Customer Reviews

One Missed Call

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

(For Chicoer2003 . . .) My copy seems to automatically revert to the dubbed English version, too. To change, select movie set-up on the main menu- Japanese language- English subtitles to get the director's intended version. I am a fan of Kou Shibasaki and dubbing her voice as well as all the other actors seems corny and detracts from the horror element. I personally prefer subtitles and interestingly find I must raise the volume when watching foreign films.

I found "One Missed Call" quite enjoyable and scary though it could be slow at times. The ending had a nice twist that kept you thinking (I won't disclose here). It says a lot about a movie if, after watching, you are still interested in the 2nd disc with extras, and I was. Enjoy!

I recently purchased a bunch of J-Horror movies, since that seems to be the only horror flicks worth watching these days. This film was one I came across and decided to just give it a shot without realling looking into it like the others I had purchased like "The Whispering Corridors" triolgy, The Eye 1&2, and a few others. This was one of the first movies I watched out of the bunch. Well, I guess you could say I regret watching this one first. All the rest of the movies just have kind of gone downhill. I'm not trying to knock down the other classics like the ones I mentioned above, because they are still great movies worth watching, but none had the impact or suspense that this movie did. If you want a movie that has suspense written all over it, with a few jumps here and there, this is the one to get. It was the first movie since the Exorcist that had me creeped out.

The only negative thing I can say about this movie, is how it ends. Not only was I confused, but rather let down. The end reminded me of a rehash of another popular J-Horror flick... (I wont mention the name to ruin the movie)

Overall, I'd give it 4.5 stars... only due to the ending. But from what I had read after I've seen the movie, is this was a movie actually made poking fun at the Ring/Ju-On series, or so I've read. If thats true, and they are making a sequel, and they actually try, I'll definately put that one in my collection as well...

Maybe I have been watching too many horror movies lately, but I hardly need to close my eyes or flinch anymore. Not so with this incredibly frightening and creepy movie. This movie is effectively scarey with minimal gore or "jump" scenes. Nice twist on the angry ghost theme as well.
Good acting. I especially liked the spunky Yumi. The sound is a bit disjointed at times, but overall this is a worthwhile watch.

Every time I hear that America is redoing any film I automatically know that I have to see the original first. I'm not hating on my own country but hey, they don't always get it right. So when I saw the preview for One Last Call I seriously thought that maybe this could quite possibly be one of the dumbest movies ever made. If you think about it the movie is like the little girl from "The Ring" has become lord of the cell phones. You can't lie and say that it doesn't sound like that but hey sometimes I'm wrong. I just happened by the original Japanese version and I was a bit curious.


The movie is about an evil spirit that has completely taken over cell phones. The victim gets a phone call with a weird ring tone that's completely different than the one they set. It turns out to be some creepy child's lullaby. Everybody in here seems to be smart cause none of them answer the phone but it doesn't last for long. A message is left and when they listen, they hear their deaths just a few days before it happens. Creepy right? But what makes it worse is the gruesome ways these people die.


A schoolgirl gets the call one day. On the day she is said to die, she is suddenly thrown into a train while talking to her friend. The spirit gets a hold of the numbers in her phone and now her friends are in danger. It seems that nothing can stop it from happening but a cop whose sister died after receiving the phone call is trying. He also has the help of the latest victims friend who has now been added to the list and only has a few days before she dies.


Takashi Miike (Addicted) directed this film, which gives a lot of confidence when you buy or rent this. He certainly did a great job with this one. I love that it was very dark and creepy, it also held a great mystery. After I saw the first 15 minutes I really wanted to keep watching just to see what the heck was going on. There were some cool shockers also, some crusty hands started rushing out of the darkness and I went crazy. The acting was extremely good, especially in the part when one of the young girls is waiting for her time to run out. She is terrified and knows that nothing good is coming. She was crying, breathing heavily, and shaking. She looked so real that I couldn't believe she was acting. To conclude "One missed call" had great suspense and nice pacing. It isn't a 5 star to me but it is definitely good enough to receive 4 stars. There weren't many flaws but I thought that the concept and execution were between 4 or 4 1/2 stars.

I am a big fan of the asian horror genre. I find that its different than most U.S. Horror movies. I saw this for the 1st time in Japan and thought it was good. Its not as good as say ringu, however it is a good movie I think. I would of given it 5 stars, but watching it a second time there were parts, that didnt make sence story wise I thought.

Ive been watching asian horror flicks for awhile. Most of the time i have no clue what certain elements mean unless i try to google it in Japanese mythology or something. I like the plot and the way it laid out. I just dont get the ending. Oh well, most asian flicks are like these leaving you like "huh" at the end. If you can take a slow plot line and a lot of "WTF" then this is for you!

Went to Blockbuster last night since I was bored and ran across this movie. I seriously never heard anything about it, but I do like some 'A-Horror' and I liked Ichi the Killer. I wasnt to excited about it cause I recently watched Pulse and thought it was pretty dumb and very slow and not that scary (except for the couch scene which I almost had to fast forward it was damn tense and freaky).

But I was pleasently surprised with this rent. It actually kept my attention through the whole movie and didnt seem that slow at all. It definitely had some creepy moments also.

The plot was kinda quirky imo though. I mean... if you know the person that gets the phone call, then I would take my damn phone number out of their phone...and then call the phone company and have them delete my account and shut my phone off. There would be no way in hell someone could call me. But still...it's a movie. A horror movie at that. I'm not here for plot..i'm here for scares. And it worked on me.

What I didnt like about the movie:

1. The whole Black Haired creepy girl thing is so over used now. It's really sad to see directors constantly use rip this idea off. But what's really sad is..it's still scary..so they'll keep using it.

2. I didnt like our lead girl hugging that mom. That was just...wierd and eye rolling.

3. The ending left me saying "wtf?". The candy kiss was kinda hot though. But when she started laughing at the end...I just was left clueless.


Overall though...I really liked the movie. Now I'd like to rent part 2 (it was out). I heard it wasn't as good and the plot was really dumb...but hey..I'll be my own decision maker.

I still want to see Audition also, but my Blockbuster doesnt carry it. I might just have to break down and join Netflix.

The telephone, with its sudden, loud intrusion into daily life, has always been a vehicle of horror and suspense, from Agnes Morehead's classic and chilling "Sorry, Wrong Number" to its role in "Scream." In Japan, the mobile phone is as ubiquitous as shoes, and such a natural part of life that the idea of it becoming something to be feared is worse than the haunting itself.

In "One missed call" ("Chakushin Ari"), director Takashi Miike plays on this fear, combining traditional elements of Japanese ghost stories with modern technophobia in a way that has become a hallmark of modern Japanese horror films. It starts with a girl getting a phone message, arriving from the future, and the message is the girl's own voice. She hears her own death, and the countdown begins until that time in the future arrives. And then another message, this time to a friends phone. And then another.

While the plot is fairly standard, Miike is a good director who keeps up the suspense and puts in enough originality to make a good film. Several of the deaths are truly shocking, and, without giving anything away, not everything plays out the way it is expected. The ending alone puts "One missed call" above the other glut of "Ring" imitations that have followed the wave of its popularity. The problem, though, is that it is not a great film, and greatness is what we have come to expect from Miike. When a standard is set by outrageous hard horror like "Audition" and "Visitor Q," then a straight-forward horror film can be disappointing. But not too disappointing, as it is still a scary flick and worth watching. Just go into it expecting to watch a good ghost movie, and not a "Miike movie."

This is a nice DVD release, with extras including Behind the Scenes - Making Of, Deleted Scenes, and Interviews. Hearing Miike talk about why he did a straight-forward J-Horror film, and what he wanted to bring to the genre and where he felt he succeeded and failed, is really interesting.

Without revealing any of the story, I will say that some background knowledge of Japanese supernatural traditions would probably clear up some of the confusing points of the film. Certain things are left unexplained, any more than an American film would explain why a vampire feared a wooden stake. It is just assumed that everyone watching the movie will already know this.

I am thrilled to announce that Chakushin Ari (or One Missed Call) is a genuinely creepy film. As a long-time horror fan, my zealous search for a film that will actually scare me is all but futile, but this film comes as close as any in a number of years. No, it didn't actually scare me, but it did feature some really creepy moments. I suggest you do as I did - wait until the middle of the night, turn off all your lights, and start this puppy up. Chakushin Ari really is the creepiest Asian horror film I've seen up until now - and that is saying something. I freakin' love this movie. As I write this, Hollywood is about to release a remake of the original, and all I have to say is: who are they kidding? There's no way Hollywood can produce anything as atmospheric and intense as this film - and whoever they cast in the lead role will have a hard time equaling the amazing performance of Kou Shibasaki.

The basic premise of the story is that people start receiving calls on their cell phones recording the moments of their deaths. The phone calls come from each individual's own cell phone number, feature the same creepy ringtone, and are always dated a day or two in the future, thus revealing the exact time of each person's death. Then, when each such death actually takes place, someone in the victim's list of saved phone numbers is automatically selected to be the next phone call recipient. Yumi Nakamura (Kou Shibasaki) just so happens to be on the phone with Yoko Okazaki (Anna Nagata), the first call recipient, when she meets a most grisly end at the specified time. She tries to warn the second victim but only succeeds in watching him meet his own unfortunate end, but in the process she definitely makes a believer out of her roommate Natsumi Konishi (Kazue Fukiishi), who just so happens to be the next selected victim. The police, naturally, think Yumi is just hysterical over the sudden loss of two friends, but some folks from a TV station take the story and run with it. They build a whole, live, "will she die?" broadcast around poor Natsumi, complete with scientific and paranormal experts and a medium tasked with keeping the girl safe. This TV thing sounds pretty corny, but I loved the idea of it - and it certainly does make for some "must see" television. I only wish we could have gotten some reactions from the news people after it was over. Yumi finally finds an ally (and not a minute too soon) in Yamashita Hiroshi (Tsutsumi Shinichi), who blames his sister's death six months earlier on the "ringtone of death" phenomenon. Their desperate search for an answer sets the stage for the creepiest moments of all and some serious twists and turns toward the end.

Yes, there's a certain ambiguity to the conclusion, but that doesn't bother me at all - especially since getting to that ending was so much fun. It's also true that some facets of the story are a bit of a stretch and/or somewhat confusing. Ever heard of suspension of disbelief? Actually, this story makes more sense that some other Asian horror films I could name - and let me say that there is much more to the story than what I've mentioned in the context of this review. Another criticism I hear is that the special effects mirror those of earlier films such as Ringuand Ju-on (The Grudge). Personally, I don't think this criticism is completely valid. One of the many things that director Takashi Miike does exceptionally well is to limit the number and scope of the ghostly appearances up until the last few scenes of the movie. From the subtle to the in-your-face manifestations, each appearance plays to maximum effect. Miike also goes the extra mile to include some nice gory touches that this gorehound truly appreciated.

I think Chakushin Ari is an extraordinarily powerful horror film. While it lacks (but not by much) the emotional intensity of A Tale of Two Sisters (Two-Discs) and probably won't draw you in a quickly as Ringu, it delivers almost two full hours of creepy goodness. If you were to come up to me right now and ask me to recommend a good Asian horror film, Chakushin Ari would be the first words out of my mouth.

... because I had nightmares the rest of the evening. I actually woke up moaning in terror at one point. This is probably the scariest of all the J-Horror films I've seen so far, keeping in mind I have yet to see the original versions of The Ring and The Grudge. I didn't give it 5 stars only because of the indecypherable ending... but that didn't spoil the overall creepiness and terror of the film.