The Eye 2

First we must acknowledge that 'Oxide Pang' is the coolest name in the world of movies. Now we can get to The Eye 2, the Pang Brothers' brave follow up to their international hit The Eye. While the movies are dissimilar enough that they don't warrant comparison, the Sewer says The Eye 2 is just as good, if not better, than the first. You can blame great acting, stylish direction and a seriously cock-eyed story for your viewing rewards, but if you want The Eye style terror, move on to something else.

We liked the first Eye for two bravura scare-pieces and its trust in the viewer's intelligence, but felt it petered out, despite a bombastic ending. The latest orb takes the same care in setting up a few slices of supernatural shenanigans, but they're not the sole reason for the film. The Eye 2 follows a lovelorn, suicidal woman through her pregnancy as she tries to figure out why ghosts keep bothering her.

The strength of Qi Shu's performance elevates The Eye 2 well above its station. However, despite a truly creepy take on the miracle of birth, there just aren't any scares on display, and I know that's what you've come for. Still, in service of the psychodrama the Pangs are slinging, Shu effortlessly makes real an expectant mother's descent into paranoia - as if women experiencing normal birth don't have enough to be paranoid about.

A few bits featuring Korean myths will simply confuse most viewers; even while lending to the air of weirdness and creepy imagery. The Pang's attention to gorgeous shots and detail is laudable, but their watery phantoms don't do much but sit or float around. Check out The Eye 2 if you are an Asian Horror completist, a fan of that Pang style, or want to creep yourself out prior to having a child. As a psychological drama, The Eye 2 is quite meaty, but if you are looking for serious scares, look elsewhere.

The eyes have it, the scare factor, that is.

That bloody nose still gives me the creeps.

Why, I've got half a mind to ...