Directed by:
Chung-hyun LeeScreenplay:
Chung-hyun LeeVOD (1)
Plots(1)
Connected by phone in the same home but 20 years apart, a serial killer puts another woman’s past — and life — on the line to change her own fate. (Netflix)
Reviews (6)
I'm not saying this is a completely original piece of work that hasn't been done before, but I almost can't understand how they managed to keep the story from being predictable. Whenever I started to feel like I knew what was going to happen next, it turned out differently. Suspenseful from start to finish, very well acted. I don't think I'll elaborate any further, so as not to give too much away. Anyway, if you want a good thriller, you can find one here.
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The climax of The Call is appropriately suspenseful and cruel. And as for the sophistication of time changes in the past that influence the present, it is well put together, without gaps in logic and suspicious donkey bridges. This is a top-tier affair in every respect that qualitatively elevates the familiar genre subject.
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I can see that after only a handful of reviews there are already quite a few experts on supernatural time paradoxes who think that this couldn’t work. LOL. I actually enjoyed this film a lot – maybe because I can’t be bothered with figuring out how something that doesn’t exist should work – and I think it’s one of the best thrillers of the year. In my opinion, the story is just great, it’s clear even with all the time frolic and it gradually gets very, very tense and dark.
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An excellent, unpredictable, original, dark and mysterious mindfuck from South Korea that completely blew my mind! The Call has an excellent concept about two women from the same apartment but from different timelines, connected through a telephone. I must admit that affecting the future with the past has never been more entertaining. In just ten minutes, I had about a thousand questions which the film gradually and intelligently answers. It is absolutely unpredictable, highly suspenseful, visually captivating, musically attractive, atmospherically intense, and the acting is absolutely excellent (Jun Jong-seo plays a perfect psychopath). Despite being a more demanding film, everything fits together perfectly and some twists even took my breath away. Excellent work on all fronts. A thrilling film as sharp as Parasite, which, by the way, The Call bears some resemblance to. Without Netflix, who knows when we would have seen this film. Some of the low ratings from unknown individuals here are completely off. Abroad, almost only 10/10 reviews are flying around. A low rating in this case indicates a lack of intelligence to understand the story. Story*****, Action***, Humor>No, Violence***, Entertainment*****, Music****, Visuals****, Atmosphere*****, Tension****. 9/10.
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The second film today that worked with a time paradox, but this one allowed me to give a more generous rating. I didn't need a load of formulas or mathematical tables to have a good time. I admit that the mutual influence of the two timelines, especially towards the end, somehow got out of the creators’ hands. Even so, I think it was a decent film (though not exactly abounding in originality). 4*-
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I was about to give it a very solid four stars, but the ending disappointed me greatly. Of course, considering the rest, the film undoubtedly deserves recognition for its above-average genre qualities. The premise may remind you of a few other films from the past (for example, Frequency), but the execution had a certain kind of magic. Although it might not seem like it at first glance, it is quite a minimalist film, primarily relying on the performances of the two main characters. The actress playing the murderer was, in a word, brilliant, outperforming her rival by a wide margin. The screenplay maintained a high level for most of the runtime, with twists and turns that left me wide-eyed a few times. There’s no shortage of tension, and some sequences almost gave me a heart attack—luxurious in that regard. It’s just a pity that such a wonderfully executed film with an inventive script chose to conclude with such a convoluted and, for me, incomprehensible ending. Maybe it will make more sense upon a second viewing, but for now, I have to give the film three and a half stars. 7/10
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