Those of you unfamiliar with Japanese, or any of my previous reviews might not know the film by this name. This is the Japanese title of the original "One Missed Call", and after watching the American version of the film I felt I should look at this one. The remake was such a huge disappointment and as a result I wanted to watch the original to make sure that I hadn't imagined how good it was."One Missed Call" is directed by "Takashi Miike". If you watch any other Japanese films you will know him from his other films; "Audition" and "Ichi the Killer". Or maybe you know him from his previously banned episode of "Masters of Horror", "Imprint". Either way, with his name involved I always get excited because of his ability to shock the viewer. He always scares me, and I always come back for more.
The story follows the character Yumi who is at dinner when one of her friends receives a missed call on her mobile. A message was left and it was the voice of the recipient on the call. The call was post dated to two days from the time of the call. Needless to say, two days later they are found dead. And so the cycle begins, as other friends of Yumi begin to receive voice messages from themselves, they too meet their fate. It is up to Yumi to find out what is happening, who is behind it and why.
I would like to state first of all, that the atmosphere that is built up during the film is incredible. You are completely immersed in the gravity of the situation. The death scenes are gruesome and well shot, the direction is brilliant. The camera spends a large amount of time focused on the phones while they play what is essentially the song of death. This increases the uneasy feeling exponentially as the film continues. The subtle use of the creeping female sends chills up your spine as she slides our from behind walls, from inside cupboards and walks along the roof. The very thought it gives me goosebumps.
The use of sound in this film is beyond exceptional. Every time you hear an inhaler, you know that the pale woman is on her way. What makes it worse is when you see the expression on the characters faces on hearing the noise. They look scared and helpless, making me feel similarly. However, the ultimate use of audio has to be the ringtone of the phone. When you hear it, your heart goes into palpitations, your body starts to tremble and you can feel her presence behind you.
A lot of people dislike films with subtitles, siting such reasons as, "If I wanted to read I would get a book". And for these people I am full of pity. The solution would be to wait for the remake to come out in America. The truth is that not only is a lot of the story and dialog lost in translation, it would appear that the whole product becomes diluted and...well...Americanized. Don't be one of these people! Go and watch more foreign language films because I bet they will surprise you.
As a kid I was always fascinated by films like this and it appears that later on in life I still am. You want to watch something a little different this Halloween, something that will give you that scare that you have been needing? Give "Chakushin Ari" a watch and I guarantee you will not sleep well after.
Rating 4 out of 5
See it if you liked:
Pulse
The Ring
Audition
What does IMDB say?
Review by Stephen King
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