Pon (2002)

Director:

Byeong-ki Ahn

Release Date:

26 July 2002 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Last Call You'll Ever Get ...

Plot:

After writing a series of articles about pedophilia, the journalist Ji-won receives threatening calls on her cellular and she changes her number...

Plot Keywords:

Journalist | Screaming | Cell Phone | Moonlight Sonata | Trapped In Elevator

Cast

Ji-won Ha	...	Ji-won
Yu-mi Kim	...	Ho-jeong
Woo-jae Choi	...	Chang-hoon
Ji-yeon Choi	...	Jin-hie
Seo-woo Eun	...	Yeong-ju
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jeong-yun Choi	...	Woman in elevator

Also Known As:

Phone (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/disturbing images and some sexual material.

Runtime:

Japan:100 min | Italy:102 min | South Korea:104 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18PL | South Korea:15 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Ireland:15 | Philippines:R-13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:M

Company:

Toilet Pictures

Movie Connections:

References "The X Files" (1993)

A good horror movie

Most of what can be said about this movie has been said by other commenters, but I still would like to put my views forward.

The is a horror movie, in the wake of The Ring (Ringu). The main character is a journalist (as in Ringu) who has written a series of articles about sex offenders which has brought down on her some dangerous people who have been exposed in the scandal.

When she changes her cellphone number to escape her tormentors she ends up with a number with special significance - 6644. From this point on she ends up getting very weird phone calls and after each one, she experiences increasingly violent visions.

The movie is very derivative, this is true. But which horror movie isn't? Dismissing a horror-flick and saying "This movie from 1954 has the same thing" is stupid. You can always find some older work which is similar or even the same. It's no mean feat. What's important in a horror movie is one thing: is it scary? My answer is: it is.

I was very skeptical at first and found the opening scene to be almost dull. But the enterprise takes off, most of all with the incredible performance of the little girl who can turn from sweet little angel to devlish banshee on a dime. If for no other reason, go see it and you'll have to agree that she is completely believable as possessed.

I also believe that the story is richer if less original than the Ring. It is also a very well made without much special effects or gore. It relies heavily on acting and suspense and does this well.

More story than the Ring, less originality. About as suspenseful. I think that if I'd seen the Phone before the Ring I would've liked it more.

That's my two cents worth. :) Go see it if you like horror. Don't see it if you're just going to go look for similarities with older movies.