Ghost Eyes [鬼眼] (1974)
Starring Chan Sze-Kai, Si Wai, Lam Wai-Tiu, Teresa Ha Ping, Yeung Chak-Lam, Chan Mei-Hua, Cheung Lai-Guk, Wong Ching-Ho, Leung Seung-Wan, Kong Oh-Oi, Chan Lap-Ban, Ma Siu-Ying
Directed by Kuei Chih-Hung
Expectations: High.
After Chang Cheh, I’d say that Kuei Chih-Hung is my favorite Shaw director. His work is inspired and influential, and while he never got his due credit during his lifetime, Celestial’s remastering work has definitely allowed intrepid film fans to discover his legacy and give it the recognition it deserves. Kuei’s first horror film was The Killer Snakes, with Ghost Eyes following in its wake nine months later. The Killer Snakes is definitely the superior film, but Ghost Eyes is a great movie that represents the first dip into supernatural horror for Kuei.
Wang Bao-Ling (Chan Sze-Kai) is a manicurist at a beauty shop. A mysterious man, Shi Jong-Jie (Si Wai), comes in for a treatment and takes an interest in Wang when he learns that she lives alone. After work, Wang is almost struck by a car and her glasses fall to the asphalt and shatter. Wouldn’t you know it, Shi is there to comfort her… and he just so happens to run an optical store! He invites her over for some contact lenses, under the advice that if she had been up with the times she wouldn’t be in this predicament with broken glasses. She takes him up on his offer, but the results aren’t exactly what Wang hoped they’d be! For one, she starts to see ghosts!