The beginning of One Missed Call starts off with the familiar standard of horror films: several soon-to-be-dead characters dismissing the danger of strange occurrences they witness. In this film’s case, it’s receiving a phone message from two days in the future with the recorded audio of your death, which begs two questions. Why do we have to watch these dumb characters, and why don’t they try something different for a change?
Well, because that’s the way it has to be, even with Takashi Miike directing. He introduces the premise with our main character, Yumi, witnessing her friend Yoko receive the ‘prank’ message and later hearing news of Yoko’s death. After another of Yoko’s friends die, Yumi and her friends discover that whatever killed her is using the cell phone’s contacts to choose its next victim.
Fortunately, this does not occupy an obnoxiously large chunk of the running time. In this highly anticipated combination of Miike and commercial Japanese horror, he sticks to the conventions of Ringu and Ju-On without going horrifically overboard with extreme, unflinching violence or unnecessary lactation-- but he still brings his keen awareness of viewer expectations. As a result, plot moves right along so we don’t get hung up on the typical, annoying details and can dive right in the action.
When the second half approaches, the fun finally begins. The pic gets spookier with gore shots and antagonist revelations similar to Takashi Shimizu’s creepy wandering ghosts and it gets more creative with a rather original bit involving a television broadcast. It is a scene that proves Miike’s audience savvy, as he tackles an idea that always lingers in the back of your mind during horror films, but has never been depicted.
Still, the film is not going to be remembered for being the most original horror film, nor the scariest. It tweaks the Ringu premise into something slightly new and manages most of its scares from cheap shot loud noises after intense moments of silence. It serves as a solid genre film, with a strong lead in Kou Shibasaki--reason enough for her fans to watch the film-- a cell phone ring tone you will remember forever and an oddly beautiful ending for if nothing else, a decent continuation of an apparently dying horror wave.
Reviewed by Tarun
