After finally being given a chance at the director's chair with 1973's “The Bamboo House of Dolls,” director Kuei Chih-hung became known as one of the better choices to helm the sleazier side of genre fare while working at the Shaw Brother's studio. Efforts ranging from “The Killer Snakes” to “Corpse Mania” and “Bewitched” only confirmed this feeling and he became responsible for similar efforts in his career at the studio. It's therefore odd to see him responsible for this early obscurity as his third film, 1974's “Ghost Eyes,” is more restrained than his later features but still manages to be quite enjoyable and worthwhile.
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After meeting up at work, manicurist Bao Ling (Chen Szu Chia) starts to talk with new customer Shi (Sze Wei) and an accident forces her to visit him at his optometrist shop. After being given contact lenses to replace her previously broken glasses, it soon becomes apparent that he's controlling her through the lenses and neither she nor her boyfriend Au-ping (Lin Wei-tu) can remove them or explain what's going on with her. As they discover that the plan is to use her as a vessel for Shi to gain access to the other workers at her manicurist shop to help replenish his strength as a vampiric ghost trying to return to the flesh, they must turn to various masters of the supernatural to combat his plans.
Overall, “Ghost Eyes” was a pretty fun and likable effort. One of the better features is a surprisingly fun and intriguing storyline by writers Chen Yun-Wen and Kuang Ni that brings about several enjoyable aspects. The simple setup between Bao and Shi that sets everything in motion is innocuous enough that it never feels like the lead-in to greater danger while the burgeoning ploy of Bao continually waking up naked in a strange bed or constantly seeing people that no one else can come off rather well. The combined idea of these factors merging to spell out the supernatural malady afflicting her and the resultant idea of possession these acts signal, is treated rather logically. As a result, the discovery of Shi's diabolical plans and what it means for Bao to break out of the trance she's in provides some interesting twists not normally expected in this type of fare.
On top of that, this setup is the lead-in to a host of fine supernatural hauntings. The first half of “Ghost Eyes” focuses most of its scares on psychological scares that run into one of two categories. Those would be the effects of the vampiric drain of her lifeforce or the ability to see ghosts which no one else can. The visions are understandably chilling whether it's the hallucinations of those doing normal activities or scenarios like the victims of the mudslide crying out for help. While the psychological torments here are far more impressive, the idea of Shi using Bao for sexual gratification before the secondary storyline where he forces her to bring victims to kill allows for a fine introduction of the Taoist Priest to save her. It sets about a fantastic finale where the big confrontation is rather chilling and creative in how the battle takes place while also getting quite inventive with its effects to generally be a rather fun time.
There are some issues with “Ghost Eyes” that do bring it down. Among its main drawbacks is a jarring and odd structure in place that seems to switch up the tempo depending on the needs of the scene. The first half, where it's more about Bao realizing that Shi has possessed her and is controlling her, moves along quite quickly getting a lot to like in a nice period. However, the middle of the film slows down quite a bit where the need to figure out what's going on and why Bao's lifelessness and acting differently comes about at a much slower tempo. There are too many meetings between the two to set about the next target or her boyfriend Au-ping trying to talk sense into her that don't amount to much. It also highlights the other flaw in that there's nowhere close to the kind of sleaze or gore that's expected of this one which can feel dry and underwhelming, making for the biggest detriments to this one.
A generally fine genre effort with a lot to like here, “Ghost Eyes” comes off quite a bit better than expected even if there are some drawbacks that do bring it down. Those who appreciate this type of genre fare, are fans of the creative crew or are curious about this one will enjoy it.
