MOVIE REVIEW . One Missed Call

by Kris   ⋅   September 22, 2005   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

Due for US remake in 2007 Chris and I have somehow managed to avoid the infectious plague of ubiquitous cell phone abuse. It is only through obstinate willpower that we haven’t allowed ourselves to be drawn into the modern lifestyle adaptation where possessions actually possess their owners, where some are left crippled without the items they don’t actually need. Billions of the world’s population of course, aren’t so lucky. In Japan, children are often rewarded with the most technologically superfluous gadgets and accessories to adorn and crown their new toys. Things like cartoon character bell charms and colorful chasing lights, motion frame capture capability and intricate ringtones, all of which would send a teenaged technophile reeling. Japan is a nation of material Hello Kitty excess, and may have very well invented cellphone mania. It is also in Japan where One Missed Call takes place, where cell phone users are primary targets.

Like Freddy Krueger stalking his prey through an ethereal medium (dreams) which is a human necessity (sleep), it is only fitting to introduce a new fear into our new cultural “necessity”. In One Missed Call, the cell phone is the unassuming weapon of choice for an unhappy poltergeist. Trapped in Limbo, a vengeful ghost will stop at nothing to ensure that every living target shares in its agony. You’ve heard the tales of rescue and retribution, prevalent in Japanese horror (do not trust the remade U.S. versions — they often substitute paranormal activities with tangible human psychosis) where the demon’s soul will be released if and only if someone figures out what ails it and cracks its code and there is always a time limit. This is an intriguing twist to terror, infusing mystery and its partner, suspense.

One Missed Call stars Kou Shibasaki (pictured right) in a completely different persona from her famous Mitsuko (Battle Royale) the relentless created-homicidal hottie who launched a hundred fansites. As Yumi Nakamura, she’s meek and clumsy and clueless, often garnering the wrong decision and freezing up upon realization of it. She’s the perfect anti-hero, we think, in her ultra-baggy couture, her nerd-speak about school, loyalty to friends and disinterest in boys. There are times when you are sure she will resign so that someone else can figure it all out for her. And of course she needs rescuing, which is leagues away from most “female commando” horror flicks. But even the sweetest person can harbor the most insidious past, riiight?

So what happens to Miss Anti-hero? Quite bluntly, all around her, classmates are dying. Well doi, it’s a horror movie. But it’s more than that. The victims are given a three day warning by a cell phone call which plays a soundbite of their last words. So that means that whomever or whatever recorded their death screams traveled back in time, or else can travel directly through electronic information channels. Neat for the ghost, not so much for the receiving end. The victims quickly realize (quicker than the non-existent authorities) that the deaths are linked because the ghost is letting it’s “fingers do the walking” through the last victim’s address book. The cell phone addicts drop one by one in violent graphic dismemberment, spending their last days frantically begging friends to erase their numbers from the memory, thus accepting their inexplicable fate.

When Yumi’s best friend gets the call with the signature eerie ringtone and is forced onto a despicable reality show under the guise of protection (“watch this student die.. LIVE!”), the only “comfort” is the fact that in three days she will be relieved of this pressure. Yumi wants to help, but is slightly distracted by a mysterious stranger who has tracked her down and seems harmless and affable. He explains that his sister was somehow involved, being one of the first victims, and he has been searching for clues and connections ever since. So what does Yumi and her friend have in common with the ghost’s past? It’s not a random path. Just by coincidence, the psychology courses Yumi beamed about haunts her when they discover that a young family was at the epicenter. Did a longing for peers’ sympathy create a murderer out of a mom? Did someone else repeatedly slice superficial wounds into her child’s arms? And should Yumi trust this new guy whom she’s already cosmically attached to and whom she already keeps relying on for assistance? Will she be able to solve the mystery in time to save them all? Then of course, she gets the dreaded call. Auuuggggh!

One Missed Call is pretty much a clamor-whisper type terror tale we’re used to, insomuch as it’ll make your nerves leap then hang then leap again later. It challenges your mind to solve the story, to follow the limited clues and false starts. While this won’t be topping my absolute horror faves list, it was definitely spooky with many disturbing touches. It was pretty tame for (director) Takashi Miike standards, but he is one of the most versatile directors of this century so he’s completely forgiven. Perhaps he was venturing into more popularized mainstream fluff; his attempt at Ringu type drama. At any rate, Japanese style CG animated blood and body parts are worth a look. A few scenes seemed displaced, almost as if they belonged in another film altogether; it did run a bit long. There was no true character development nor warmth, but I believe that was intentional, being intriguing when it wasn’t being misleading. Speaking of misleading, maybe One Missed Call shuns the usual “everyone is doomed” endings Japanese audiences are so fond of. You’ll just have to watch it and see for yourself.

About the Author

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson says these directors/screenwriters rarely disappoint: Peter Greenaway, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Gus van Sant. Gregg Araki. Kris claims that Jake Gyllenhaal, Cillian Murphy, Desmond Harrington and Casey Affleck are much more than pretty faces.

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