Review of My Little Eye (2002) by Patrick E — 01 Jun 2010

The 2000â??s will mostly be remembered for the internet explosion and reality TV so I guess it was only natural that a filmmaker would pick up on these pop culture items and create a film based upon with the result being UK horror film My Little Eye. Itâ??s undoubtedly an original concept which is refreshing in this day of sequels and remakes and for the first half is truly an excellent film but the final half hour is nothing short of a travesty.

The film starts off explaining that five people have entered an internet reality show where they will have to live in an isolated house for 6 months. If they can last the time without any of them leaving they will win $1m but if any of them leave they will all get nothing. The house is littered with webcams with the show being streamed live 24 hours a day. Immediately after the concept has been explained we cut forward to the final week of the 6 months where a series of strange happenings have begun to occur around the house. Firstly the heating is cut, then one of the characters granddads has supposedly died and eventually dark aspects of each character past begin to be played upon. Is it just the production company trying to get them to leave the house or is something more sinister at work?

Honestly the first hour of the film is truly excellent stuff. The large creaky old house is suitably eerie, the rising tensions are excellently portrayed as each character begins to become increasingly paranoid and the mystery surrounding whatâ??s really happening is brilliantly built upon. Although all the characters are clichés, such as the druggy and the jock etc., each one is giving sufficient screen time for us to get to know their idiosyncrasies which are then twisted and played upon with strange happening. The camera work is excellent and it really is an excellent mystery horror film thatâ??s quite disturbing at times. Even after the mystery of whatâ??s really happening is unveiled itâ??s surprisingly not a let down and only adds to the films premise. Then the final twist is revealed and the film takes an incredible nosedive to utter mediocrity for the final half hour.

How the filmmakers thought this would be a good idea is beyond me. In one foul swoop they took an interesting and genuinely disturbing premise into your typical B-Movie horror plot. All tension and mystery is lost and we watch the lost half hour in disbelief. Itâ??s painfully predictable with a laughable ending and simply ruins everything that came before it. Even the camera work loses its way, nothing at all went right in the last half hour.

For the first hour, My Little Eye is a wonderfully original and interesting horror film that sadly really loses its way in the last half hour. Itâ??s a shame as it really could have been one of the best horror films of the decade but ends up being another average effort. Itâ??s definitely worth an effort for the first hour and some people might even enjoy the final twists but for me it just didnâ??t work.