Alice Oscura, Featured Writer
Plot: When Seo-yeon (Park Shin-hye) loses her cell phone on a train she reconnects a random cordless phone found in a junk closet in her childhood home. Through a weird twist of fate she is connected to Young-sook (Jeon Jong-seo) calling from inside the same house but from 20 years ago. Seo-yeon soon discovers that it was better not to have answered the call at all, and that her life was about to change drastically.
Review: The Call, not to be confused with the American horror movie of the same name and also released in 2020, is actually based on a 2011 British/Puerto Rican film The Caller. I find myself getting more and more into South Korean cinema over the past few years. Their television shows, especially the K-Dramas, are extremely entertaining and of late they industry has been amping it by a few choice entries into the horror genre.
The Call is a great mix of the components that make a great slasher and thriller flick, with elements of science fiction thrown in for good measure since it deals with time travel. These days you find a lot of wash, rinse and repeat when it comes to horror movies. But every now and then you find one that breaks the mould and brings with it new and innovative elements to tie into the genre. And The Call is one of those films.
There is a bit of a slow start, which is to be expected because it is imperative to the development of Seo-yeon’s character by connecting to her through her emotional and mental state. The character has a lot to deal with, which is why it was so easy to create what seemed to be the start of an important connection between Seo-yeon and Young-sook. An emotional attachment was formed between the characters which made it seem that they were going to be each other’s support system since they were both in exceedingly difficult situations.
However, we are given a rude awakening when we begin to realise the looming threat, and by then it seems like it is almost too late to salvage the situation. We are graced with some pretty extraordinary and powerful performances by both actresses, especially Jeon Jong–seo who had the talent of keeping us uneasy with her all-out unhinged behavior and terrifyingly mischievous smile. She delivers all the way to the ending credit scene…hint…hint.
Packed with stunning but eerie visuals and some epic camera work, the audience is going to be left captivated and breathless in what they are able to achieve here. Just leave all sense of logic by the door when watching this one and you will be rewarded with an entertaining piece of work.
Calling (no pun intended) all true horror fans you have got to see this one. Please don’t let it slip under you radar.
Alice’s Score: 7.5 out of 10
For Sommer’s review of the American horror film The Call you can click here. And for more than 150 horror film reviews and lists you can check out our archive here, if you dare!
Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump.
I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. You can find me as Dark Alice Reviews on Facebook, my Instagram is alice_oscura and my Twitter handle is @lise_veliz2. For more on me you can click here.