Chakushin Ari / One Missed Call (2004, Japan; supernatural horror)

+ Interesting plot development
+ Frightening moments
+ A realistic portrayal of supernatural events*
+ Good acting

- A bit goofy at times
- Same old, same old...
- A strange ending


Chakushin Ari was directed by Takashi Miike, the guy responsible for the incredibly good and sickening movie "The Audition", and instead of the realistic plot behind that movie, he has chosen to pick up the series of what I call the "Ju-on" legacy, focusing on the Japanese tradition of "yuurei", female spirits that have come back from the dead to haunt the living.

Now, the plot revolves around this cell phone, and this ghost is bound to these cellphones. It starts out with two girls during this dinner with friends, and they go to the bathroom. One of the girls gets a phone call, but when she looks at her cell phone, she notices something weird; it's her own number calling her. Then who was phone?! In any case, she did not answer the phone in time and a message is left: "One Missed Call". She then listens to the voicemail, which is the sound of herself talking on the phone and suddenly screaming.

..two days later, the girl who has received this mysterious cellphone is walking on a bridge overlooking a railway track, and she's talking to one of her friends on the phone (the one we saw in the beginning of the movie). Suddenly, she is picked up by this massive force and thrown on the tracks, in front of an uncoming train...


This is generally what Chakushin Ari is about. If you receive a call on your cellphone in a ringtone that is not yours you will die the day after tomorrow, and you will witness the sound of you being killed.

This is interesting, nay? In any case, what I really liked about this movie is the fact that in the movie, rumours have spread about this cellphone, and it gets media attention. In the end, one of the victims is dragged into a reality show and a Buddhist exorcist makes his appearance (yes, of course I'm biased ;p) and tries to exorcise the ghost, failing hard.

Anyways, it's a pretty good plot, good characters, pretty realistic acting, save a bit of cliché acting during the first ending (there are several, as is common in J-Horror). The only bad things I can think of is that it could be perhaps too detailed for people who don't really want to pay attention to the plot, but are rather waiting for gore and stuff, and the ending is really weird and strange, and it's left to the viewer to think what eventually happened with the ghost.

Well, this movie gets an 8/10.

Next up: Shutter, Thai version.

*What I meant by "realistic portrayal" is the fact that if such a thing would occur, it would attract massive media attraction.