitles for those of us that can’t understand Cantonese.
Special Features: The reflections of Peter Ho-Sun Chan offer his perspective as an Asian filmmaker who was looking for talent at the time. The archival segments are interesting, especially the special effects work that went into the intense ending sequence. The booklet insert provides credits, technical details, and an essay that touches on some of the cultural aspects of the movie.
- Reflections on The Eye, a brand new interview with producer Peter Ho-Sun Chan
- To See and to Feel: Vision, Empathy and the Feminine Ghost Story in The Eye, a brand new visual essay on the film by critic and horror specialist Heather Wixson
- An archival making-of featurette with interviews with producers Peter Ho-Sun Chan and Lawrence Cheng and actors Angelica Lee and Lawrence Chou
- An archival featurette on directors Danny and Oxide Pang
- Original theatrical trailers
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tommy Pocket
- Collectors' booklet featuring new writing on the film by film critic and Asian cinema specialist Hayley Scanlon
Final Verdict: This is a different kind of horror movie than what we would see from the American market. I will say that it’s piqued my curiosity about the Jessica Alba remake and what changes may have been made to suit the domestic box office. I found myself more interested in the story about how Mun was adapting to the unexpected challenges of sighted life more so than the supernatural consequences of her operation.
In that way, it was a success. Angelica Lee’s performance is completely credible and thoughtful, and I really liked her in the role. The plot just never fully gripped me, part of which may be attributable to cultural differences. Arrow adds to their list of well-produced discs with added supplemental material. Fans of Asian cinema are likely to appreciate it more than I did, so for them this is an easy recommendation.
Fun Fact: The grand ending sequence seems unbelievable but was actually based on a real-life incident.
This review was written by a human without the use of AI.My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
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