‘See No Evil’ has a problem with vision

If gore-to-the-floor horror fans attuned to Lionsgate’s aggressive attempts to corner the genre consider the hugely successful “Saw� movies and January’s torture hit “Hostel� the equivalent of satisfying entrees, then the new “See No Evil� has to qualify as a flavorless snack, time filler until “Saw III� and “Hostel 2� are served up.

And no, same-title spotters, it’s not a remake of the truly unnerving Mia Farrow chiller from 1971.

The only question of homage this hyper-directed dreck posits is whether it’s now considered old-fashioned when a fright flick trots out the trapped-teens-in-peril construct, or simply lazy.

The comely victims here are a gaggle of detention-facility troublemakers -- who could have been plucked from a WB network casting book -- assigned to clean up a decrepit old hotel which, judging by the toilet-explosion color scheme of the walls, floors and tiles, would take them into middle age to complete.

Not to worry. In a movie under 90 minutes, they start getting picked off -- or out, since eyeballs are the trophy prize -- almost immediately by a grunting psycho the size of a wrestler. Specifically, the size of World Wrestling Entertainment star Kane, who plays the killer with a debut performance characterized mostly by dragging young actors with a hook, hurling them against walls, or staring confusedly to cue flashbacks that explain his tortured, abused-kid past.

Which I suppose brings up another question: Do we really want psychoanalysis from a splatter film? Not that director Gregory Dark -- whose behind-the-camera resume is sex and rock ‘n’ roll (adult films and music videos) -- cares more about that than turning the style knob to 11 with whiplash camera turns, shake effects, outlandish deaths and squirty sounds. But ultimately, I see no originality in “See No Evil.�

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‘See No Evil’

MPAA rating: R for gruesome violence throughout the film, language, sexual content and some drug use.

A Lionsgate release. Director Gregory Dark. Screenplay Dan Madigan. Producer Joel Simon. Director of photography Ben Nott. Editor Scott Richter. Running time: 1 hour, 24 minutes.

In general release.