One Missed Call (2003)

People mysteriously start receiving voicemail messages from their future selves, foretelling their 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

part of a trilogy | death | message | asthma | sound | 

---

Taglines:

Kuru. (It's coming.)

---

Genres:

Horror | Mystery

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Philippines, the movie poster carries the tagline "For the creators of The Ring and Juon: The Grudge 2." The two mentioned movies have no connection with this movie (except both movies also came from Japan where this movie was originated).

---

Quotes

Yoko Okazaki: Oh no, it's raining.

---

Connections

Referenced in Entrei em Pânico ao Saber o que Vocês Fizeram na Sexta-feira 13 do Verão Passado Parte 2 - A Hora da Volta da Vingança dos Jogos Mortais de Halloween (2011)

---

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

A fun ride into Miike's more commercial world

It is hard to do something new in the world of horror these days. Even Japanese horrors which were deemed fresh in the late 90's got more and more repetitive, and we can say that after Kairo, there is nothing really fresh coming out of the horror department of Japanese films. The quiet atmosphere and the fear towards darkness within colorless world possessed by vicious female ghosts is no longer new to both Japan and the rest of the world. Ju-ons (all of them except the part 2 of the one made only for video which sucked badly) are scary; the series break the silent rule of Japanese horrors, its director even say that he tried to go the opposite way Nakata and Kurosawa went, he will scare the audience by showing the ghosts and gore as much as possible. And Ju-ons worked, to some extent; the director is successful in creating the world of nightmare that co-exist with the ordinary world that people live in. He use a normal house/apartment as his stage of fear and bring out all the every possible scare out of every corner of that place. But one can also say that Ju-ons are good only in parts; its strength is just the sum of a few very scary scenes that the director successfully created and not the overall atmosphere or the story of the films. Now it's time for the ever creative Miike who once scared the hell out of the audience, not by using ghosts, but using a sadistic but innocent-looking girl, to put some new blood into Japanese horrors. As a big fan of J-horror and Miike, I was so looking forward to the film and that I was afraid my high expectation will kill it, but the result was beyond my expectation, I enjoyed this thrill ride so much I wish it would never end.

In terms of story, Chakushin Ari is nothing new. It's the Ring plus mobile phone plus Miike trademark's world of weirdness. However, it's execution is a very good blend of Nakata's the silent and dark world and Simizu's bang bang ghost is coming style, and the result, IMHO, is very fresh and satisfying. Miike has toned down his weird and over-the-top scenes to suit the taste of wider audiences, but this film is still full of creative and scary scenes (the scene at the TV station which I deem so good it's classic, and the scene at the hospital which is so weird and spooky that I wish it could last longer) with quite satisfying story and (many may argue) acceptable open ending. Although his ingredients are nonetheless recycle of old tricks (everything from dark corners, female ghosts, old apartments, old hospitals, scary-as-hell sound effects, and right out of the screen gore and ghosts), they are orchestrated in such a stylish and enjoyable way that I can't help jumping and flinching while at the same time enjoying the ever rushing adrenalin in my vein. Repetitive, may be, but fresh ideas are still everywhere; Miike stood very good balance between Nakata's atmospheric scare/strong story and Shimizu illogically outrageous and bizarre world. In sum, a very very entertaining grade A pure horror (not psychological thriller in disguise) which is both repetitive and fresh at the same time. This film should satisfied both hardcore horror fans and those who want satisfying entertainment.

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

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,367,880

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kadokawa-Daiei Eiga K.K., Toho Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1