Back in the early years of this decade the Pang brothers, Danny and Oxide, were riding high on the success of a pair of Thai films, Bangkok Dangerous and Bangkok Haunted. On the basis of those theatrical hits, the twins took to their native Hong Kong and delivered the creepy horror film called Gin gwai.

The film proved to be a hit and went on to spawn a pair of sequels, released in 2004 and 2005 (not to mention a third sequel currently in production with Tsui Hark directing), and the Pangs have since made their English language debut with the lackluster The Messengers. It has even been re-imagined in India as a film called Naina.

Now, considering the popularity of Japanese horror in Hollywood these days, it should come as no surprise that the rights were snapped up and an English language remake was set on course. That brings us to today. The remake has been released to theaters nationwide and the film is set to unleash the terror of the eyes upon an unsuspecting public. Does it work? Well, that depends on what you are looking for, but the short answer is that it is good enough, but definitely could have been better.

It has been a number of years since I have seen the original, so many of the details have faded from my memory. I am rather happy that turned out to be the case; that made it much easier to go in with a relatively clean slate.

You know how these things tend to go — you watch a film, you like it and become somewhat emotionally attached to it. When a remake comes out your natural reaction is to reject this interloper that is threatening to mar your memories of the original. Nobody likes to have someone tell them their memories are wrong, even if that is not the goal. It is all about perception. My lack of detailed memories of the original allowed me to perceive this remake as slightly more fresh, and likely helped with my overall enjoyment.

At the center of The Eye is the concept of cellular memory, the theory that memory can be found imprinted on the cellular level. This would lead transplant recipients to possibly have memories or cravings that originated with the donor. Doubt and controversy surround the thought that this could be a real thing, and to this point there have been no scientific studies regarding this idea. Well, there is nothing that I found anyway. Despite no consensus on the possibility, it still remains an intriguing enough idea to be fodder for the cinematic mill.

If you couldn't tell already, the organ causing the memories in this film are the eyes, more specifically, the corneas. Sydney Wells (Jessica Alba) is a young woman who has been living with blindness since her childhood, but a corneal transplant seems to be her key back to the land of the seeing. At first, the operation appears to be a success, but before too long strange things begin to happen. Sydney begins to see things, her room is changing and she is having strange visions. What does it all mean, and what is the connection to the donor?