One Missed Call (2008)

Terrorific

This movie is a very good horror movie that keeps you guessing and screming till the last terrorific moment. Everything about this movie gives you the creeps and the suspence, not uncomperable to "The Ring." November 23, 2008

Pretty Dismal...

In the tradition of The Ring and The Grudge, this is yet another attempt to capitalize on the once-successful franchise of Japanese horror film remakes. However, this movie barely registers on the richter scale. It plods along and by the middle of it, I found it almost laughable. It leaves one to wonder what the original film was like and whether it was as incongruous and silly. Shannyn is a good actress and would be better suited for more original material. Only watch this if you feel ghosts traveling thru cell phones to usher your demise is a terrifying premise. Could be. But not that well-executed here. November 13, 2008

not worth watching, but if you DO have to see it... it's not the worst thing ever

I guess there's no need to explain what REALLY makes cell phones scary! No no, it's nothing to do with shadow people coming out of nowhere, or mysterious sounds and images that appear out of nowhere. Cell phones are scary because, well, you know. Like I said, no need to explain what makes them scary! Just go driving or go to the movies for further proof!

Anyway, this isn't really THAT bad of a movie. It tried to have a spooky atmosphere, and it tried making the kill scenes interesting. It even tried telling a story that was fairly interesting in that each time the cell phone would ring, the person who owned that phone would find out they were going to die soon.

Of course that meant the people would start freaking out, which would lead to these strange demon creatures appearing, and sure enough, the people would die a short time later.

And why was it whenever someone would die, their friends would have NO reaction to it other than a quick scream or moment of confusion? Where were the tears?

The death scenes were pretty graphic, even though the entire film is basically the same thing as Final Destination 3. VERY similar vibe and appearance. I know one thing- the woman who played the lead actress is very VERY hot. What a face that girl has! That's probably the main reason I'm giving the movie an extra star. I guess I can't help myself there, hehe.

Anyway, no, don't rent this movie, and especially don't BUY the darn thing. It's laughable of course. I mean, come on, a cell phone predicting peoples deaths? Are you kidding me? November 3, 2008

One Missed Irony

I did enjoy this film. Its not as good as THE RING ( english version) or even the THE EYE ( Asian version, I have not yet seen the english version); however, the one consistent comment that is annoying when it comes to polarising films like this, is the use of terms like "true Horror Fan". I eventually want to see the original version, and its neat that there's a cute cover model, but Things like the Cover of the english version of ONE MISSED CALL are never given any credit ( minor point). Anyways, wether the call is from the future, or from some source that has a self-fulfulling prophecy in it, it does not matter; If you let your self go on this ride its quite enjoyable, and who knows, you might start checking for that one, missed call. November 2, 2008

Yet another disappointing remake of a truly creepy Japanese original

Subtlety. It's what makes Japanese horror so effective - and American remakes of same so ineffective. Japanese horror directors have mastered the art of subtlety, but it's still an alien concept in Hollywood, which explains how a remake that follows the original film's story fairly closely can turn out unrealistic at best - and downright silly at worst. Hollywood thinks CGI is the answer to everything, especially in horror movies, and I'm at a loss as to explain why they continue to think the C in CGI stands for creepiness when it certainly does not. You just have to observe this film's potentially creepiest moment, which is thoroughly destroyed by a moment of CGI utter silliness. Famed director Takashi Miike made Chakushin Ari (One Missed Call), the original Japanese version of this film, one of the creepiest horror movies I had seen in a long time. Having loved that film so much, and having seen other great J-horror films turned inside out by American directors, I did not have the highest of hopes for this remake. It actually turned out a little better than I expected - but it's still the palest of reflections of Chakushin Ari.

The basic premise of the story is that people start receiving calls on their cell phones recording the moments of their own deaths. The phone calls come from each individual's own cell phone number, feature the same creepy ringtone, and are always dated a day or two in the future, thus revealing the exact time of that person's death. Then, when each such death actually takes place (just as it was recorded on the cell phone messages), someone in the victim's list of saved phone numbers is automatically selected to be the next phone call recipient. Authorities also find a piece of hard candy in the victims' mouths. The one person closest to the mystery is Beth (Shannyn Sossamon), who hears the messages and witnesses the deaths of several of her friends. In one of the most unexplainable casting decisions of all time, Margaret Cho plays the cop who pretty much blows her off. Fortunately, Detective Jack Andrews (Edward Burns) hears and believes her story; it seems his sister was one of the earlier victims of whatever is going on, so he and Beth team up to try and track these calls back to the source - and to do so before Beth's number comes up (in more ways than one).

One of the many things that director Takashi Miike did exceptionally well in Chakushin Ari was to limit the number and scope of ghostly appearances up until the last few scenes of the movie. From the subtle to the in-your-face manifestations, each appearance thus played to maximum effect. You can forget about that in this remake. I knew it was going to be a problem when this movie opened with a huge hospital fire, as opposed to the relaxed friendly atmosphere that started Chakushin Ari on its creepy way. And, as I alluded to, awful CGI effects are strewn everywhere in this movie (doing what was already a rather ambiguous ending no favors). Perhaps the worst mismanagement of the original script comes when one of Beth's terrified, fated-to-die friends ends up going on a paranormal television show to find protection. In Chakushin Ari, this made for a surprisingly effective and memorable scene, whereas here you have a televangelist trying to cast out demons from a cell phone. Sound silly? It is.

The worst thing about One Missed Call is the fact that it denies viewers the thrill of truly enjoying Chakushin Ari at a later date (since you'll already basically know what happens). The original is one of my favorite horror films of all time, and I would implore viewers to seek out that film before ever casting eyes upon this inferior American remake. October 27, 2008

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