One Missed Call

"One Missed Call" is the 2008 remake to the 2003 Japanese horror film titled "Chakushin Ari". The story is about a supernatural force that leaves voicemails for its victims detailing the date, time, and method of their death by playing them a recording of the actual death. The horror begins with the deaths of the protagonist's two friends. Beth, the protagonist, attempts to notify the authorities about what happened, however, the way she described it, led all but one to believe that she is crazy. One detective, Jack, overhears the story and notices a relationship between the deaths of Beth's friends and the death of his sister whose death also did not have a traditional explanation for. As the two begin to try and unravel the answer to the situation at hand, Beth receives the call.

Over the course of this film, I would say the director did a good job setting the mood. If I remember correctly, all the horrifying parts occurred when it was dark, except for the death of that one guy who got hit by the vehicle in broad daylight. The movie also managed to set the mood by using a very "innocent" ringtone for the mysterious call. Whenever the phone would ring the childish ringtone would play loudly while everything else froze and the surrounding world was dead silent. A reoccurring figure was also seen throughout the movie for split seconds. Once it was seen the viewers instantly knew that someone was about to die. In addition to the above, the movie, I would say, used the western "trope?" of silence to cause tension and build suspense. The silences always felt like they lasted forever and were always broken by a frightening event causing you to jump out of your seat, which in reality is the purpose of a horror film.