Chakushin ari (One Missed Call) Review

The idea of a ghost or spirit living inside your cell phone is utterly ridiculous.  Within the first few minutes of the film, I thought I'd made a bad mistake renting the movie.  However, I have to say it did get better.

The movie is actually a remake of a Japanese horror film "Chakushin Ari".  The idea behind the movie is people receive an eerie ring on the phones, alerting them of a missed call.  When they call in to view the details, they find that the call has actually come from the cell phone of whoever had died prior to them.  (All the victims are linked to each other's contact lists)  When they listen in to their messages they hear their own voices, their own last few moments of life, and it gives them the precise day, and time of when they will die.

If you're thinking, "Why don't they just get rid of their cell phones?"  Well, they do.  They smash them, throw them in the water, etc., but the "spirit" just finds other ways to contact them.  I know, I know, it sounds so stupid.

What makes the movie watchable is the imagery.  Before they die, each victim begins seeing and hearing odd things.  They see people that aren't there, shadows in strange places, and an odd "hissing" sound.  This alone is what kept me watching this movie.  No way could I have sat throught the story without some good special effects to make it worth my while.

In the end, the way it finally came together, wasn't bad at all.  There was a story behind the obvious story that you follow throughout the film. That gave it a little more purpose.