One Missed Call (2008)

A missable movie

I haven't seen the Miike original so I can't compare the two films but as this one stands it's okay nothing more. It is nice to see the gorgeous Shannyn Sossamon in a lead role. She plays a young college student whose friends all receive terrifying voice messages days before they die. When two classmates of hers die she fears it is only a matter of time before her phone will ring so she teams up with a detective played by Ed Burns whose sister has just died in similar circumstances. Together the two follow every lead trying to find out who or what is making the calls. Ray Wise plays his patented creepy old guy shtick as the host of a reality T.V. program who performs exorcisms and wants a classmate of Sossamon's to appear on his show. The plot is somewhat interesting since Sossamon's character was the victim of childhood abuse at the hands of her mother (Laura Harring, filmed at very unflattering angles plays the mother in flashbacks) and the suspected killer may also be a child abuser. The film is watchable but not memorable. There are a few scares and a little bit of violence adhering to its PG-13 rating but overall not a film you will be putting into your fave five plus the DVD doesn't have any bonus features. August 29, 2008

Yet Another Not-So-Scary J-Horror Remake

In "One Missed Call" a group of young Americans receive a strange message. It is a voicemail apparently recorded by themselves at the moment of their own deaths that will happen in a few days. The premise is surely unbelievable, even absurd at times, but still interesting, I admit, but you have to be very careful in turning it into a film because this kind of story becomes silly on screen pretty easily. Sadly this is exactly what happens in the remake version of "One Missed Call."

Shannyn Sossamon is Beth, whose friends start to die in a bizarre way one after another. With a help from a police detective (Ed Burns), she tries to find out the truths behind the cursed calls, and stop the chain of deaths once and for all.

So far, so good. The problem with "One Missed Call" is that everything these characters say and do looks very silly. I cannot reveal too much about the details, but all you have to know is that none of the characters act rationally. One example: while terribly scared, all the would-be victims prefer to be alone. Also, it is not thrilling to see again the clichéd horror techniques like watching shadows silently moving. And the film's latter part and conclusion is just a mess.

As you know, this is a remake of the 2003 Japanese horror of the same title directed by Takashi Miike. The idea of a curse transmitted through cell phones had already become familiar by the time the original was released (Hollywood version of "The Ring" was released in October 2002 in USA). Considering this fact, Miike did a fine job, toning down his usual over-the-top directing style to create several chilly set-pieces.

Unfortunately French-born director Eric Valette seems not to know what he really wants to do. The 2008 remake doesn't have enough gore or violence (that is not bad itself); it doesn't have atmosphere, twists and turns in story, dark humor or witty cultural references or social satire. (Miike did include all of them in his original.) New "One Missed Call" has none of them. The remake (first half especially) only copies its source material scene by scene without adding anything, and that is neither original nor scary. August 9, 2008

Pretty creepy for a PG-13 movie!

I don't know what everybody's problem is. I guess these reviewers need a lot of sadistic gore (via Saw)to deem a horror movie watchable. OK, when I finally got to rent the movie (it seemed to always be out), I was disappointed to discover it was PG-13. So, after disappointing unrated junk like Dead Silence, I went in with very low expectations, and was delightfully surprised. This movie was creepy and tense and had many disturbing images and didn't have to resort to cheap (or expensive) gore effects to tell the story. And that haunting ringtone is still with me! A psych student and a cop race against time to find the source of a cell phone caller who calls intended victims from a dead person's cell with their own voices at their last moments of life...a day or two before it happens. (Yes, it seems that Japanese horror formulas follow the whole I saw/heard this and now have 24 hours to live). I will not spoil the movie with details, but it is very creepy and some of the images are sure nightmare-inducing. If you are bothered by gore but like a scary movie, I recommend this one. The acting is good, and it's always nice to see Twin peaks' Ray Wise acting again. My only complaint is that the victims aren't DRIVERS on their cell phones. At least they would deserve the abuse! August 8, 2008

MISSED my mailbox...

Oye, Took TWO WEEKS to get here when my other items ordered same day arrived on the next business day or two. Good movie though and glad i ordered it... August 3, 2008

Ouch

Ok, lets see what we got here;

Bad Actors Check
Terrible Plot Check
Plenty of Yawns Check
87 minutes ill never get back Check

Yep, looks like its all here...the making of a suck fest
Dont Waste your time.




July 21, 2008

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