One Missed Call (2003)

People mysteriously start receiving voicemail messages from their future selves, in the form of the sound of them reacting to their own violent deaths.

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Yasushi Akimoto (novel), Minako Daira (screenplay) (as Miwako Daira)

Stars:

Ko Shibasaki, Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Kazue Fukiishi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ko Shibasaki	...	Yumi Nakamura (as Kô Shibasaki)
Shin'ichi Tsutsumi	...	Hiroshi Yamashita
Kazue Fukiishi	...	Natsumi Konishi
Anna Nagata	...	Yoko Okazaki
Atsushi Ida	...	Kenji Kawai
Mariko Tsutsui	...	Marie Mizunuma
Kumiko Imai
Keiko Tomita
Kayoko Fujii
Yoshiko Noda
Azusa	...	Ritsuko Yamashita
Tetsushi Tanaka
Mitsuhiro Sato
Kaoru Hanaki
Hassei Takano

Storyline

People mysteriously start receiving voicemail messages from their future selves, in the form of the sound of them reacting to their own violent deaths, along with the exact date and time of their future death, listed on the message log. The plot thickens as the surviving characters pursue the answers to this mystery which could save their lives.

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Plot Keywords:

death | message | asthma | sound | hospital | 

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Taglines:

Death cannot be put on hold...

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Spain]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

17 January 2004 (Japan)

Also Known As:

One Missed Call

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$542,580 (Japan), 16 January 2004, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kadokawa-Daiei Eiga K.K.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the opening credit sequence, one of the cell phone ring-tones is the theme song from an earlier Takashi Miike film, Gozu (2003).

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Quotes

Yoko Okazaki: Oh no, it's raining.

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Connections

Remade as One Missed Call (2008)

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Soundtracks

Ikutsuka no Sora
(Few Skies)
Vocal by Ko Shibasaki (as Kou Shibasaki)
Written by Yasushi Akimoto
Composed by Jin Nakamura
Arranged by Chokkaku
Universal J / Chimera Energy

User Reviews

The Call from Death

While in a bar with her friends, the teenager Yoko Okazaki (Anna Nagata) receives a call in her cellular with a voice mail from the future telling the date and time when she would die. On the next day, Yumi overhears a group of students talking about the urban legend that people connected in the address book of cellular are mysteriously receiving phone calls with date and time of their death in the near future. In the precise informed hour, Yoko is attacked by a supernatural force in a train station while talking to her friend Yumi Nakamura (Kou Shibasaki) by phone and dies with severed arm and leg. Yumi seeks out Kioto's boyfriend Kenji Kawai (Atsushi Ida), who also received a call, and witnesses his death in an elevator shaft. When her roommate Natsumi Konishi (Kazue Fukiishi) receives a call, Yoko befriends Hiroshi Yamashita (Shin'ichi Tsutsumi), who tells her that his sister Ritsuko (Azusa) that worked in the Child Guidance Center with abused children was the first victim of the phone call. While in the hospital, Yumi hears an asthma pump and recalls that she heard the same noise when Kenji died. They decide to investigate victims of asthma in the hospital and find the name of Marie Mizunuma and her daughters Mimiko and Nanako. They search the family together trying to save Natsumi from her fate.

"Chakushin Ari" is scary like most of the Asian horror movies, and has a promising beginning supported by a great acting and a good plot. However, the last quarter of the movie is confused, not clear, needing interpretation; therefore, the screenplay writer Minako Daira or the cult director Takashi Miike or both failed since they were not able to transmit a clear conclusion of the story to the audience. I glanced in IMDb the most different interpretations for the end of the story to ratify my opinion. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Ligação Perdida" ("Missed Call")