Johnson Thomas 

One Missed Call 

Direction: Eric Valette
Cast: Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns, Ana Claudia Talancon, Ray Wise
Rating: * 

One Missed Call is a remake of Takashi Miike’s Japanese adaptation of the novel Chakushin Ari. Like The Ring, The Grudge and Pulse before it, One Missed Call too has a modern gadget( the cellphone in this case) to act as a conduit of horror, murder and mayhem.

The film starts out with an intriguing premise, showing teenagers receiving gory messages from themselves on their mobile phones when it’s time for them to die.

Beth (Shannyn Sossomon) finds her friends dying one after another under mysterious circumstances. The phantom uses chilling ringtones to announce the next victim.

Before it is her turn to receive the dreaded missed call she befriends a cop (Edward Burns) and together they try to unravel the truth. The whole exercise is gratuitous and the play on the supernatural is not the least bit scary.

The plot lacks mystery while the ‘boo’ moments are a hoot. The script is wayward, and the narrative misfires in entirety. The director fails to establish intent so everything that occurs becomes predictable.

The cinematography lacks the eerie atmosphere required and the tone is flat. Shannyn Sossamon and Edward Burns both lack the energy required for such an outing. Even animated dolls could have manufactured better expressions than these two!