Customer Reviews

One Missed Call Pack

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

like the other reviewer said, part 2 wasnt actually done my Takashi Miike, but surprisingly its almost as good as 1, and still better than the remake, not to mention much more crisp picture quality than part 1.

very similar to the ring or the grudge in theory. basically you get a mysterious call on your phone, and whoever answered this call dies shortly after, but it delves much deeper into the situation as the movie goes on. lots of good creepy moments and a generally strong horror atmosphere. in my opinion, One Missed Call is the difinitive J-Horror ghost story, of course, i may just be biased considering the director is Miike, and i absolutely love Ichi the Killer and Gozu.

I saw both movies on a movie channel and they were both good. All though the second movie is not by Takashi Miike for all of you Miike fans. The first one is. If you love both movies though, this boxset is for you!

I love both movies in this collection. For me, it would always be better than the corny American version. It scared me enough that I had nightmares for a month while living alone and down the street from a cemetery but other than that, it was a great find, fast delivery and high quality discs!

The thing about J-horror cinema is that it leaves you unsettled. Whereas American horror movies tend to gratify the gorehound with gratuitous, over-the-top scenes, J-horror probes the psychological underpinnings of the story. Japanese horror filmmakers don't just inject shock value, they mean for their audience to undergo a more lasting, more disquieting experience. For peace of mind, I'd rather watch American shlock anyday. Most of the time, it's easily enough dismissed as trashy cinema. But J-horror - its landscapes governed by exotic superstitions and haunted by pale ghosts seeking retribution - seems a more artistic (and, therefore, more legit) platform. It's creepier. It rips the western audience out of its comfort zone. In watching ONE MISSED CALL I've never been more creeped out by someone trimming her toenails. Her actions take on this nerve-jangling dimension.

This is the series that made Verizon and AT&T fret. More than ever, you should screen your calls. There's an urban legend floating around about a haunted ring tone, its eerie music the precursor to a horrifying glimpse into your own violent death. We track a group of college students - and, particularly, the shy protagonist Yumi Nakamura - as they try to survive a malevolent spirit working its way thru the cell phone's call log.

Products of J-horror tend to benefit from its patented slow burn approach and subtle craftsmanship. ONE MISSED CALL (or "Chakushin Ari") - besides infusing a supernatural element into that old trope about technology gone amuck - also manages to throw in bits of sharp social commentary. It notes our reliance on technology. It remarks on the callous intrusions of the media and the pervasiveness of reality television.

One common thread weaving thru this movie (and its sequel) is how closely linked the supernatural elements are to the abuse, physical and psychological, that the protagonists have endured in their pasts. You note that Yumi Nakamura seems a bit distant, even in the company of friends, and that's explained away. As mentioned, the films go a ways in probing the psychological aspects of these stories. There's a reason why these ghosts harbor grudges. They don't go around killing because, hey, they're ghosts and that's what ghosts do. Still, I wasn't expecting the surprise twist near the end.

ONE MISSED CALL 2 starts about a year later, and not only is the death ring tone alive and well, but it's mutated as well. Now it's not only the owner of the cell phone but instead whoever picks up and answers the ring tone that becomes the next victim. As bodies again surface, the police learn that Yumi Nakamura has vanished and that, instead of red candy, this time they find coal dust in the victims' stomachs. Our cast of young, freaked out folks is abetted by a female journalist who herself harbors a painful past (of course, this makes her a perfect target for the ghost killer). The story relocates to Taiwan as our principals attempt to track down the origins of the ring tone curse. I wonder, does the vengeful spirit get billed for roaming charges?

It cheeses me off a bit that these cats end up breaking the primary rule in surviving thru a horror movie: never split up. And I'm officially calling a moratorium on dead spooky kids. Enough, already. Still, go see these two flicks. They're a bit slow at times, but the suspenseful foreshadowing gives you more chances to get jumpy. And the payoffs are worth it. Toenail clipping... so creeeeepy.

ONE MISSED CALL offers up two discs. Disc 1 has the feature presentation (you can watch it in either its original Japanese language or with English dubbing; English sub-titles are available) and the theatrical trailer; The fully loaded Disc 2 has the following bonus features (with English sub-titles): the Making Of the Movie documentary (00:57:01 minutes long); a pretty funny Alternate Ending revealing the final fate of the television exorcist; interviews with cast & crew (00:14:20); an exclusive interview with filmmaker Takashi Miike (00:20:12); screenings - the film's stars show up at the 2003 16th Annual Tokyo International Film Festival, the Iidabashi-Tokyo Grand Shrine for a purification ceremony, and the opening premiere at Yurakucho-Cineplex 2 (00:14:02); "A Day With The Mizunuma Family" - an extended clip of a pivotal scene in the film (00:02:43); the featurette enacting the TV show special from the film (00:20:46); and television spots.

ONE MISSED CALL 2 also has two discs. Disc 1 has the feature presentation (again, you can watch this in its original Japanese or with optional English dubbing; English sub-titles available) and the film's trailer and teasers; Disc 2 has the Making Of the Movie documentary which includes cast & crew interviews (00:32:42 minutes long); the short film "Gomu" - in which a homicide detective receives one missed call on his cell and gets wind of his impending demise (00:03:53); 3 Deleted Scenes, sub-titled, with the director's intro (totaling 00:10:06); and 30 seconds' worth of television spots.