Writer: Jacqueline Rowena

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Watch this if you liked: “The Eye”, “Ju On”, “Shutter”

As cinemas are enjoying a string of 3D movies - moviegoers can now get shaken up, up-close with the much-loved long haired bleached skin ghosts in what is touted as Asia's first 3D horror movie, "The Child's Eye".

What was supposed to be a romantic getaway for Rainie and her friends, turned dark and haunting when they had to extend their stay in Thailand during the country's political uprising that caused the airport's closure. Out of desperation, they resorted to share rooms in a dodgy hotel in the middle of the chaos. Their encounter with three peculiar kids, and their dog led to one strange discovery after another...

It's tough to go through the show without being distracted at the graphics made suited for the 3D effects. One scene for example is when a hand eerily stretches out towards the audiences, where instead of making viewers cringe, this reviewer thought it was rather comical - obvious that it was animated.

Rigid-like characters are common to horror movies alike where most of the time all there is to do is pant heavily and frustrate at the current situation. And scream. Understandably, this was no exception. Rainie monotonously braved her way through to find out what happened to the mysterious disappearance of her friends - all this with the help of a ghost seeing dog.

There was something amiss plot-wise, no clarity on why they were in Thailand in the first place, almost disjointed with the reason and occurrences happening in the hotel. Thankfully, there were some scream worthy scenes, especially during the recognisable Pang Brothers' moment where the ghost would stare at the audience for a good 3 seconds then run towards Rainie aggressively. Remember the learning calligraphy scene in "The Eye"? - worthy enough for the reviewer to be closed eyed with a popcorn box for a good 20 minutes, especially with the 3D effect as it felt as if the ghost was staring at about 5cm away!

This writer believes in giving 3D a go. However, for those who don't appreciate unnaturalness in horror movies, 2D would appeal more because the graphics can sometimes get comical.

Cinema Online, 14 October 2010