One Missed Call [DVD] [2008]: Amazon.co.uk: Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns, Ana Claudia Talancón, Ray Wise, Azura Skye, Meagan Good, Eric Valette: DVD

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Amazon.co.uk Review

Yet more modern technology falls prey to the influence of eeeeevil spirits in One Missed Call, a horror flick following firmly in the footsteps of The Ring, Pulse, and other remakes of Japanese creepfests. Good-looking young people are receiving voice-mails that prefigure their gruesome deaths; Beth (Shannyn Sossamon, 40 Days and 40 Nights) and Jack (Ed Burns) race against time to find the source of this cell-phone curse, leading them to a dark and treacherous burnt-out hospital. Little is fresh here--One Missed Call apes every other Japanese horror remake, using corpse makeup, blurry images at the corner of the screen or just out of sight, lots of ambient rattles and gasps, spooky-looking children, and the slow, trembling turn towards a ringing phone... which stopped being scary about four or five movies ago. But for fans of this particular subgenre, One Missed Call may evoke the warm, enjoyable familiarity that devotees of 1970s horror f! eel towards the repetitive output of Hammer Films. Ray Wise (Reaper, Twin Peaks) has a bit of fun as a cynical TV producer; comedian Margaret Cho has such a brief, throwaway part as a skeptical cop that one wonders if the rest of her role is on the cutting room floor; and Meagan Good (Brick, Stomp the Yard) gets prominent billing but is hardly in the movie at all. --Bret Fetzer

DVD Description

One Missed Call is a remake of a classic Japanese horror Chakushin Ari. It happens to one. Then another. And another. College students discover eerie voicemail messages on their mobile phones. Each call comes from the near future. Each call has the chilling voice of the students moments before their death. And each call comes true... Does the viral spree of calls have a single source? Is there something that links the victims? Psych student Beth Raymond (Shannyn Sossamon, Rules Of Attraction) and detective Jack Andrews (Ed Burns, She's The One) scramble for answers. And they're working fast. Because Beth has just discovered an ominous message.

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17 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

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3.2 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Oh come on! It isn't that bad!, 2 Nov 2008

By	D. Jackson "DJ" (UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This film has been critically ripped apart due to many different elements, but having watched it last night, I noticed that it's certainly not as bad as what some of the critics are saying!

One Missed Call tells the tale of a contagious and deadly curse, spread amongst friends via mobile phones: People answer mysterious calls and hear themselves being brutally murdered on the other end. The original was a classic: Very creepy, emotional, and full of startling imagery... so obviously it was going to be difficult for the remake to live up to the severe expectations.

Over the past few years, we've seen so many dark-haired little girls in need of a wash appearing in the mirror etc; so by now, we should all know what we're in for when purchasing a low-budget Hollywood remake of a classic Japanese ghostly thriller. This is what annoys me when I see comments like: 'bad characterization', and, 'embarrassing acting'. Really, you cannot watch a film with this kind of history and expect it to be Oscar-worthy.

That said, One Missed Call is a really fun little movie to watch and it's also nice to see Shannyn Sossamon back in a leading role. Well-timed scares, a decent plot, some great creepy moments and a very fast pace all add up to a pretty decent night in. This is actually one to be quietly recommended.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Yet another disappointing remake of a truly creepy Japanese original, 27 Oct 2008

By	Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

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 [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC)), 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.

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5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mobile phones can be a real killer nowadays., 22 April 2008

By	Mr. K. J. Bailey "kevdakitten" (England) - See all my reviews

Mobile phones can be a real killer nowadays, when the phone bill aint killing you, its some little black haired woman who's upset because you watched her tape and if it aint that then its this.
one missed call lends its name from the japenese original based on the book and centers on a bunch of young college girls and guy falling victim to a vengefull spirt who works its way on you then the other people you have in your phone diary.
unlike the usual horror and slasher flicks, one missed call works like most japenese horror films using isolation and paranoia as its main character. this worked amazingly for the original and its two sequals.
however i belive it got lost on the plane trip from japan to america.
what we have here is a film that is worth looking at that also has a cast that delivers to the best they can but after seeing the original this one looks kinda watered down. it goes on for abit to long considering the storyline the scares arnt really all that and by the end your more likely to just think about what to do next rather than actually think about what you have just watched.
its not a great film but it aint crap either. its watchable though i have seen tv movies that were better this film has a few good bits to it but not enougth to keep it going.
good for a night in with the girls and a pizza and a glass of wine just dont expect to much from it.
rent it before you buy it.
KEVDAKITTEN.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars give it a go ......
I agree with the last reviewer , okay the japanese are masters of telling great ghost stories , but as a western remake this is a good ghost story , indeed if you had not watched... Read more

Published 1 month ago by war movie hunter

3.0 out of 5 stars One Missed Call is One More Like The Grudge
One Missed Call is in the very same vein as The Grudge or The Ring or Dark Water. It has a very J horror kind of feel that adds to a very creepy atmosphere and this film is just... Read more

Published 3 months ago by V. A. M. Edwards

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice Twist but otherwise....
There is a good twist at the end of this film, sadly you have to watch the dross that precedes it to get there. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Grr

3.0 out of 5 stars PRETTY DISAPOINTING!
one missed call! hmmmm! not quite as ecxiting as it sounds.
not bad, but its not exactly sin city either! you know what i mean!! Read more

Published 5 months ago by william gough

5.0 out of 5 stars one missed call dvd
loved this film,keeps you watching,just hope your mobile does'nt go off when you're watching it,say no more,its a must to see.

Published 7 months ago by Mrs. S. J. Thurland

4.0 out of 5 stars CREEPY

This film rips off other horror films of the genre BUT it is creepy enough to hold your attention --- it goes off the boil in the last 20 minutes. Read more

Published 7 months ago by A. Girvan

3.0 out of 5 stars Not nearly as bad as I thought...
I was a little sceptical about this film as I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat when it comes to jump-out-of-your-seat horrors. But I can safely say, that it is not. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Steven Lowther

5.0 out of 5 stars super smashing great
i loved this film- if you are a fan of the ring, the grudge, dark water etc you will love it. I think it's much better than many are saying and the first 5 minutes are scary... Read more

Published 11 months ago by Maelstrom Fan

2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre soft horror.
No blood, not enough atmosphere and a lack coherrence ruin what could have been a fairly solid if derivitive horror. Read more

Published 12 months ago by genejoke

2.0 out of 5 stars Another J-Horror gets an American re-hash but it borrows too much from other films
This is a film where the story idea is actually far better than the film itself. People receiving voicemails from the future, replaying them meeting their demise, is a very scary... Read more

Published 13 months ago by N. Burgess

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One Missed Call [DVD] [2008]

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