5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The timid, young Asuka is bullied by her classmates. When they embark on a class field trip to Korea, Asuka plans revenge by sending them a cursed phone message they can either pass on or die.
Starring: Maki Horikita, Meisa Kuroki, Jang Keun-suk, Mami Hashimoto, Itsuji ItaoHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 83% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Japanese: LPCM 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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.
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.While I'm "officially" scoring this at a 4.0 at least in part to indicate it's better looking that One Final Call (which I gave a 3.5, which might be on the generous side), this presentation exhibits a bit more variability and inconsistency than One Final Call 2, which I also scored at a 4.0. The opening scenes in the chicken coop are just one example of a somewhat roughhewn look that tends to crop up in dark scenes in particular (another one is the scary moment that takes place in a hotel closet). The palette can occasionally look a bit on the wan side, but overall this boasts some of the same nice accountings of primaries in particular that were also evident in One Missed Call 2. This is another presentation where detail levels can kind of ebb and flow depending on lighting conditions, but while several climactic scenes take place in shrouded circumstances, a lot of this film plays out in rather bright conditions, which helps to elevate both fine detail and the immediacy of the palette. My score is 3.75.
All three films in this set feature DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks. This film's surround track is kind of an intermittently engaging affair, though some of the rumbly LFE combined with low end score can add a feeling of unease to several scenes, even if on the surface they're not that threatening seeming (as in some scenes of kids looking at computer screens). Some of the outdoor material offers good placement of ambient environmental effects, and even a more "spacious", echo laden ambience in some scenes in supposedly abandoned locations can be quite evocative. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track.
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)
One Missed Call: Final makes up at least some the ground lost during One Missed Call 2. The screenplay does a decent job in working in new elements while trying to revisit some of the tropes developed in One Missed Call, but it can also feel artificially padded at times. Technical merits are generally solid, with a bit of variability in the video department, and the supplemental package is excellent, for those considering a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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2000
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Ju-on
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2007
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2002
Wś gōng zhņu | Ng gung jau | 蜈蚣咒 | Old Art Standard Edition
1982
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1963
Ą Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma
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Pengabdi setan
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2008
Night of the Demon
1957