Terrific fun, with plenty of wickedness and gory surprises, all topped off by a captivating turn from Jong-seo Jun, The Call is well worth answering.
Thrives on its effective use of mysterious atmosphere
One of the better 2020 genre films from Korea, and one of the few to keep its focus on a fun high concept premise rather than getting distracted by last act melodrama.
This unpredictable Korean export juggles more than a few tones and subtexts, and does it quite craftily. With an original concept, chilling kills, and stunning performances, The Call is more than worth picking up. Through effective world-building and acting, The Call creates a distinctively chilling and suspenseful vibe that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats until its very last moments.
The Call is a movie that thrives on its effective use of mysterious atmosphere. Director Lee Chung-hyun makes that much clear from the earliest scenes, which contrast a modern-day social drama with a past day freak show.
The director develops very well a quite original idea as it is to connect two people from two different periods, playing with it in a very entertaining way for the viewer.
Writer-director Lee takes a simple supernatural premise and runs it to death and then some in this sinister tale of a land-line that cuts through time, if not space, in a Korean village.
Terrific fun, with plenty of wickedness and gory surprises
Park Shin-hye as Kim Seo-yeon
Jeon Jong-seo as Oh Young-sook
Kim Sung-ryung as Eun-ae, Seo-yeon’s mother.
Lee El as Ja-ok, Young-sook’s mother
Oh Jung-se as Seong-ho
Lee Dong-hwi as Baek Mi-hyun
Park Ho-san as Mr. Kim (Seo-yeon’s father)
Park Hyung-soo as Man-voice
Kim Min-ha as Young Seon-hee
Movie Information
Initial release: November 27, 2020
Director: Lee Chung-hyeon
Screenplay: Lee Chung-hyeon, Sergio Casci
Awards: Baeksang Arts Award for Best Leading Actress in Film
Language: Korean
Add comment