Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Ko Shibasaki | ... | Yumi Nakamura (as Kô Shibasaki) | |
Shin'ichi Tsutsumi | ... | Hiroshi Yamashita | |
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Kazue Fukiishi | ... | Natsumi Konishi |
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Anna Nagata | ... | Yoko Okazaki |
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Atsushi Ida | ... | Kenji Kawai |
Mariko Tsutsui | ... | Marie Mizunuma | |
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Kumiko Imai | ||
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Keiko Tomita | ||
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Kayoko Fujii | ||
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Yoshiko Noda | ||
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Azusa | ... | Ritsuko Yamashita |
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Tetsushi Tanaka | ||
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Mitsuhiro Sato | ||
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Kaoru Hanaki | ||
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Hassei Takano |
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. Written by Anonymous
After "Audition" and "Ichi The Killer", I had great expectations for this movie. What it delivers is essentially the "greatest hits" of Asian horror. There's more than a passing resemblance to "The Ring", with bits of "Ju-On" and other films thrown in for good measure.
The film revolves around mobile 'phones. A girl has a message left on her mobile 'phone answering service - only it's been left by herself and in the future! To make matters worse, it ends with a blood curdling scream! Well, it soon turns out that the message is the girl's final words on this mortal coil.
The girl is not alone. It's only a matter of time before the body count starts rising and a race against time begins to solve the mystery of the bizarre calls.
Despite being more than a shade Ringu-clone-esquire, I heartily enjoyed this film. It has some great set-pieces (including a memorable death), some spooky moments, a few "jump" sequences, etc. What the film didn't deliver, though, was any real fear. It was a case of "seen it all before" (a criticism that some levelled at "Ju-On").
The plot unravels in a logical manner and there's a decent pay off. It may not be a future classic, but this is a very well made example of Asian horror cinema.
My rating: 8 out of 10 for a stylish addition to Miike's portfolio