(2002/Korea)
Reviewed By-Paul Cooke
Director : Byeong-Ki Ahn
Starring : Ji-Weon Ha , Yu-Mi Kim & Woo-Jae Choi Source: Bear Entertainment (Korea Ntsc Region 3 DVD)Sound : DTS / Dolby Digital EX 5.1
Extras : 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen 1:85:1 / Interview / Making Of Film /
Production Note / Behind Scenes / Real Story Actor Videos /
Specific Scene Actor Commentary / Deleted Scenes / Trailer /
TV Spot / Epilogue Video Diary / Two Disc Special Edition /
English SubtitledThe modern day must have possession is the mobile phone but what happens when that essential accessory becomes a beyond the grave possession !?. A teenage school girl falls obsessively in love with a mysterious male who she communicates with by sending text messages to arrange secret liaisons. One day her messages are not returned and soon thereafter she too disappears , but her phone remains as a terrifying link to her horrifying situation. Director Byeong-Ki Ahn who also helmed the not too dissimilar horror themed , Gawi , tells another tale of ghostly goings on traversing the mortal plain beyond the boundaries of death. Whereas , Gawi , followed in the formula wake of teenage antagonists fighting for their lives against a killer in the tradition of , I Know What You Did Last Summer , here with , Phone , the tale of teenage desire pushes the angst of young love beyond the boundaries of death itself. When a young female investigative writer unravels a child sex scandal she and her fellow journalist anxiously await the outcome of the trial in trepidation of harmful intent towards their person. A precautionary act on the womans part is to change her cellular phone number and the one she is given is that which once belonged to the teenage girl who has vanished. When her new phone rings and her friends young daughter answers she flies into a frenzied fit as a screaming voice propels itself through the receiver and a malignant connection begins to manifest itself through the child conduit.
When the new owner of the phone starts receiving calls when no one has her number the investigative nature in her leads her to discover that the two previous owners of the mobile both died !. Her connection with her friend and the husband and daughter of the family slowly unravels a binding consequential affiliation to the events surrounding the disappearance of the original owner of the phone. Stylish moments of Dario Argento inspired scenes and excellent usage of sound as particular moments , such as rain pouring down upon lamp lit streets , heighten the viewers anticipation of tautly played moments of intensity. Fleeting moments of shadowy figures reflecting back in windows , and dark passages silently echoing danger from partially ajar doorways , trigger the viewers anticipation of cheep scares but they are ignored in favour of a sustained work of eerie finesse. The performance of the five or six year old girl possessed by a vengeful spirit is very convincing and the moment in which she throws herself down a stairway is startling and not for the feint of heart !. This is a ghost story with a whodunit core that plays out like reading the screenplay , as of course the majority audience interact as such with the on screen subtitles aiding the unravelling tale. Those enamoured with the Hollywood cinematic ghost story , What Lies Beneath , will enjoy experiencing a similarly unfolding mystery of the supernatural. Those discovering Asian films with increasing multitude will be further rewarded by a decisive closure to this Korean chiller as the , Phone , connects with a final moment of hands free terror.
Film: 3.5 BITCH SLAPS
Picture: 4.5 BITCH SLAPS
Sound: 4.5 BITCH SLAPS
Extras: 4.5 BITCH SLAPS
Overall: 4.5 BITCH SLAPS
