Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
Plot: In the fall of 1987, a group of small-town friends must survive the night in the home of a sinister couple after a tragic accident brings them to the couple’s door.
Set-up: New kid in town Chris (Chester Rushing – Stranger Things) is quickly pulled into a small group of friends by a pretty girl named Tonya (Erin Sanders – Zoey 101). One night after a bit of drinking at the local carnival, they tell him the story of Edith Cranston (Lin Shaye), a woman who ran a successful daycare until one day, Tonya’s little sister Laura disappeared and Edith was blamed. Tonya, along with her friends Zack and Brett, have made it their mission to terrorise Edith in hopes she will leave town, and they convince Chris to join in on their wicked games. Except tonight is different as after one prank too far, Edith decides to take her own life. After which Edith’s husband invites them to the house with an offer they can’t refuse.
You see Edith has left a will and she offers up an enticing proposition to the teens. Edith has been buried with a telephone and if the kids can stay on the call with her for one minute without hanging up, they’ll each be given one hundred thousand dollars. As the saying goes, if it seems to good to be true, it’s probably gonna lead you to a gruesome death. What? I’m pretty sure that’s verbatim. Anyways, one by one they learn there was much more to Edith than meets the eye, and they each have to face their deepest, darkest secrets if they hope to survive the night.
Review: I really wanted to like this one folks. The premise was intriguing and, while it took its time getting off the floor, once we find out what The Call entails, it seemed like we’d been set up for an entertaining and creepy ride. But unfortunately, even with the talents of genre staples Lin Shaye (Insidious franchise/The Grudge) and Tobin Bell (Saw franchise), there just isn’t enough here to make The Call stand out from the pack.
A small budget doesn’t have to be a death sentence for a horror movie, but sadly here the special effects are lacklustre. And while the acting by our leads isn’t bad, there just wasn’t enough character development prior to the events unfolding to make me care about them.
It’s a shame this one was so mediocre as the premise was something I hadn’t seen before and the first act was solidly presented. Unfortunately, this is one call you should send straight to voicemail.
Sommer’s Score: 4.5 out of 10
For my review of mystery horror Spell you can click here. And for more than 150 horror movie reviews and lists you can click here.
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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