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Supercool
03-03-2004, 05:46 PM
http://www.kfccinema.com/reviews/horror/phone/phone.html

Wow. I decided to order this after reading the KFC review, and damn am I pleased I did. Picked it up through cd-wow for only £7.99 (well, £7.49 including my *gasp* 50p discount voucher). I was hoping for some good scares, and boy did I get them. This movie is up there as one of those amazing asian horrors that were so effective that you find yourself wondering if you have what it takes to make it to the end of the next scene, let alone the end of the movie. And leaves you with some truly terryfying images in your mind.

At first I wondered how effective the use of a phone would be. Sure it has so much potential as a tool of the (horror) trade, but I couldnt help but know that the phone has been a big part of western horror for a while, and the example which stuck in the back of my mind was Scream. But the phone is treated very well, it works as a definate character in the movie.

You can read about the basic story on KFC I guess, and it is a good tale. It's not just a horror flick, it has a bit more depth, with a very satisfying story. The direction is at times astonishing, whoever was behind the camera realy knew what they were doing. The editing is fast, and for the most part perfect. However, one complaint is that when the main character moves into her friends' house, the fast cutting realy seems oppossed to the shining style shots of the ominous hallways and rooms. Apart from that, the only other complaint is that I did feel that parts just didnt fit in very well. The stalker storylines continuation, while I am fine with it's actual pressance, just seemed to suddenly appear from nowhere. I was left wondering how this all happened? how did I get here? still, it may be in part to do with me being tired, but it did seem like the director didnt tell me where I was and how I got there. And this seemed (at least on this first viewing) to happen a few times, not to the degree of the afforementioned scene, but there were a couple of other parts where I felt like the transitions from scene to scene wasnt quite right.

But, overall, this is an amazing film. And... I never thought I would say this of a film with both; a disney credit at the begining, and credit reading "toilet pictures" ...it was insanely scary. I reccomend this to anyone interested in Asian horror, this is a great example of the chills it can provide.

Now, I couldnt talk about this movie without mentioning the young actress who played Young Ju. Wow, just WOW. How a girl as young as herself could play that part so perfectly I do not know. But she certainly is the best child actress that I have ever witnessed on screen. From her screams of terror, to her chilling performance later on, this kid is so mind-bogglingly talented.


Anyone else seen this? If not, buy it, trust me... you will be rewarded with some very nice scares :D

42nd Street Freak
03-04-2004, 05:57 AM
Ni I have not. But i do agree that CDWOW have some great bargains (and those good old vouchers). I could not believe that they had "Emauelle in America" (with no customs hassles as they are in the UK...a copy of the film has in fact just beeen confiscated that was being imported) for £10.95 inc P£P! The next company in the UK that stocked it wanted **£19.95**!
They also had the 5 disc 'Amicus' cofffin box for £18 inc P&P! At least £9 less than the next cheapest and about *£17 less than the high street*!
"Battle Royale 2" 2 disc for £6.99 in P&P!

So if you have not checked them out do so as some great bargains can be found.
Gone way off topic here..sorry...back To "The Phone".

Guest_Carmilla
03-04-2004, 02:22 PM
Originally posted by Supercool@Mar 3 2004, 11:46 PM
Now, I couldnt talk about this movie without mentioning the young actress who played Young Ju. Wow, just WOW. How a girl as young as herself could play that part so perfectly I do not know. But she certainly is the best child actress that I have ever witnessed on screen. From her screams of terror, to her chilling performance later on, this kid is so mind-bogglingly talented.

I've seen it and even though it didn't blow my mind, the little girl did. She is amazing!!! I agree with you about her acting. By far, the best thing in the movie. The Phone is enjoyable, I won't deny that, but there was something about a cell phone being the object of evil that I found extremelly amusing. Yes, cell phones are evil. :)

Anyway, the stories within the film were well connected and it had some interesting twists and turns.

Supercool
03-04-2004, 05:29 PM
Originally posted by Guest_Carmilla+Mar 4 2004, 09:22 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Guest_Carmilla @ Mar 4 2004, 09:22 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Supercool@Mar 3 2004, 11:46 PM
Now, I couldnt talk about this movie without mentioning the young actress who played Young Ju. Wow, just WOW. How a girl as young as herself could play that part so perfectly I do not know. But she certainly is the best child actress that I have ever witnessed on screen. From her screams of terror, to her chilling performance later on, this kid is so mind-bogglingly talented.

I've seen it and even though it didn't blow my mind, the little girl did. She is amazing!!! I agree with you about her acting. By far, the best thing in the movie. The Phone is enjoyable, I won't deny that, but there was something about a cell phone being the object of evil that I found extremelly amusing. Yes, cell phones are evil. :)

Anyway, the stories within the film were well connected and it had some interesting twists and turns. [/b][/quote]
What did you think of the scares? I was realy impressed, it got to me pretty good. And, yeah, the stories were linked together realy well.

I thought the Phone being used as the object of evil was well handled. I agree that they are evil anyway though! :woot:

Thinking back to it, one thing that stood out as kinda lame was the Father's character (well, during the begining). During his first few scenes he was just there to give us back story, it felt like they couldnt find a way to inform the viewer of the history without having one the characters spell it out in some bad dialogue.

Supercool
03-05-2004, 10:14 AM
http://www.horrorexpress.com/filmreview.php?id=316

Sorry I missed Steve's great review :paperbag:

Carmilla
03-05-2004, 12:22 PM
What did you think of the scares?
Well, like the review says: THE PHONE is a mainstream effort for sure and most likely aims to take in a wide variety of international viewers, especially those already familiar with the VERY popular RINGU film.
Any comparison with Ringu is not coincidental. I mean, the girl was a bit Sadako like, don't you think? The long hair, the overall look. It was a bit freaky to see her wake up and get her revenge. And the elevator scene at the beginning was cool too. Not the scariest thing but it had its moments. I think the combination of thriller and horror worked well.