4.6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.1 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.9 |
Beth Raymond is traumatized when she witnesses the gruesome deaths of two friends just days apart. Even more disturbing, she knows that both of them had received chilling cell phone messages—actual recordings of their own horrifying last moments. Impossibly, the calls were received days before they died, but each death occurred precisely when and how the messages foretold. The police think Beth is delusional—except for Detective Jack Andrews, whose own sister was killed in a freak accident that bears a strange similarity to the deaths of Beth's friends. Together, Jack and Beth work feverishly to unravel the mystery behind the ominous calls. But even as they get closer to the truth, Beth's cell phone begins to ring with an eerie tune, and the readout displays: One Missed Call.
Starring: Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns, Ana Claudia Talancón, Ray Wise, Azura SkyeHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 81% |
Supernatural | 34% |
Mystery | 26% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 0.5 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
That's not my ringtone.
I'd really like to believe that the folks behind the making of One Missed Call had my best
interests at heart from initial idea, to the pitch, to the green light, to the filming, to the editing,
to
the advertising, and finally to the film's glorious release to hoards of teenagers the world over (or
at
least my county). I for one long for a seminal movie to scare teenagers out of using their
cellphones in theaters, forever. I don't know about anyone else's, by my local multiplex is
plagued by a
barrage
of relentless cell phone attacks. I've mostly given up on attending, because I'm sick and tired of
seeing cell phone screens popping up every five minutes. If ever there was a good idea, it was
One Missed Call. Scare these kids silly, I say, in the name of improving my moviegoing
experience. Unfortunately, One Missed Call is a miserable failure of a movie, proving to
be
nothing more than perhaps the worst example of the teenage-centric horror sub genre. Too
ridiculous to be scary, too boring to keep your interest long enough to be scared, the movie
relies
on tired clichés and incompetent teenagers to move the plot along, complete with an uninspired
performance by Pvt. Reiben from Saving Private Ryan fame. Had the movie even been
funny good, the moviegoing experience may have worsened, as no doubt the teenagers in
attendance would return home, download the ridiculous ringtone heard throughout this film, and
send it to their friends day and night, probably over many a future visits to the theater. Thank
goodness, then, for the movie's utter failure, the retention of the status quo, "off" buttons, and
my
home theater.
Don't call me, we'll call you.
Presented in 1080p high definition and framed at 1.85:1, One Missed Call sports a mediocre transfer, and this video quality definitely adds no value to the experience. Even the opening title sequence looks poor, substandard even for a cheap made-for television movie, an opening title sequence put to shame by just about everything I've seen. The movie can looks good on occasion, but as the movie wears on, so does the transfer, going from "okay" to "substandard." Some medium distance shots during the opening of the film, which happens to be the best the film will look, seem a bit hazy and overly bright, but even those shots look better than what's to come. There is some film grain early in the film, and it seems to get heavier as the movie wears along, and I cannot say if this is intentional or not, but it adds nothing to the look and feel of the movie either way. Dark scenes definitely look the worst, full of excessive grain, extremely bright blacks, and washed-out detail. Even in bright, clear shots, detail is only moderate, and the best shots are flat and uninspiring. Flesh tones can look somewhat pasty and unnatural, though they are never overly red in appearance. I generally like the look this movie seems to have aimed for, one that is somewhat grainy and that retains a cinematic look and feel, but the effect is lost here. Not the worst transfer I've seen, but also a far cry from even the average Blu-ray transfer. Luckily, this is a disc that probably won't see a lot of playing time, so the moderately ugly transfer is really a non-issue.
Faring somewhat better than the video quality is the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound mix. Some lively effects work their way into the mix, but in the end this is a typical teen horror film sound mix, one replete with plenty of the generic, pseudo-scary teen horror sounds and atmospherics that are so trite that we long to turn the system off in hopes of sparing our ears. Still, the track offers a nice array of sound movement and panning, as well as good use of direction and imaging, and the overall quality of the track, despite some tired yet trendy scare effects, is quite good. Some good surround effects are on display now and then, and not of the ho-hum horror schlock variety. Some electrical sparks, explosions, and other halfway interesting effects work their way into the mix. A high-pitched scream and the sounds of a burning building lead off the movie, and the sound is about what you'd expect from a mix of very recent vintage and presented in a lossless format. Dialogue reproduction is just fine, and the movie's score generally takes a back seat to said dialogue and also to the atmospherics heard throughout. If there is any reason at all to spin this disc, it's for the above average sound mix, but it's not nearly good enough to bother listening to when so many other discs out there offer sound that is simply mind-boggling rather than just "good."
It should come as no surprise that Warner has phoned in this Blu-ray disc and provided absolutely nothing in terms of extra content. A monumental flop with both audiences and critics, One Missed Call fails to provide even trailers for other films, though I cannot imagine even the most putrid of films wanting any kind of association with this. There is not even a main menu on this disc, for goodness sake. Nevertheless, it's a brilliant move to forego any kind of extras and I'm tempted to give the disc's supplements 5/5 for sparing us from spending one more moment with this movie than need be, but I'll stick to the format so as not to confuse anyone who just looks at the scores.
One Missed Call, a film in the vein of FeardotCom, seems destined for the same fate as that movie, the butt of a few jokes and a movie that will collect dust at the bottom of the bargain bin, maybe occasionally finding its way into the bottom 100 list at IMDB. The movie had so much potential (to silence the cell phones anyway) but alas, it was just too bad to have any long-term effect. The way I see it, Blu-ray is making the movie theater experience less and less attractive anyway, and if this movie sells a few copies, more power to it and more sales for Blu-ray. I won't be recommending a purchase, however. Neither the movie nor the disc has any redeeming value, the only thing at all worth while is the slightly above average Dolby TrueHD sound mix, but it alone is definitely not worth your rental or buying dollar. One Missed Call leaves me with the message of advising you to ignore this ring tone, not for peril of your life, but for the preservation of your hard-earned dollars (Yen, Pounds, Duetschmarks, Kronas, etc), as well as to save a valuable 87 minutes during which you could watch another and far better Blu-ray disc.
Unrated
2008
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2008
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2004
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Unrated
2009
2015
Unrated
2007
Theatrical + Unrated Alternate Cut
2007
2010
2009
2000
Unrated Director's Cut
2010
Unrated Version
2008
2006
2010
2007
2023
Unrated Director's Cut
2009