The Call is a South Korean thriller film directed by Lee Chung-hyun. The plot revolves around two girls who live in the same house decades apart and who communicate with each other through a phone line. Through these conversations they manage to change the past and the future, however it comes with a cost
This film has one of the strangest tones I have ever seen, I don’t know if this is a feature of South Korean cinema and if it is then this comes down to my own ignorance, but I think it is just poorly done. There are moments in this film that are clearly trying to be scary and menacing, however, moments later their will be a joke, or a quirky line and it will destroy any of the tension in the scene.
The performances are okay, again nothing to write home about. They are believable enough, yet they don’t have any standout moments, in the history of horror/thriller movie protagonists they are just yet another forgettable face.
The film as a whole seems a little overfamiliar as well. Clearly, this film has been inspired by Japanese horror hits of the last 20 years though it can’t hope to replicate their eeriness. The film is based on a British, Puerto Rican film called The Caller, and that film also seems derivative.
Overall, the tonal inconsistencies ruin this film and stop it from ever being scary.
Pros.
It has a few scary moments.
Cons.
These are ruined by an inconsistent tone
The leads are forgettable
It does not make any sense
It feels overly familiar
1/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 