''One Missed Call'' is a 2008

supernatural horror film Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of supernatural film and horror film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common them ...

directed by Eric Valette and written by

Andrew Klavan Andrew Klavan (; born July 13, 1954) is an American novelist and conservative political commentator. He has also worked in film and as an essayist and video satirist. He is also known for being a political commentator and hosts ''The Andrew Klava ...

. An international co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany, it is a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

of the 2003 Japanese film of the same name directed by

Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over 100 feature film, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films span a variety of different genres, ranging from violent and surrealism, b ...

, which itself was based on the

Yasushi Akimoto is a Japanese record producer, lyricist, and television writer, best known for creating and producing some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise. Total sales of the singles he has written exceed 100 million copies, ma ...

novel ''Chakushin Ari''. The film stars

Shannyn Sossamon Shannon Marie Kahololani "Shannyn" Sossamon (born October 3, 1978) is an American actress. She has appeared in the films ''A Knight's Tale (film), A Knight's Tale'' (2001), ''40 Days and 40 Nights'' (2002), ''The Rules of Attraction (film), The R ...

Edward Burns Edward Fitzgerald Burns (born January 29, 1968) is an American actor and filmmaker. He rose to fame with '' The Brothers McMullen'' (1995), his low-budget independent film that became successful worldwide. His other film appearances include '' ...

Ana Claudia Talancón Ana Claudia Talancón (born Ana Claudia Talancón Ortiz Tirado; 1 May 1980), is a Mexican actress, TV host, and philanthropist. She first started acting in her home town, Cancún, Quintana Roo. Early life and career Talancón first started s ...

Ray Wise Raymond Herbert Wise (born August 29, 1947) is an American actor best known for his role as Leland Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, Twin Peaks (season 3), 2017) and its prequel film ''Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992). He has appeared ...

and Azura Skye. The film was released in North America on January 4, 2008. Despite being a moderate box office success, the film was panned by film critics, with many regarding it as the worst

J-horror Japanese horror, also known as J-horror, is horror fiction derived from popular culture in Japan, generally noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre differing from the traditional Western representation of horr ...

remake to be released. It became the worst-reviewed film of 2008, receiving a 0% rating approval on Rotten Tomatoes and winning a Moldy Tomato Award on the same site.

Plot

paramedic A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), ...

rescues a young girl from the blazing Saint Luke's

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

before unsuccessfully inquiring about her mother's whereabouts. Sometime afterwards, undergraduate Shelley Baum hears her cat meowing near her

koi pond Koi ponds are ponds used for holding koi carp, usually as part of a garden. Koi ponds can be designed specifically to promote health and growth of the Nishikigoi or Japanese Ornamental Carp. Koi ponds or lakes are a traditional feature of Ja ...

. After she heads over to investigate, a hand appears and drowns her and her cat. Days later, college students Beth Raymond and Leann Cole discuss Shelley's funeral. Leann's

cellphone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radio ...

rings in a

lullaby A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural knowl ...

-esque

ringtone A ringtone is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming telephone call. Originally referring to the sound of electromechanical striking of bells or gongs, the term refers to any sound by any device alerting of an incoming call. On p ...

, with a call from Shelley. She opens it to an eerie

voicemail A voicemail system (also known as voice message or voice bank) is a computer-based system that allows callers to leave a recorded message when the recipient has been unable (or unwilling) to answer the phone. Calls may be directed to voicemail m ...

of herself, dated for June 12 at 10:17 PM. Subsequently suffering from disturbing

hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the compelling sense of reality. They are distinguishable from several related phenomena, such as dreaming ( REM sleep), which does not involve wakefulness; pse ...

s, she calls Beth while returning from a study session. Beth rushes to her location but arrives just as Leann falls off an

overpass An overpass, called an overbridge or flyover (for a road only) in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries, is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that is over another road or railway. An ''overpass'' and '' underpa ...

and is struck by a train. A red candy pops out of her mouth, and her severed hand dials a number on her phone. At Leann's funeral, her ex-boyfriend Brian Sousa departs after experiencing hallucinations. Outside a coffee shop, he shows Beth Leann's post-mortem voicemail, dated minutes away. An

acetylene Acetylene (Chemical nomenclature, systematic name: ethyne) is a chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is u ...

tank explosion from the adjacent

construction site Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

launches debris into the air, and a

rebar Rebar (short for reinforcement bar or reinforcing bar), known when massed as reinforcing steel or steel reinforcement, is a tension device added to concrete to form ''reinforced concrete'' and reinforced masonry structures to strengthen and aid ...

impales Brian's

torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical terminology, anatomical term for the central part, or the core (anatomy), core, of the body (biology), body of many animals (including human beings), from which the head, neck, limb (anatomy), limbs, tail an ...

. A red candy is ejected from his mouth, and he collapses. The next day, Beth meets

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

Jack Andrews, who mentions that his sister Jean interned with Shelley at Saint Luke's and died two days prior. They determine the events are interrelated, and he provides his contact card. Beth consoles her friend Taylor Anthony, who is distraught by a premonitory feeling of being the next victim, by removing the batteries from their cellphones to disable them. That night, Taylor's cellphone rings, which she opens to a

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

of her apparent demise. The following morning, Jack and Beth research geriatric nurse Marie Layton, originator of the calls, and find the

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

report A report is a document or a statement that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are usually given in the form of written documen ...

of her eldest daughter Ellie, who died from an acute

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

tic episode. The file, mentioning "no

bruising A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Most bruises occur clo ...

but evidence of past scars" with an attached CPS file for further consultation, indicates that Jean, a

psychiatric Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, mood, emotion, and behavior. Initial psychiatric assessment of ...

nurse, questioned Marie at Saint Luke's and noted nine admissions between April and May for Ellie and her sister Laurel, concerning several causes, leading Beth to assume that Marie had FDIA. Meanwhile,

TV producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acceptance they focus ...

Ted Summers, who approached Taylor earlier, prepares to record her exorcism, explaining that spiritual

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

operates in the same

electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the full range of electromagnetic radiation, organized by frequency or wavelength. The spectrum is divided into separate bands, with different names for the electromagnetic waves within each band. From low to high ...

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...

s and is therefore transmissible via cellular phones from which it manifests as hallucinations. Noticing the show's

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

on TV, Beth races to the site, arriving to an unseen

force In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an Physical object, object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the Magnitu ...

fatally choking Taylor. Her phone then sounds with a voicemail dated for tomorrow. Assuming that finding Marie will settle the matter, she ventures to Saint Luke's and encounters Jack. As they enter an

operating room Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, Marie's spirit ejects and incapacitates Jack. Locked inside, Beth throws a chiming phone across the room, where it knocks the air duct's grill cover loose, revealing a

crawlspace A crawl space or crawlspace is an unoccupied, unfinished, narrow space within a building, between the ground and the first (or ground) floor. The crawl space is so named because there is typically only enough room to crawl rather than stand; any ...

. Inside, she discovers Marie's charred corpse clutching a cellphone, which awakens. After pursuing and intercepting Beth, Marie weeps and murmurs, "Forgive me." Subsequently, Beth tells Jack that Marie might have brought her there to protect her. At Laurel's

foster Foster may refer to: People * Foster (surname) * Foster Brooks (1912–2001), American actor * Foster Moreau (born 1997), American football player * Foster Sarell (born 1998), American football player * John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), America ...

home, Jack uncovers a

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

from the nanny cam embedded in the eye of Laurel's teddy bear. The footage reveals Ellie incising Laurel with a knife in their bedroom. Marie entered shortly thereafter, discovered Ellie's abusiveness, and rushed Laurel to the hospital. Ellie, locked inside, began pressing wheezingly on the

inhaler An inhaler (puffer, asthma pump or allergy spray) is a medical device used for delivering medicines into the lungs through the work of a person's breathing. This allows medicines to be delivered to and absorbed in the lungs, which provides the ...

but was overwhelmed and collapsed, facing the future curse's constituents (

millipede Millipedes (originating from the Latin , "thousand", and , "foot") are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derive ...

s, an

uncanny The uncanny is the psychological experience of an event or thing that is unsettling in a way that feels oddly familiar, rather than simply mysterious. This phenomenon is used to describe incidents where a familiar entity is encountered in a frig ...

doll of a mother with baby in a perambulator (hallucinations), and the lullaby-esque music emanating from the teddy, audible during every victim's call), before dying from

asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are m ...

while dialing her mother's phone number. Laurel reveals that though Ellie injured her, she always provided candies. Realizing Ellie caused the curse, Jack drives to Beth's house, during which a colleague informs him of a new voicemail. After he enters, somebody knocks on the door. As he peers through the

peephole A peephole, peekhole, spyhole, doorhole, magic eye, magic mirror or door viewer is a small, round opening through a door from which a viewer on the inside of a dwelling may "peek" to see directly outside the door. The lenses are made and arr ...

, a knife stabs through it, killing him. Ellie appears and attacks Beth, but Marie's spirit intervenes, binds Ellie in Jack's phone, and reconciles with Beth before evanescing. Jack's mouth spills a red candy and his cellphone auto-dials.

Cast

Production

''One Missed Call'' was announced in 2005, before being officially greenlit by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

in early 2006, with Eric Valette signing as the film's

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. The film began production in June in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

with

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and musician. In her Stand-up comedy, stand-up routines she critiques social and political problems, especially about race and sexuality. She starred in the Ame ...

, and

signing on. On August 3,

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in '' Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Awa ...

and

Gabriel Byrne Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. Byrne was awarded the Irish Film and Television Academy L ...

both signed on to appear in the film but both withdrew due to unknown circumstances. Sound designers used the voice of

Skid Row A skid row, also called skid road, is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to people who are poor or homeless, considered disre ...

front man

Sebastian Bach Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and h ...

in the hospital basement scene. The exact clip comes from Bach's scream at the beginning of "Midnight / Tornado", a song from the band's 1989 debut album, ''

''.

Release

Marketing

In December 2007, the official website was launched as well as numerous websites running competitions to promote the film with the first prize being an

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

Theatrical

The film was intended for release on August 24, 2007, but was delayed until January 4, 2008. The song "

Life is Beautiful ''Life Is Beautiful'' (, ) is a 1997 Italian period comedy-drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who employs his imagin ...

" by Sixx:A.M. was used in television advertisements for the film.

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

HD DVD HD DVD (short for High Density Digital Versatile Disc) is an obsolete high-density optical disc format for storing data and playback of high-definition video.

, and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on April 22, 2008.

Reception

Critical reception

The film was not screened for critics. . It was also awarded the Moldy Tomato Award for being the worst-reviewed film of 2008 and is rated the second worst film of the 2000s decade behind '' Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever''. Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film a grade "D" on scale of A+ to F. Despite being a remake of ''Chakushin ari'', the film was strongly criticized for borrowing plot elements from and being similar to '' Scream'' (1996), ''

Final Destination ''Final Destination'' is an American horror franchise that includes six films, ten novels, and two comic books. It is based on an unproduced spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, originally written for the television series ''The X-Files''. All of ...

'' (2000), ''

The Ring The Ring may refer to: Arts and entertainment *The Ring (franchise), ''The Ring'' (franchise), a Japanese horror media franchise Literature * ''The Ring'', a 1967 novel by Richard Chopping * ''The Ring'', a 1988 book by Daniel Keys Moran * ''The R ...

'' (2002), ''

The Grudge ''The Grudge'' is a 2004 American supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film '' Ju-On: The ...

'' (2004), '' Dark Water'' (2005), and ''

Pulse In medicine, the pulse refers to the rhythmic pulsations (expansion and contraction) of an artery in response to the cardiac cycle (heartbeat). The pulse may be felt ( palpated) in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surfac ...

'' (2006).

Relationship with ''One Missed Call'' (2003 film)

''One Missed Call'' includes most of the scenes and characters that were in the original 2003 film. These include the

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...

scene, where one of the characters is killed while filming the show ''American Miracles''. The characters of Beth, Leann, Taylor, Jack, Brian, and Shelley are respectively based on the original characters Yumi, Yoko, Natsumi, Yamashita, Kenji, and Rina. Another reference is contained within the theatrical trailer; while Leann is walking down the street, a piece of the original ringtone from ''One Missed Call'' (2003) plays in the background until she falls from the overpass.

References

External links

* * * * * {{One Missed Call 2008 films 2000s ghost films 2008 horror films Japanese horror films American supernatural horror films German horror films English-language German films English-language Japanese films Horror film remakes Alcon Entertainment films Warner Bros. films Films about child abuse American remakes of Japanese films Asian-American horror films One Missed Call Films based on adaptations Films scored by Reinhold Heil Films based on Japanese novels Films produced by Scott Kroopf Techno-horror films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s Japanese films 2000s German films English-language horror films