Anchalee Chaiworaporn

The Eye 10, aka The Eye Infinity, is one of the most disappointing films made by Pang Brothers in the last few years. I don’t know what happened to these twin directors who once made such a masterpiece as Bangkok Dangerous. Their latest work The Eye 10, turns out to be a film with no guts, no merit, and no trace of any meaning. It is just a crappy, discontinuous work that looks like a combination of several student shorts.

The story starts with the visit of a group of Hong Kong boys and girls to Thailand upon their Thai friend’s invitation. Instead of hopping around the city or trekking out into the jungle or sightseeing, they go to visit their friend’s rural house and try to conjure up a ghost. Yes, they can see a lot of ghosts if they wish. But the price that they have to pay for this challenge maybe something that they didn't expect.

The film walks us through the chapters of a Thai book called “10 Ways to See a Ghost,” which is grabbed by the Thai friend from a mysterious, deserted second-hand bookshop one day. The first two ways are orally narrated through their conversations; then the rest of the movie is told through reconstructions of the eight remaining chapters.

Unfortunately it all reminds me of the TV and radio shows a few years ago in which a group of boys and girls tried to prove the existence of ghosts in deserted houses, creepy woodlands, etc. But those programs ran only one hour, not ninety minutes like The Eye 10, which pushed me into a mood of boredom. Besides, those programs took the form of an instant adventure in which the producers and audiences shared the excitement at the same time – there was no written script like that of The Eye 10 – and they didn’t diminish their thrilling spirits by adding comic scenes and gags throughout the story.

The directors have trouble putting those eight ways together into one movie. In the beginning it resembles a combination of several short stories. The film shows us several experiences of the youngsters plus the Thai friend’s mother, before intertwining them into the characters’ uninvited real experiences. This second part of the storyline has some interesting parts, showing one woman’s true love for her boyfriend, insincere friendships among the group, and a female ghost who does not accept her afterlife destiny. But these good parts do not come in a continuous chain, and then the film leads us down a silly path again.

The only thing I found worthwhile in The Eye 10 concerns Thai beliefs about seeing ghosts. But if you can find this information in book, perhaps you can leave the movie.

All Rights Reserved.