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Overall Rating : 5.5/10
Directed By : Byeong-ki Ahn
Ji-won Ha
Yu-mi Kim
Woo-jae Choi
Ji-yeon Choi
Supplied By : Tartan Asia Exteme
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Dec. 13, 2005
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| PLOT investigative reporter Ji-won, who has recently published a controversial article about sex scandals, begins to receive a series of menacing calls. In an effort to escape the terrifying and relentless clanging of the telephone, she changes her number and moves to a new house. But the threatening campaign of terror continues unabated ... the jangling of the phone fraying nerves and disrupting lives. When a friend’s young daughter answers one of the calls, she begins to exhibit increasingly bizarre and abhorrent behavior as more and more people begin to die mysteriously. Ji-won struggles desperately to unravel the mystery to bring this cycle of death to an end. |
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| THE REVIEW PHONE, is the latest Asian horror film I have has a chance to check out and review. Some of the film is quite confusing, and leaves you wondering, while the rest remains genuinely creepy. Ji-Won, is a young reporter, whom recently hat written a string of articles involving underage sex scandals. As a result she has been catching a lot of flack from her peers and people around her. One such person goes so far to stalk her by phone, his threatening phone calls never seem to end. The only possible way Ji-won sees that she can escape is to change her number and go away for a while. While discussing plans with friend, Ho-jeong about Ji-won taking up residence in her and her husbands unfinished home, Ho-Jeong's daughter, Yeong-ju answers Ji-won's ringing cell phone, what she hears terrifies her so much that she begins screaming endlessly. Curious as that just what the connection her cell phone has to all of this, Ji-won digs deep into investigating. What she discovers is that her new numbers has a history and that almost all of the people associated with it have died in various ways. Her investigation leads to the disappearance of Jin-hie a young school girl whom still haunts today and just happens to be the number's originator. Ok so this is pat mystery, thriller and throw in a little horror, that is what we have here. I would compare PHONE to American films SCREAM, THE RING, and THE EXORCIST. When this movie started I thought i'd be in for a slow flick, and to be honest, it was, so parts seem to drag a little bit. Almost half of this film's elements have already been seen whether is be an American film or an Asian film, and it seems to lack a ton of originality. The films plot when involves the investigation is quite slow, as nothing relatively exciting ever occurs, and what doe's happen in mid film, will most likely leave you scratching your head, I feel it is incoherent. It turns out that Jin Hie was a scandalous young school girl, home took a liking to the much older Husband of Ho-jeong, Chang-hoon. The cell phone is how the two communicated, and it is thought that after going a brief period of time of not receiving phone calls from Chang-hoon, that the young girl killed herself(or at least that's what I believe the story to be about) It is in the middle of the film that the young daughter, Yeong-ju starts acting strange and seemingly as a result of the phone call, becomes possessed with the spirit of Jin-Hie. The little girl becomes enraged, harming others as well as herself. Yeong Ju ever inherits the lust that Jin-hie has for her father, which ultimately is as twisted as the little girl's performance Seo-woo Eun, is EXCELLENT as Yeong-ju.....offering the most shocking performance I have witnessed in a long time! As I said earlier, the film is a bit confusing, but as as Asian films it seems that they are come together and make since in the end. I was planning on rating this 4.5/10 based on the fist 20 minutes, but it is PHONE's disturbing ending that ears in a whole point. |
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| GORE
METER 3.5/10 Surprisingly not all that gory as you'd think. maybe a few bloody mouths here and there and there is in fact a girl with her eyes gouged out. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 4.5/10 Not all that musically scored. But I really liked "Moonlight Sonata" being played hauntingly on piano throughout the film. It gives the film a haunting feeling. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM This film takes a while to get into, and I feel that some of the more impatient viewers never will. However, for those he do, there is an incredible twist waiting at the end. I also recommend seeing this for Seo-woo Eun's performance alone, she is a creepy youngster! |
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