The Sight

THE SIGHT is a TV movie wherein former '80s teen heart throb Andrew McCarthy helps track down a serial killer by using a newly developed gift of second sight and the help of some friendly spirits. McCarthy, a decent and likable actor, here portrays an American architect on assignment in London who can't believe his own eyes as the dead begin to contact him for help. This amiable knockoff of THE DEAD ZONE and THE SIXTH SENSE has some very clever visuals and terrific set design, courtesy of director Paul Anderson of "Resident Evil" notoriety. A satisfyingly violent climax makes up for the general flatness of this British/American TV pilot for a series that evidently never was. Anderson employs lots of well-done CGI to create a nightmarish mood rare for a TV movie. Two moments worthy of special note: McCarthy sitting in a playground full of kiddie ghosts and later surrounded by his spirit friends after a church service and funeral. A word of warning: The TV broadcast ending is different than the DVD ending. Ignore the DVD ending; it makes absolutely no sense.

Although billed as a 'TV movie' this screams out that it was a pilot for a tv series. There are some reasonable 'make you jump' moments and some creepiness, but this is a supernatural drama rather than a horror show or even tense thriller. Whilst the plot 'twists' in the main story were obviously signposted, the final references to a whole new layer of plot showed promise. Shame that it doesn't seem to have been picked up as a series for that to be delved in to - with luck, there will be at least a second 'movie' to wrap up that 'ghosts of the ghosts', matrix type of thing that they seemed to be heading for...

Found this film to be quite enjoyable, considering it dealt with the spirit world and spirits that need a place called home. There is a serial killer loose and Andrew McCarthy,(Michael Lewis),"The Orphan King",'05, gets himself involved with the restoring of a very old Mansion and opens up boxes which contain all kinds of problems he has to face. Michael eventually gets assistance from Detective Pryce,(Amanda Redman),"Sexy Beast",2000, who resents Michael and thinks he is nuts and needs a shrink to solve his vision problems. If you like tales about the supernatural and spirit world this is a good film for you.

A movie made for TV that was clearly meant to be a pilot for an on-going series. But as it often goes with made-for-TV pilots, the series never happened. A shame, really, as 'The Sight' shows good potential and the film is well-executed on all levels. 'The Sight' offers a bit of a strange mixture of mystery, thriller, horror & a touch of comedy. But somehow it works quite well. Pretty stylish too. Maybe nothing too special in general and it feels a bit too artificial at times. But as it hints at, a TV-series could have taken an interesting route with the material offered. The protagonist is a guy who inherits the ability to communicate with ghosts. Him and the ghosts end up working together to identify (and possibly defeat?) a serial killer. Just seek out a copy and watch the rest for yourself. Director at the helm of this project is Paul W.S. Anderson, who has a nice track record when it comes to science fiction & horror movies. On his filmography you'll find some quality genre entertainment like 'Event Horizon', 'Soldier' and some of the 'Resident Evil' films. 'The Sight' makes up for a nice addition and somewhat of a different kind of movie than what we're used to coming from Mr. Anderson.

I completely disagree with the comment that this movie is a rip-off of The Sixth Sense. Whereas that film had no real plot and depended on the "surprise" to keep the viewer interested, this film gave the main character true power and depth. Granted, the cinematography was exceptional for a TV movie and was largely responsible for the eerie feel of the film, but so what? It was a small-budget picture that allowed us to see the remarkable talent of one of the 80's guys as an adult and was very impressive when considered with other cable movies of its kind. It also left us with the feeling that Andrew McCarthy's character might be able to parlay his ability into a series - which I would personally love to see. FX has done an amazing job with its original movies and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.