Fango recently caught up with actor Alessandro (FACE/OFF) Nivola, star of the upcoming remake of the Asian horror hit THE EYE. The new movie, currently slated for Lionsgate release October 12, is directed by French filmmakers David Moreau and Xavier Palud, the duo behind the Eurohorror festival hit ILS (THEM). Giving us the lowdown on the latest in the trend of East-to-West genre translations that has given us THE RING, THE GRUDGE and DARK WATER, Nivola tells Fango, “There’s not too much resemblance between the [leading man] character in the original EYE and my role in this. I play a doctor who is very confident in his work setting and very socially uncomfortable outside of it. He’s a bit like Gene Hackman in THE CONVERSATION—but then this girl comes into his office, and he falls in love with her.” Of course, “this girl” happens to be Jessica Alba, sexy star of such blockbusters as SIN CITY and the FANTASTIC 4 films.
When it comes to comparisons with the original Pang Brothers-directed EYE, Nivola believes there’s room for improvement. “I thought it was not as scary as it could have been,” he says. “The one major difference in terms of our film is that the directors don’t want there to be any sense of ‘a ghost.’ They want everything that you see to feel real. I don’t know—to me, when you see something floating in the air, it doesn’t feel real. That said, I thought [the Pangs’ film was] a clever story, and told with integrity.” And just as in the original movie, the actor notes that the remake’s major setpiece is saved for “the third act.” And the actor laughs that Alba adapted easily to her first full-fledged cinematic terror tale. “I think she’s just hugely relieved that she isn’t in a spandex suit or anything.”
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