THE TELEPHONE BOX is a short and suspenseful 30 minute television movie made in Spain in the early '70s that's barely been seen by anybody – apart from those lucky few who caught it on late-night television screenings back in the '70s and '80s. Despite its ultra-obscure reputation, this is actually a brilliant movie that prefigures PHONE BOOTH with a similar plot, although one that goes about it in a much more obvious way: unlike Colin Farrell, the protagonist here isn't trapped in the box by a sniper but by the simple fact that the door won't open!
This is a surreal horror experience all the way through. There's barely any dialogue, just crisp photography that emphasises the heat of the Spanish sun. Our central actor, Spanish TV veteran Vazquez, must display his emotion through expressions alone and a brilliant job he makes of it too. The pacing is just right and the direction flawless, gradually moving away from the initial humour of the situation into some of the weirdest, most claustrophobic horror ever put on camera. Those who have seen this remember it from the nightmarish climax, which is one of the most effective ever filmed, and what's worse is that there's no explanation as to what's going on: this is cult, TWILIGHT ZONE stuff, where the only rule is to expect the unexpected. A real treat for fans of the obscure, this.
This is a surreal horror experience all the way through. There's barely any dialogue, just crisp photography that emphasises the heat of the Spanish sun. Our central actor, Spanish TV veteran Vazquez, must display his emotion through expressions alone and a brilliant job he makes of it too. The pacing is just right and the direction flawless, gradually moving away from the initial humour of the situation into some of the weirdest, most claustrophobic horror ever put on camera. Those who have seen this remember it from the nightmarish climax, which is one of the most effective ever filmed, and what's worse is that there's no explanation as to what's going on: this is cult, TWILIGHT ZONE stuff, where the only rule is to expect the unexpected. A real treat for fans of the obscure, this.