Phone is not so subtle, but then again what Asian ghost-story movie from the early 00's is, or was I should say? A director working in one of those movies has to approach the material like a musician approaching (and this is a tie-in with the film here, Phone) a work by Beethoven: you know the beats, and some of them are so familiar as to be rote, but it's the personal rhythm, the personality behind the playing that makes it compelling and something different from the upteenth other versions. For director Byeong-ki Ahn, who is soon to be rebooting his original version of Phone, it's mostly all about the proper mood, which should be as creepy as possible. We know the tropes of a 'grudge' type of story like this - as per usual, it features many adorable Asian girls, this time Korea instead of Japan, getting unusual and consistent bad vibes from the supernatural realm - but, at the least, Ahn doesn't make us feel too comfortable, which is good.
Part of it, this story about a mother of a four year old girl who keeps getting bizarre and disturbing phone calls on her cell (and, one such call, the little girl picks up and becomes possessed by) and it is, naturally, a spirit from the beyond looking for some payback, is just how it's shot and executed. Sure there are the lot of "JUMP" scares, though actually not quite as many as I expected. Characters move slowly but not too slowly, and the music adds greatly to the ambiance (sometimes the piano keys that include that really somber song in almost every movie that requires it). In fact, it would be prudent to point out that if one were teaching a class on creative horror movie lighting and shot composition, this would be a good place to turn once outside some of the standard classics of horror (show it on a double-bill with The Descent and a cinematographer has it made in the shade inspiration-wise).
Another great asset is that little girl. Not to sound like a layman here, but holy crap! Whoever she is, it's the performance of her moment and of a lifetime. I'm not even sure if I'll ever see her again in another movie, but she's simply unforgettable. At first she's just the cutest thing, which is just the point: seeing a little cute four year old transform into something that would make Danny in The Shining pee his pants is something special, and the girl becomes a walking nightmare waiting to happen, sometimes coming on not so suddenly so as to ratchet up the tension and mayhem. She's not the total focal point of the film (a shame, actually, though maybe too much would have been overkill), but it's a really instinctually amazing performance, where we believe this tiny thing is possessed by another girl who, as (bad) luck would have it, really has the hots for her own father.
While that part is totally solid and the technical side of the film is top-notch, albeit some strange moments (lightning during a snowstorm, really?), it's the story that is kind of hit or miss. It's certainly not bad, and builds up towards a really fun climax, but it seems to take a while to get there as much exposition goes on to explain where this ghost-girl came from, and what those numbers 4466 (or is it 6644) mean, and how the journalist's husband's infidelity has to work its way in to it, plus her previous trouble getting pregnant, etc. It really turns less into horror than into tawdry, bombastic melodrama, the likes of which call back to Douglas Sirk at his soapiest. Again, not a bad thing, but unexpected, and not quite as interesting as the real horror and the frightening imagery on display (when the teenage girl is revealed, and comes off, from behind the brick wall, again, holy crap).
Phone is probably one of the better of its kind from the period (it's hard for me to gage it, by the way, as I haven't seen the bulk of the catalog of Asian ghost-story movies from ten years ago, with the exception of the very similar One Missed Call), as it does give a horror fan looking for atmosphere over tons of gore something to chew on. It's not a gourmet piece, but it's piece enough.
Part of it, this story about a mother of a four year old girl who keeps getting bizarre and disturbing phone calls on her cell (and, one such call, the little girl picks up and becomes possessed by) and it is, naturally, a spirit from the beyond looking for some payback, is just how it's shot and executed. Sure there are the lot of "JUMP" scares, though actually not quite as many as I expected. Characters move slowly but not too slowly, and the music adds greatly to the ambiance (sometimes the piano keys that include that really somber song in almost every movie that requires it). In fact, it would be prudent to point out that if one were teaching a class on creative horror movie lighting and shot composition, this would be a good place to turn once outside some of the standard classics of horror (show it on a double-bill with The Descent and a cinematographer has it made in the shade inspiration-wise).
Another great asset is that little girl. Not to sound like a layman here, but holy crap! Whoever she is, it's the performance of her moment and of a lifetime. I'm not even sure if I'll ever see her again in another movie, but she's simply unforgettable. At first she's just the cutest thing, which is just the point: seeing a little cute four year old transform into something that would make Danny in The Shining pee his pants is something special, and the girl becomes a walking nightmare waiting to happen, sometimes coming on not so suddenly so as to ratchet up the tension and mayhem. She's not the total focal point of the film (a shame, actually, though maybe too much would have been overkill), but it's a really instinctually amazing performance, where we believe this tiny thing is possessed by another girl who, as (bad) luck would have it, really has the hots for her own father.
While that part is totally solid and the technical side of the film is top-notch, albeit some strange moments (lightning during a snowstorm, really?), it's the story that is kind of hit or miss. It's certainly not bad, and builds up towards a really fun climax, but it seems to take a while to get there as much exposition goes on to explain where this ghost-girl came from, and what those numbers 4466 (or is it 6644) mean, and how the journalist's husband's infidelity has to work its way in to it, plus her previous trouble getting pregnant, etc. It really turns less into horror than into tawdry, bombastic melodrama, the likes of which call back to Douglas Sirk at his soapiest. Again, not a bad thing, but unexpected, and not quite as interesting as the real horror and the frightening imagery on display (when the teenage girl is revealed, and comes off, from behind the brick wall, again, holy crap).
Phone is probably one of the better of its kind from the period (it's hard for me to gage it, by the way, as I haven't seen the bulk of the catalog of Asian ghost-story movies from ten years ago, with the exception of the very similar One Missed Call), as it does give a horror fan looking for atmosphere over tons of gore something to chew on. It's not a gourmet piece, but it's piece enough.