One Missed Call 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

One Missed Call 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 29, 2020

Note: This film is available as part of One Missed Call Trilogy.

The annals of so-called “J Horror” are filled with films where technology is not a boon to Mankind, but rather a kind of threatening curse. In that regard, it’s perhaps only slightly cheeky to suggest that the One Missed Call “franchise” might have just as easily been called Ringu (or at least its Americanized version Ring), since a sinister ringtone on cellphones becomes a harbinger of death. The fact that a joke can be made about interchangeable titles may point out, however, that as even commentator Tom Mes gets into with regard to the first film, there’s a kind of “been there, done that” quality to One Missed Call in terms of technology run amok sprinkled liberally with what ultimately is a kinda sorta ghost story. While he only was responsible for the first film of the trilogy, it’s perhaps instructive to note how Takashi Miike talks in a supplement included on this release about wanting to do more than simply “scare people” with a horror film, and in fact (as Mes also mentions) there are elements in the first film in particular but also with regard to the entire franchise that may not be “jump out of your seat” fright-mare inducing, but which are decidedly angsty and may in fact have you looking at your Caller ID a little more closely the next time your cellphone rings.

There are at least a couple of issues that both One Missed Call 2 and One Missed Call: Final have to face, and which even some fans of J Horror may feel like neither film completely addresses. While Tom Mes isn’t shy about discussing some narrative shortcomings in the series of reveals that caps One Missed Call, one way or the other that story seemed to have a beginning, middle and end, though there was a certain open endedness suggested in the final fleeting moments between Yumi and Yamashita. That said, the “mystery” was solved, more or less anyway, and as such, the villain (again more or less) identified, even if that villain had matriculated (so to speak) to a “new location”. (I’m trying to be a bit discursive so as to not share spoiler material). That’s the first issue, one that any number of sequels have faced, especially if the first film has actually killed off the villain, and so not potentially that much of a problem. But this second at bat suffers at least marginally by not having the flourishes of a Takashi Miike at the helm, as well as a cast that at least at times seems to be floundering with material that is admittedly spooky, but, kind of like Mes alleges regarding the first film, may not always make perfect sense.

In this case, Yumi and Yamashita are more or less replaced by two characters named Kyoko Okudera (Mimula) and Takako Nozoe (Asaka Seto), and there are some other variances as well, including location as well as one of the tropes from the first film, namely a little "bauble" found in the victims' mouths. Otherwise, though, this revisits much of the same material from the first film (including snippets from the film itself). There are some unsettling moments here to be sure, and for my money, the ending of this film tops the first, but there's still a kind of overall tired feeling to some of this enterprise, something that may help to explain the rather weird drift away from "killer cellphones" this story ultimately ends up taking.

One Missed Call 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

All three films in the One Missed Call Trilogy are presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.85:1. Arrow lumps all three together in their very brief verbiage about the transfers in their insert booklet:

One Missed Call, One Missed Call 2 and One Missed Call: Final are presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with 5.1 and 2.0 stereo sound. The high definition digital transfers were provided by Kadokawa.

One Missed Call 2 features noticeably better contrast, a more consistently vivid palette, and generally tighter resolving grainfield than One Missed Call. A lot of the outdoor material here pops really well, and throughout the presentation primaries especially look very vivid (the film exploits reds and blues very effectively). Fine detail on any number of close-ups is typically excellent. Ironically, it's the dark scenes in this film (as opposed to some of the lighter moments in One Missed Call) where the grain can look slightly gritty, as in an early scene in the restaurant circa 8:41 or a later shower moment at circa 24:45. Those passing anomalies aside, this is a nicely organic looking presentation that features commendable detail levels throughout.

One Missed Call 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

All three films in this set feature DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks. One Missed Call 2's surround track has some very effectively immersive moments, starting with the torrential downpour that opens the film. Ambient environmental effects are nicely placed in the many outdoor moments, but even sequences like one in an airport can feature good surround activity that accounts for "background clamor" quite effectively. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free presentation.

One Missed Call 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Arrow has packaged this as a two disc release, with the first film and supplements on Disc One and the two sequels and supplements on Disc Two. Here is a list of the supplementary material on both discs:

Disc One ( One Missed Call)

• Commentary by Tom Mes


• The Making of One Missed Call (1080i; 57:06) is an archival featurette which has a lot of fun candid footage of Miike. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Cast and Crew Interviews (1080i; 14:23) include Kou Shibasaki, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Kazue Fukiishi, and Takashi Miike. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Interview with Takashi Miike (1080i; 20:15) is in Japanese with English subtitles.


• Screenings (1080i; 14:09) aggregates footage from things like film festivals and the like.


• Live or Die (1080i; 11:56) offers raw footage from the TV special in the film, from two different angles (switchable via the angle button on your remote).


• A Day with the Mizunuma Family (1080i; 2:45) is more "raw footage", supposedly from the "nanny cam" in the house that's seen in the film.


• Alternate Ending (1080i; 3:44) comes with a warning not to let little kids see this due to its "graphic nature".


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:21)


• Teaser Trailers (1080p; 00:51)


• TV Spots (1080p; 2:15)

Disc Two ( One Missed Call 2 and One Missed Call: Final)

• The Making of One Missed Call 2 (1080i; 32:46) is an archival featurette which has some English text elements but which is in Japanese with English subtitles. Like its counterpart on Disc One, this has quite a bit of fun candid footage.


• Gomu (1080p; 3:51) is a short "tie in" to One Missed Call 2 directed by Renpei Tsukamoto.


• One Missed Call 2 Deleted Scenes (1080i; 10:10) are windowboxed and include interstitial commentary from director Renpei Tsukamoto (in 1.33:1).


• One Missed Call 2 Music Video (1080i; 4:46)


• One Missed Call 2 Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:38)


• One Missed Call 2 Teaser Trailers (1080i; 1:37)


• One Missed Call 2 TV Spots (1080p; 1:17)


• The Making of One Missed Call: Final (1080i; 51:55) is another fun archival piece with a lot of candid footage. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Maki and Meisa (1080i; 15:34) is an archival piece featuring two of the stars of One Missed Call: Final. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Behind the Scenes with Keun Suk-Jang (1080i; 11:45) is another archival piece, with the South Korean star of One Missed Call: Final. I believe Keun is speaking in Korean, as evidenced by what I think are Japanese subtitles, but there are English subs as well.


• The Love Story (1080i; 12:06) is another "tie in" short, this time to One Missed Call: Final.


• Candid Mimiko (1080i; 15:02) is a "tour" of locations hosted by the "villain". This has some windowboxed elements (with others in 1.33:1), with Japanese writing of some sort underneath, and English subs for the spoken Japanese.


• One Missed Call: Final Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:49)

One Missed Call 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One Missed Call 2 might suffer from what is sometimes called in the music industry "a sophomore slump". This film kind of weirdly kind of hews too closely to some elements of its progenitor while just as weirdly seemingly randomly jettisoning others. Technical merits here are solid, though, and the supplements very appealing, for those who are considering a purchase.