Japanese horror remake "Missed" opportunity

One Missed Call

By Richard James Havis

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Little wonder that this remake of a J-horror slipped out during the post-Christmas lull. Direction is uninspired, acting is lifeless, and the script borders on the inept.

A PG-13 rating means that it's short on shocks, too. Yet, "One Missed Call" exceeded modest industry forecasts by opening at No. 5 at the North American weekend box office with estimated sales of $13.5 million.

Eric Valette's film is a remake of cult director Takashi Miike's 2003 film "Chakushin Ari." The thin plot hinges on a series of cell phone messages that contain recordings of the phone owner's future death cries. When friends of Beth (Shannyn Sossamon) start dying nasty deaths, she discovers they all received horrifying messages at the time of their murder. Investigating with Jack (Ed Burns), a cop whose sister was a victim, she tries to discover the murderer before she, too, gets that call. They think the ghost of an abusive mother is doing the killings, but then the story takes a different turn.

Miike's films are overrated, but at least they're peppered with black humor and outrageous doings. But "One Missed Call" is so straightforward, with a predictable plot and ghosts that look as if they've bought their costumes from a Halloween supplies store. A slight twist at the end provides a moment of interest, but because it's not adequately foreshadowed in the story, it's hardly satisfying. Some scenes, including a priest trying to exorcise a cell phone (!) in a church, are simply ridiculous.

The story has elements of "Ringu," the terrifying movie that stated the J-horror craze in the past decade. Instead of a cell phone call, that movie had a spooky video signaling the death of the viewer. Valette makes a brief reference to the visual shocks of "Ringu" with a single use of a degraded, black-and-white video image.

Cast:

Beth: Shannyn Sossamon

Jack: Ed Burns

Taylor: Ana Claudia Talancon

Ted: Ray Wise

Leann: Azura Skye

Director: Eric Valette; Screenwriter: Andrew Kalavan; Based on the novel by: Yasushi Akimoto; Producers: Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Scott Kroopf, Jennie Lew Tugend, Lauren C. Weissman; Executive producers: Shinya Egawa, Timothy M. Bourne, Martin Schuermann, Josef Lautenschlager, Andreas Thiesmeyer; Co-producers: Steven P. Wegner, Elizabeth Cushman, Alison Haskovee, Manfred Heid, Gerd Koechlin; Director of photography: Glen Macpherson; Production designer: Laurence Bennet; Music: Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek; Costume designer: Sandra Hernandez; Editor: Steve Mirkovich.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter