ONE MISSED CALL is a traditional Japanese ghost story in that it involves young women being stalked by a ghost that puts a curse on them. In JU-ON: THE GRUDGE, the curse existed within a building; in RING, it passed on via a ringing telephone; in ONE MISSED CALL it takes the form of a mobile telephone call and voicemail message, with a time-travel twist. The one thing immediately noticeable is that this film's director is shock king Takashi Miike, he of ICHI THE KILLER notoriety amongst others, but he keeps his outrageous gore and violence to a minimum here. Apart from a couple of jumpily-edited scares and two or three gruesome moments (the beheading/de-arming being the "highlight") his work here is indistinguishable from many other directors. However, he does a decent job with the creepy atmosphere and the tension is spot on.
Visually, this film is recognisable as being a RING derivative, as with so many others. The ghost is of a grey-skinned woman with long dark hair who we catch brief, creepy glimpses of throughout. There's a stand-out shock scene involving an approaching ghost towards the climax, and lots of young, pretty Japanese actresses screaming their heads off in terror. However, there are a few things here that are more original than most, including a chirpy mobile ring tone that quickly becomes scary because it symbolises death; plus the appearance of a rotting zombie towards the film's climax which is pretty gruesome. Shibasaki makes for an able lead and proves to be another talented young actress while the supporting cast never step out of line. My only real complaint with ONE MISSED CALL is the head-scratching ending, which piles on twist after twist and ends up leaving you totally confused about what just happened – opaque isn't the word. Still, for fans of subtle, scary old-fashioned chills, you could do a lot worse than this one...
Visually, this film is recognisable as being a RING derivative, as with so many others. The ghost is of a grey-skinned woman with long dark hair who we catch brief, creepy glimpses of throughout. There's a stand-out shock scene involving an approaching ghost towards the climax, and lots of young, pretty Japanese actresses screaming their heads off in terror. However, there are a few things here that are more original than most, including a chirpy mobile ring tone that quickly becomes scary because it symbolises death; plus the appearance of a rotting zombie towards the film's climax which is pretty gruesome. Shibasaki makes for an able lead and proves to be another talented young actress while the supporting cast never step out of line. My only real complaint with ONE MISSED CALL is the head-scratching ending, which piles on twist after twist and ends up leaving you totally confused about what just happened – opaque isn't the word. Still, for fans of subtle, scary old-fashioned chills, you could do a lot worse than this one...