Cellular Memory \ ‘sel-yə-lər\ ‘mem-rē\:
A phenomenon in which transplant recipients
display the characteristics of the donor.

How do we judge what is real?  Can our eyes be trusted to not mislead, to show things as they are?  How do we know that what we are seeing is really there?   Over 30,000 Americans undergo corneal transplants each year, and is quickly becoming commonplace procedure.  But, what would happen if something unforeseen occurred?  THE EYE portrays the terrifying events that befall a young woman, Sydney Wells, who undergoes such a procedure, but she soon discovers her new eyes bring with them far more than she ever expected.

Sydney Wells (JESSICA ALBA) is a renowned Los Angeles-based concert violinist.  Intelligent, accomplished, and strongly independent; she also happens to be blind, the result of a childhood tragedy.  As the story begins, Sydney undergoes a double corneal transplant that restores her sight after more than two decades of blindness. After the surgery, neural specialist Dr. Paul Faulkner (ALESSANDRO NIVOLA) is enlisted to help Sydney cope with the difficult adjustment of regaining her sight and making sense of what she begins to see.   Coupled with the support of her older sister, Helen (PARKER POSEY), Sydney’s world slowly starts to come back into focus.  

But Sydney's happiness is short-lived.  Inexplicable bizarre and frightening images begin to haunt her. Are they a temporary result of her surgery?  Are they caused by Sydney's mind adjusting to sight?  Are they products of her imagination?  Or, are they something horrifically worse? As Sydney's family and friends begin to doubt her sanity, Sydney is soon convinced that her new eyes have somehow opened the door to a terrifying world only she can see.

From Lionsgate and Paramount Vantage, THE EYE is based on the 2002 Taiwanese horror film of the same name written by Jo Jo Yuet-chun Hui, Oxide Pang and Danny Pang and directed by the Chinese filmmaking duo Danny Pang and Oxide Pang.    The film, which was an international hit, caught the attention of C/W Productions, who bought the rights for an American remake.  “Great films have at their core characters who are trying to achieve something on either a physical or emotional level,” states Paula Wagner.  “Alba’s character Sydney overcomes her physical disability,” continues Wagner, “and following cornea transplant she learns that she must rediscover who she is and her place in the world and must learn to handle the emotional changes that come with it.”  

In the search for a director for the project, the producers approached French directing duo David Moreau and Xavier Palud, who gained international acclaim for ILS (THEM), a taut thriller they wrote and directed about a young couple who is terrorized by unseen forces in the French countryside. Of the many horror projects Moreau and Palud were subsequently offered, THE EYE was their favorite.  “What we liked was the fact that we could really work on what was not obviously supernatural,” explains Moreau. “There were great opportunities to play with the audience’s minds, to show them things that they couldn’t determine were real.”

Moreau and Palud were intent on maintaining the ambiguity of Sydney’s sanity. Sydney is convinced that the dark and terrifying visions she sees following her operation are real, but her doctor and her sister can’t help but conclude that she’s undergoing a psychological breakdown.  Says Alba, “This story is scary in a different way because the audience is never sure if my character really is seeing things or if she’s just losing her mind.  Walking that line allows the audience to really put themselves in Sydney’s shoes.”

 “I think it's the unseen that’s always more scary,” adds Moreau.  “It’s all about finding the right balance between showing and not showing, and letting the audience use their imagination.”

The Eye is available on DVD and Blu-Ray June 3, 2008.

Rating:    Rated PG-13 (For violence / terror and disturbing content)
Running time:    97 mins.

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