Scarecrow-88 Mercifully this slog put a death knell in the Asian horror remake craze that went for about six years. Sadly this Asian horror boom took a hit because of the interior American remakes galvanizing the marketplace at the time. While there are certainly good horror movies from Japan, Tawain, and the like, their increasing popularity in the early 2000s was set back by audiences tiring of Hollywood flooding theaters with rotters like One Missed Call. I read that the director didn't watch Miike's film nor would he allow the cast to, either. He should have...he could have used some pointers. Shannyn Sossamon is a pretty and emphatic actress but she has a lot of unflatteringly bad CGI, poorly orchestrated paranormal shenanigans, bland characterizations from actors undermined by underwritten victim friends, and boring plot (not to mention a dud of a reasoning behind why the phone terror takes place, a chain of future death messages to Sossamon's friends involving a fire at St Luke's, a nagging ringtone that is about as obnoxious as the jingle of Silver Shamrock from Halloween III, possible abuse towards a girl which could result from the mother or her asthmatic sister, cop Ed Burns' sister who was a nurse that knew a blond child with knowledge of the possible supernatural culprit, and a "nanny cam" hidden in a teddy bear) to work opposite, stranding her in a barren wasteland of bad, soulless crud.Somehow the phone ghoul can make windows break, push a victim into an oncoming train, cause a beam to impale a victim thanks to a construction disaster (what is this Final Destination???), use a knife to stab a victim through a door, strangle a victim in a church after causing statues of Jesus and Mary to come alive to spook her, and leave behind marbles in the victims' mouths. If this was shot tongue in cheek perhaps there might be some fun to be had, but this is all serious and empty. The thing about Miike is his films are made with a sense of jolly madness, and there's heart behind his direction. This Hollywood cash grab is DOA from the get-go. Meagan Good is dragged into her pond by a hand where she quite literally swims with the fishes. It isn't imaginative or shot with any flair. This film is just a dead fish flapping out of water, sucking air.

mavalesa-96453 It wasn't that bad, actually it has promising beginning. There is a good selection with the actors that plays throughout the movie. It is a thrilling movie that traps you, it keeps it interesting. Although many people gave a low score, I watched it and I don't think a like. I haven't seen the original (first version), so I can't compare it. It isn't the best horror movie of all time, but is not that bad as other says. The only critic I have is the end part, it could be better. The problem with the movie is that the ending doesn't match with the first part, and this is because it starts getting to fanciful. Despite every critic, it is worth to give it a try.

Dan Moon So it's clear to see there's a lot of bashing of this film. A lot of the reviews are from 2008 or so, which I guess are from people who were tired of films like "The Ring" and "The Grudge" churning out at the time. Having watched this in 2015, unimpressed by the horror films on offer today, it's exactly the type of film I wanted: An American "hollywood" remake of a Japanese horror film. One that doesn't rely on too much shaky cam and zooming in, and with decent CGI and SFX which don't look like a video game cutscene!That said, the special effects and CG are impressive in this film for its age. Although the technology is somewhat dated now, the effects definitely hold up and make this a great watch in 1080p.The acting is solid and on par with that of The Ring & The Grudge.All in all, it was entertaining start to finish. Don't let the reviews have you dissecting the film, just enjoy yourself!

ovidnine I have not seen the original this was based off and I've heard its actually good.Do not mistake this film for good.The premise- You get a voice message from the future and that's when you die. (Yeah, you read that correctly...)So, the premise is a bit weak, but hey, maybe it'll be decently written, or acted, or directed?Not really. Stock B (or C) level horror folk populate the movie and you don't ever really grow to care about any of them. Edward Burns character doesn't really seem to have a personality either even as he gets wrapped deeper into the nonsense going on around him.The director feels the need to show a cell phone in almost every shot, as if the cellphone itself is what's terrifying. The cellphone is not, the call itself is as you're going to die whether or not you got around to listening to the voice message.The movie is pretty boring but the last 20 minute or so switch from boring to bizarre. As in "WTF is going on? This makes no sense." It starts to make sense, and then no, it doesn't make sense anymore. If you're really bored and desperate looking for a horror movie, this exists, but I can't recommend wasting any time on it.