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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Kuru. (It's coming.)

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images and brief nudity

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

Followed by One Missed Call 3: Final (2006)

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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

A stylish addition to Miike's portfolio

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

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:

$17,605,379

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kadokawa-Daiei Eiga K.K., Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1