Wasted Potential Full Of Cliched Horror Tropes
When it comes to Eastern horror films, the quality is usually very, very good or very, very bad. Unfortunately, The 3rd Eye falls into the latter. With a lacklustre script, some questionable acting and some under-developed ideas, The 3rd Eye is an underwhelming horror at best, one that has a promising concept at its core but fails to live up to its promise with a shoestring budget and an over-reliance on the usual horror tropes you’d expect. After a brief prologue setting the scene for what’s to come, the story picks up ten years from that date to show sisters Alia (Jessica Mila) and Abel (Bianca Hello) grieving after learning of their parent’s untimely deaths. After moving back into their childhood home, Abel begins seeing the dead and with it, a resurgence of the same problems she faced as a child. At her wit’s end following her sister’s erratic behaviour, Alia visits medium Mrs. Windu (Citra Prima) who explains about the 3rd eye and her sister’s ability to see the dead. Deciding to try to help her, Alia has her third eye opened and with it, the ability to see the dead. What follows from here is the usual flurry of non-stop horror as Alia struggles to control her newfound gift (or curse if you will) while uncovering a gruesome, shocking secret regarding their house. While the story is pretty unoriginal and there’s nothing here you haven’t seen a million times before in other horrors, The 3rd Eye squanders most of its potential with a lacklustre second act and an over-use of jump scares and in-your-face horror. The first time you see one of the undead charging toward the camera there’s a little injection of fear and it definitely catches you off-guard but after seeing this same trick three or four times in its 110 minute run time, The 3rd Eye feels like a one trick pony. Thankfully these moments are made more bearable by a strong reliance on practical effects and make-up that collectively do their best to make the film at least look appealing. From the oozing crusts of blood coming out of mouths to the ripped, ragged clothes, The 3rd Eye does its best to try to visually increase the scares but there just isn’t enough here to help the film rise from its mundane, clichéd premise. When it comes to low-budget horror, there are numerous examples out there that show you can do a lot with a little. Unfortunately, The 3rd Eye is not one of them. With lacklustre acting, a clichéd story full of the usual horror tropes you’d expect and an over-reliance on jump scares, The 3rd Eye is a throwaway horror at best, one that fails to live up to its intriguing concept in a meaningful way.
