Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Sick Product of a Sick System

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Look, let's just cut to the chase. Because there's no other way to really describe this film without comparing it to numerous others that came before.The story of "One Missed Call" is essentially just a cocktail comprised of two-parts "Ringu/Ring" to one-part "Ju-On: The Curse"... garnished with a dash of the visuals and tonality of the first couple "Tomie" flicks here and there for good measure. Oh, and a pinch of a handful of director Takashi Miike's previous films once or twice during particularly "gooey" scenes.Yes, yes, yes... I know it's based on a novel and that it's fair to say many Japanese horror films (Heck, I'd say Asian horror films in general) share a lot of common visuals, story structure and occasionally specific scenes. But at the same time, it's hard not to notice how much the movie does rely on borrowing materials we've generally seen done much better before, while just giving them a slight cosmetic face-lift.Stop me if you've heard this one: A small group of friends must fight for their lives after receiving phonecalls alerting them that they will die in just a few days. (...never heard that one before. Oh, wait...) Except instead of relying on a cursed video-tape, the dark forces at play in this film skip right to the nitty-gritty as the curse is just focused on the phone-call itself. You get the call, you die, someone else close to you gets the next call. And so, the search is on as young Yumi- who has lost several friends to the curse and appears to be its next victim- must team up with investigating detective Yamashita to solve the mystery of what's happening and how to stop it.I will make a minor apology for the use of sarcasm above, but I can't blame myself too much. It's just too hard to really talk about this film without addressing those obvious similarities that it has to other films. Really the only thing that sort-of sets this film apart from being just another generic horror-flick are some wonderfully subversive little scenes that pop up now and again and a few big stand-out scares thanks to the skill of director Miike. That and admittedly fun performances from our leads Kou Shibasaki and Shinichi Tsutsumi, who are both able to salvage some fine work despite a painfully derivative script and clichéd character development.One particularly remarkable scene relatively early in the film is what pulls it all together for me, and makes me able to forgive the film's faults and shortcomings. While I won't spoil the outcome, I will say it revolves around a character desperately trying to survive, even going so far as to appear on live-TV for an "exorcism" to save her from whatever dark force is at play. Not only does the scene contain some nice and very subtle bits of satire, but it's also just REALLY darned creepy and unsettling, building tension like a tightening wire until it all snaps and goes completely nuts. It's about a 10 minute sequence, but it packs more suspense, fear and even small chuckles than most films do in their entire runtime. It's frankly shocking just how amazingly effective this scene is compared to the relatively by-the-numbers rest of the proceedings. Another sequence set in a hospital later does come close with some truly twisted imagery and visual direction that just drips and oozes pure, dread-filled atmosphere... though it never quite matches the sheer power and ferocity of that earlier sequence. Still, it's another great sequence in its own right and should be mentioned as another of the film's stand-out moments.And honestly, it is scenes like those two that do make this a worthwhile sit... at least for hardcore horror fans or movie-buffs with a taste for Asian films. It's most definitely a case of "the parts being greater than the whole", but even still, the whole isn't too bad. It's just very routine. We've seen it all before. But that doesn't mean there's not still some fun to be had with it. It may not be one of Takashi Miike's best efforts. But it's one I think most people will get a kick (and a jump) out of.I give "One Missed Call" a slightly above average 6 out of 10. It's worth checking out at least once thanks to some great key scenes... just don't expect a particularly original story. And be prepared to roll your eyes once or twice.

This movie is my Top J-Horror Movie. The pacing of this movie was perfect. Takashi Miike manages to create a creepy atmosphere throughout this entire film. What makes this film unique is that the ghost actually turns out to be a young girl. Some people complain about the ending, but I felt that the ending was done pretty well and unexpected. The actress that plays Yumi does her role very well. There were a lot of scary scenes in this movie. The movie starts of with slightly scary and then extremely frightening throughout the second half of the movie. There was one frightening scene in the middle of this movie that probably would be the most frightening scene in cinematographic history. There were a lot of times the scary scenes make me jump when I was watching this movie. Takashi Miike is my favourite director. I found Chakushin ari to be even more effective than ringu. The terrifying parts of Chakushin ari are shown mainly at night that builds a lot of terror and fear. Another scene I really wanted to comment in this movie is the TV scene which one of Yumi's friends just get twisted and twisted. This film is very well paced because only after a few minutes after the beginning of the film, terror starts to begin. This keeps people glued to the screen right from the beginning of the film. To me, there are pratically no flaws in this film. I thought this film is just a perfect piece of horror. Some scenes such as the horrific mirror scene where the reflection of Yumi just turns out to be mimiko is just fantastic. The ending is also very memorable, if you understand the ending. The ending is so unexpected that the ending for this movie could be the best ending any movie would have. Unlike ringu, which relies on only one scary scene, or ju-on which is a little too fast paced, Chakushin ari is just perfect and the scary scenes in the movie are just shown in so many different ways. The elevator scene, to me was probably the scariest elevator scene in any horror movie. I thought the elevator scene was also scarier than Dark Water. This movie will keep you entertained and glued to the screen right from the start to the end credits. This movie is extremely highly recommended. Score:10/10 I thought this was the best horror movie out of all the horror movies that have been made in the entire world. Storyline: 9/10 Scene: 10/10 Horror: 10/10 Overall: 10/10 I recommend all J-horror fans to watch this movie. Watch this movie if you like shows like Ringu. If you would like to know the ending, Yumi gets killed by Mimiko and Mimiko enters Yumi's body.Yumi shares the same grudge as Mimiko. Yumi's confrontation with the ghost caused her to gain her true self. Yumi stabs Yamashita san so that Yamashita San can fall into the same sky as her when she dies(with mimiko still inside her body.) Yamashita san accepts Yumi's love and allows Yumi to stab him. The ending can be viewed as a happy and sad one. The ending is a happy one because they get to fall in the same sky together. The ending, being sad because Yumi was not able to escape from her fate of being killed though she spent one whole night to stop the curse. Yumi still has to die in the end. I thought this was the best horror movie ever made in the world.

If John Carpenter's 1978 film Halloween was a metaphorical and unsubtle morality tale on celibacy, does this make Takashi Miike's 2003 film One Missed Call a metaphorical and unsubtle tale on popularity? If you had sex in Halloween you were sliced and diced; if you own a mobile phone in this ever growing post-modern world of gadgets and modernity as well as being really popular, in One Missed Call you're arguably in even bigger trouble. But then again even I'm not sure if being stalked by Michael Myers is as scary or indeed scarier than being hunted by a supernatural ghost-like being. There is one thing for sure though, One Missed Call takes its idea and its feint ideas on the ever increasing demand for popularity and somewhat makes a hash of it.I suppose there is no surprise that the Japanese would produce a film such as this one. The general feel I think is that the Japanese are consistently producing the best horror films that the world is currently seeing and even when it's not Japan such as 2003's The Eye, it is still that Far Easterly Asia influence that makes them better than American or indeed European films in the genre. But One Missed Call is just one missed opportunity. With its premise revolving around a slice of technology that spawns greater fears (video tape in The Ring/laser eye technology in The Eye), One Missed Call feels a little dated right from the beginning. Usually the film will rely on daft logic from its characters and implausible situations to get across the bulk of its scares.The idea behind the film reads something along the lines of a mysterious caller trying to contact various people. When these people fail to answer their phones they have a missed call and these voice messages are their grizzly fates. It sounds interesting and like a compelling detective idea but the film dumbs down its premise by presenting the women within the film as weak; one-dimensional; squealing; screaming; inferior people who all share the common characterisations of being abused and the victims in general. Compare this to the male characters who have sad back-stories; are brave, strong and toward the end closely resemble a mythical knight in shining armour as the final acts plays out in a hospital. The men in the film are also authority figures with the few incidences of police presence all being of the male variety.But until these gender issues have arrived, the characters (usually the women) are given really embarrassing actions to carry out. Yumi (Shibasaki) is the protagonist of the film and the one who must find out what's going on before she herself comes to harm. In The Ring and The Eye, similar female heroines took on supernatural missions in order to save themselves and future people. Here, Yumi can only squeal, cry and put her hands over her eyes when faced with danger as the false-hero Hiroshi (Tsutsumi) comes to save her. Hiroshi is also given a prior tragedy; his sister succumbed to the missed call curse and he's in on figuring it all out purely out of spite. For him it is a revenge mission and we feel more for him because of this, thus taking away the focus and emphasis from Yumi.The final showdown in hospital makes for some interesting reading. Watch it and ask yourself "Who actually does what?" Yumi can only cry, stare and crawl around when faced with the film's antagonist and yet there is more at stake for her as it's her life on the line – Hiroshi is there purely for payback but it is him with the weapon and it is he who must fight the monster. Even getting to the hospital is an ordeal. Yumi figures out one thing or another and goes there all alone, at night, poking around. I'm all for scares and thrills, that's why we actively watch horror films but when the motivation for the scares come at such a disappointing and dumbed down level, it is then difficult to 'feel' for the people in the film as it was their own stupidity that got them there in the first place.So this really just acts as a set up to get the male saviour of the film to finish the story off. Getting to the final act is equally as silly. When someone's possession phenomenon is revealed earlier on, everyone's first reaction is to bung her on a TV show and have her exorcised live. This could be a statement on how Japan these days make a media circus out of anything but I'm not in touch enough with the culture to know this for sure. Needless to say that by the time the ghost appears, the entire studio has run away and left the female victim by herself – where were the security guards that were so desperate not to let Hiroshi and Yumi into the studio? Why are there no cautionary backups? Why does the girl just stay there and let it 'get' her? Because she's a female and it acts as a 'scary' scene, I suppose.One Missed Call plods along with its meek ideation about how phones and technology and popularity are maybe dangerous, but it never makes any serious stand. The film is a series of ill-motivated, uninteresting scenes that do not scare so much as they frustrate. By the time the showdown with the monster has arrived, you expect Yumi to be fighting for her life with it right in front of her alá The Ring, The Eye or even an American film like The Terminator or Alien, but she doesn't even seem interested. Not a great venture into the Far Easterly horror territory.

Chakushin Ari is set in Japan where teenager Yumi Nakamura (Kou Shibasaki) attends University, while eating out her friend Yoko Okazaki (Anna Nagata) receives a call on her mobile. Yoko missed the call but a voice message was left, the strange message is dated the 18th April which is two days away & came from her own mobile number. Then two days later on the 18th Yoko dies in a mysterious accident, after that her friend Kenji Kawai (Atsushi Ida) receives a similar call & he too dies in mysterious circumstances shortly after. The rumour going around the University is that an evil ghost is killing people & using the contact list in their mobile phones to select another victim. Then Yumi's best friend Natsumi Yamashita (Shin'ichi Tsutsumi) receives a call, determined not to let her friend die or even become the next victim Yumi sets out to find the truth behind the killings & stop it...More commonly known under the title One Missed Call to English speaking audiences this Japanese production was directed by Takashi Miike & for me is another rubbishy Asian ghost story, to be brutally honest it's a straight rip-off of Ringu (1998) only difference being instead of a mysterious video tape Chakushin Ari revolves around mobile phones. I suppose it had to happen, since mobile phones have become such an integral part of modern culture it was inevitable someone was going to make a horror film based around them & you know even evil killer ghost's have to keep up with the times & use mobile phones. The basic concept to me seems laughable as Chakushin Ari tries to make something as common & everyday as a mobile phone call scary & for me it fails totally. I'm sorry but seeing a mobile phone rings just isn't scary or a concept that sends shivers down my spine, that's basically what it boils down to & a big reason why I found Chakushin Ari so dull, lifeless & such a chore to sit through. The script by Minako Daira was based on a novel by Yasushi Akimoto & is throughly slow going, I found the whole story revolving around some sort of ghost who was wronged in someway when they were alive & wanting some sort of revenge old hat & the Japanese have flogged the idea to death & usually with considerably more success than Chakushin Ari. Then there's the ending, it's absolutely terrible & doesn't really make any sort of sense although maybe it's lost in the English translation. The ending is a complete mess that seems to have time travel, possession, ghost's & no sort of closure. The one thing I did learn from this film though is if a rotten zombie is walking towards you with the intent to kill you then hug it & say nice things to it, it'll work a treat.Director Miike is usually known for his more outrageous & gory films but here with Chakushin Ari he really tones it down, there's certainly no blood or gore or violence expect for a severed arm. To be honest there's nothing here we haven't seen loads of times before, there's the obligatory female ghost who walks funny & makes strange noises that every Japanese supernatural horror film must include. Been there, done it & brought the T-shirt. Things pick up a bit towards the end with a haunted hospital but it's never really revealed why the hospital is haunted or how a woman's dead body got there or how it's mobile phone battery hasn't run out in six months. Like most of these Japanese ghost films Chakushin Ari is filmed in muted colours & in a very simple sort of way, it just looks bland & forgettable although maybe that was the intention.Technically the film is alright, there's nothing here that's going to amaze anyone but it's reasonably well made for what it is. I must admit I really don't like subtitled films, I just find them a chore to watch & very distracting. The acting seems alright but since we never know what anyone is saying it's difficult to judge.Chakushin Ari is a tedious film that I really didn't enjoy at all, I found it a throughly boring mess with a less than inspiring central premise that were mostly rehashes of other similar films. The film proved popular enough to spawn two sequels Chakushin Ari 2 (2005), Chakushin Ari Final (2006) as well as a Japanese TV series & a Hollywood remake.