Customer Reviews

One Missed Call 2 Double-Disc Special Edition

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

 

 

As everyone knows, Takashi Miike directed the first movie. He's kind of controversial -but he didn't bring any of that into the movie. You need to see that movie first.
The movie brings us back with that familiar cell ring that makes you want to hide, a new option of taking someone's call for them, and news that the girl from the last movie - she's in a mental hospital. It picks up fast, with a knowledable detective and scared friends. The difference this time is no candy ball. Investigation leads them to a completely different place, with a new source seeming to have teamed up with the old one. It's not so suspenseful, not as scary as the first, but definitly worth the viewing.

This movie is WAYYY different from the first One Missed Call. The way the movie plays out is sorta unorthodox in that its more like a bunch of short clips that connect rather than a continuous story that tries so hard to keep the same pace and feeling through out the whole film. This movie starts off with new characters, but the same story is here. (well sorta...). The story doesnt make as much sense as the first and never really connects, or at least that is what i thought until i watched the deleted scenes (the director thinks that scares are more important than plot i guess because he cut out story scenes to put in more scary scenes). The scares are real and plenty. Once you watch the deleted scenes you will understand the story a bit better and how it connects with the first. I would have given this movie a 3 stars if not for them. I movie does offer twists and turns in the plot, (about as many as the first...i wouldent say that either was more shocking). in all this movie is not as good as the first but its close to being as good. I really liked it although its not perfect at all. I really hope there will be a One Missed Call 3 and 4 and as many as possible.

One Missed Call 2 (Renpei Tsukamoto, 2005)

It seemed, for a while that every movie Takashi Miike released added more weight to the hypothesis that Miike is currently Japan's greatest living director. Now we have a new line of evidence: sequels of Miike's films, directed by people other than Miike, are simply not as good.

Horror director Tsukamoto (no idea if he's any relation to Shinya) turns in his second feature, which adopts the tactic of "take the basic premise of the original film and build on it until it's outrageous." Here, the same mode of death is offered up (people get calls on their cell phones from themselves in the future, and soon die in the prophesied way), but this time, the virus causing the rash of deaths burrows into the contact lists on everyone's cell phones, soon leading to an epidemic of deaths all across Southeast Asia. A trio of main characters-- the daughter of one of the victims, the daughter's boyfriend, and a plucky reporter (there must always be a plucky reporter) try to figure out where the calls are coming from, and why. It's a pretty hackneyed plot, but in more capable hands, it could have at least been slick. Here, it's just tedious. There are some interesting twists at the beginning, but nothing ever comes of them, and the plot descends into predictability and excuses to pull out the special effects budget. Stick with the original. **

You just can't keep a good curse down. Go through all the trouble of uncovering and pacifying the vengeful ghost in "One Missed Call," and she just pops up again. This time in Taiwan.

One year after the events of the first film. Due to the live television death that occurred in "One Missed Call," the cursed telephone message has acquired an urban legend status, with an added element of a young girl who whispers into the phone "Let's play," and then stitches your lips together if you refuse. Two friends, young Elementary school teachers Kyoko and Madoka, get drawn into the next round when their phones ring with the familiar ringtone and they hear their own doomed voices calling from the future. Into the mix are a psychic detective, Takako, who lost her twin sister to the curse years ago, and Detective Motomiya, from the first film, who have both been actively investigating the curse. The trail leads past Mimiko, the antagonist of the first film, to Taiwan, where it is found that Mimiko was only the latest carrier of the long running curse. Off they to Taiwan, seeking the originator of the curse, hoping to put her to rest and end it forever.

"One Missed Call 2" is a horror movie sequel, and that alone should let you know that it isn't going to be a stunning work of originality. The first film was directed by auteur Takashi Miike, and his original touch raised it up from mediocre to being decently scary. This sequel, however, is directed by Renpei Tsukamoto, whose experience is limited to television and he has brought with him mainly TV actors looking to make a feature film. Tsukamoto plays off of other, more successful Asian horror films, and it shows that he doesn't have a lot of confidence or personal vision. He does solve the mystery of the ending of "One missed call" in an inventive way, which was surprising.

However, if you aren't hunting for a towering work of genius, and just want to watch a good atmospheric horror flick with some good chills and a genuinely scary ghost, then "One Missed Call 2" has what you need. It is certainly better than standard slasher fare and scarier than most Hollywood ghost films.

You know soon after a movie starts whether the cast and film crew put in a worthy effort. In this case, not so, besides jumping between scenes making it difficult to follow the story you also have very poor coherence between every line of English voice over and corresponding English subtitles - just a mess. As an indication of poor directing was the directors use of very difficult to see darkness as a cheap crutch for creating suspense and drama. Creative directing should manipulate lightning to give suspense and still allow the audience to see what's going on. The story itself is a well worn copy of many other horror movies with the same theme of an imprisoned tortured person/soul coming back to reap revenge on the perpetrators and relatives.

If you've seen the first one the second pretty much follows the standard storyline, with the ghost killing people through their cellphones and than going after the other people on the murdered persons call list and repeating the cycle over again. While it has some scares from the ghost it seems to follow the lines of previous j-horror ghost like the ring and Grudge almost so expect to fell a sense of deja vu when you see the ghost scenes in the movie. The picture quality and effects were pretty good and the acting for the cast was decent as well, the english dubbed cast did their roles pretty good as well so no complaints on those fronts. So if you're looking for another j-horror movie than give this one a peek to see if it's for you and while there is a third movie I say pass that one over as after seeing the third movie it just didn't seem worth keeping...

Japanese horror, like any other cinema industry, has it's duds. Ju-on the Curse 2 (TV), Dead Waves, Gozu, Shikoku, and the entire Tomie series qualify as disappointments, just to name a few. As a fan of East Asian horror, I demand good entertainment by the industry, and have no problem lambasting a crappy movie when I see one. Fortunately, One Missed Call 2 is not an utter disappointment, as some on IMDb have claimed. Unlike my other comments, this review will be short and sweet.

The storyline is more complex and intricate than the original. Multiple supernatural elements and threats are introduced and the structure of the plot is more like a mystery, which keeps the viewer off balance and engaged at the same time. I actually needed a pad and pen to jot down notes because there was a lot of relationships and events to keep track of. If anything else, One Missed Call 2 is not easily predictable, and that is a good thing. Also, the technical quality is solid. Good cinematography, acting, and lighting.

One negative is that the movie drags a bit in the middle and is not quite as scary as the original. The filmmakers should have added one or two entertaining kills during the middle half hour. That would have made this one as good as the original. In it's current state, however, it is less entertaining to a degree - but still entertaining nonetheless.

I can't see how people can complain about One Missed Call 2 when they are constantly peppered by the sheer idiocy and low quality tripe dished out by Hollywood. Sure, this film is not as good as Kairo or as original as Tetsuo, but it's MUCH better than Hostel, Silent Hill, The Hills Have Eyes, or The Devil's Rejects, just to name a few.

So if you liked the first one, give this one a try. Remember, even the most formulaic horror films from Japan are still better than your average American slasher.

One Missed Call 2 was not the best the American version much more intense.

We watched it all the way through so there are some good parts.

This sequel is good, but not as good as the first. This was worth every penny. I can't wait until the third comes out on DVD!!!!

I recommend that you watch the first film "One Missed Call" to get a better understanding of this film. The first film was directed by Takashi Miike, which made it a much better film with him behind the lens. However, this sequel is not a bad film, and if anything it is a cut above many in the genre. One year after the events of the first film, which witnessed the death on television of one of the cursed individuals, the legend of the cursed cell phone call has reached legendary status.

In this sequel, two friends, Kyoko and Madoka, both elementary school teachers find themselves thrown into the latest round of the ominous ringtones, and enigmatic voices of themselves calling on the other end. Also, a psychic detective, Takako, whose sister was a victim of the curse years ago, and Detective Motomiya [who was in the first film] try and uncover the curse, and what is behind these strange calls. This leads them all to Taiwan in order to put an end to the curse. Not great, but not bad either. Worth a watch. [I own the DVD].