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"ONE MISSED CALL"
(2007) (Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns) (PG-13)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Minor Extreme Extreme Heavy Moderate
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Mild Heavy Extreme None Moderate
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Heavy Minor Heavy Heavy Extreme


QUICK TAKE:
Horror: Various people must contend with receiving voice mail recordings from the future that play the sounds of their own pending deaths.
PLOT:
Beth Raymond (SHANNYN SOSSAMON) is a college student whose chosen field of psychology cannot possibly prepare her for what's about to transpire. While she's able to console her friend, Leann Cole (AZURA SKYE), following the unexpected death of a third person, not to mention Leann's ex-boyfriend, Brian Sousa (JOHNNY LEWIS), now being interested in fellow student Taylor Anthony (ANA CLADIA TALANCON), she isn't sure what to make of a voice mail message that Leann receives.

It appears that the call came from Leann's friend after the latter's death, with the time stamp indicating the call has come from the future. More distressing is the fact that it's Leann's voice and the sound of her screaming on that message. When she ends up dead, Beth, Taylor, Brian and others freak out, as the deadly supernatural force appears to move from one person to the next, indicated by a distinctive ring tone that's heard even if the next victim's phone has no battery.

Such occurrences not only draw the attention of paranormal TV show host Ted Summers (RAY WISE), but also that of local detective Jack Andrews (EDWARD BURNS) whose sister has also recently and mysteriously died. As he and Beth try to get to the bottom of what's occurring -- with their search eventually involving young sisters Laurel (RAEGAN LAMB) and Ellie Layton (ARIEL WINTER) -- they find themselves racing against time, particularly when Beth receives her message indicating she's going to be the next victim.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
If they're into horror movies (particularly American remakes of Japanese ones) and/or are fans of anyone in the cast, they just might.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For intense sequences of violence and terror, frightening images, some sexual material and thematic elements.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • SHANNYN SOSSAMON plays a college student who must contend with the supernatural, voice mail harbingers of her and other's pending deaths. She uses some profanity, and must also deal with the repercussions of familial trauma from her childhood.
  • EDWARD BURNS plays a detective who teams up with Beth in trying to figure out what's occurring. He must also contend with his sister's death, and uses some profanity.
  • ANA CLADIA TALANCON plays Beth's college friend who becomes quite worried when she appears to be the next intended victim of the supernatural killer.
  • RAY WISE plays the host of a paranormal TV show who wants to do an episode on Taylor and the supernatural cell phone killer.
  • AZURA SKYE plays another student who must contend with the curse.
  • JOHNNY LEWIS plays her ex-boyfriend who faces the same thing, and briefly uses some profanity.
  • RAEGAN LAMB plays a young girl who must contend with abuse at the hands of her older sister played by ARIEL WINTER.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    The following is a brief summary of the content found in this horror film that's rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 6 "s" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Brief, sexually related dialogue is present, as is the sight of some cleavage, while a young couple is briefly seen fooling around in a bedroom at a party (interrupted by others, the girl in her bra pulls down the bottom of her skirt after seemingly straddling the apparently clothed guy).

    Various people are killed by ghosts or other supernatural means, and those scenes, moments of peril, and standard "haunted house" type material might be unsettling, suspenseful, or even scary to viewers, particularly younger kids and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Some victims display bloody and/or burned skin, while various supernatural figures have disfigured or doll-like faces that have cracks and other ghastly appearances

    Beyond the actions of the murderous and demonic spirit, other bad attitudes are present, some of them also involving tense family material and thematic elements (including that shown in a flashback where a young girl also finds her father after he's hanged himself). There's brief drinking and smoking, while some other behavior might be enticing for some kids to imitate.

    If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

    For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there are near strobe effects on a TV studio set when the lights blow out and start to flash and flicker.

    For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there are varying amounts of camera movement in the film.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • College students and other young people drink at a party.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • Jack unzips the body bag holding his dead sister's body. Her face is bloody and/or slightly charred, and he puts his gloved fingers into the mouth and retrieves a round piece of hard candy (that looks like a marble).
  • Leann sees what look large millipedes crawling all over Beth's hand, with one even burrowing under her skin (but all of that's imagined).
  • Jack looks through various morgue mug shots, including one of a woman with a bloody hole in her head, and another of a young girl.
  • A student passes by Beth in the library and has a ghastly, disfigured face.
  • We see a badly burned and bloody corpse that then comes to life and comes after Beth in a vent shaft.
  • Beth's face is covered by dirt and/or blood after the windows of her place implode during a supernatural occurrence.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • The supernatural spirit obviously has both for killing various people.
  • Jack allows Beth to try to break into an apartment, and when she can't, he takes over and succeeds (so that they can look around inside without a search warrant).
  • There are allegations of Laurel's mom abusing her and her sister, but we later learn that's not true.
  • Jack sees old cigarette burns on Beth's arm, and we then see a flashback to her mom smoking and young Beth appearing quite frightened (with the mom telling her, "Crybaby, cry. You're disgusting").
  • We see recorded, nanny-cam footage of young Laurel and Ellie playing when the latter dons a hood, grabs a large knife, and cuts her younger sister's arm (we just see the motion, and no blood).
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material.
  • A miscellaneous young woman searches for her missing cat, leans over to look down into a pond, and a hand suddenly erupts from the water, grabs her by the face, and yanks her under the water. The hand then grabs her cat and yanks it under the water as well.
  • Leann reports that she received a voice mail message from her friend after the latter was dead, with the time stamp on the call showing that it came from the future. We then hear the phone message that includes the sound of Leann's voice and her screaming.
  • Leann sees what looks like a ghostly figure in some swirling leaves, and then large millipedes crawling all over Beth's hand, with one even burrowing under her skin (but all of that's imagined).
  • Leann appears nervous while walking alone at night and talking to Beth on her cell phone. She sees a man on a passing bus with a doll-like face with growing cracks in it, and a mother with a stroller in front of her where both have plastic-like doll faces, where the eyes of the baby then crack open. She sees other figures as well, while some sort of energy field emanates and flows off her body like wisps of air. She then ends up falling off a bridge and is hit by a passing train beneath her. Beth sees this, and as she waits for the train to pass by, she sees what looks like some sort of ghostly/ghastly image on the other side, which is then gone once the train has passed by.
  • Brian sees a man with a plastic-looking face, as well as various large millipedes. He then sees a creepy-looking child figure approaching him before it vanishes.
  • A car nearly hits Brian.
  • All of the victims have round, marble-like candy in their mouths at the time of their deaths.
  • Beth hears a sound in her house and slowly goes to investigate, only to find Taylor there.
  • Taylor's cell phone rings with the distinctive doomed ring tone despite the battery having earlier been removed.
  • Ted hands Taylor a new cell phone and it then rings with the distinctive, doomed ring tone.
  • While looking around an apartment for clues, Beth spots movement in the kitchen sink and then sees a rat there, while Jack looks out the window and sees large millipedes crawling on a tree that's oozing lots of sap. She then hears a sound in a closet, and when she opens the door, a puppet suddenly falls and then hangs upside down from the ceiling. She then hears a sudden sound behind her, but it's just Jack activating an asthma inhaler he's discovered.
  • During an exorcism, Taylor sees various religious sculptures, including that of Jesus on the cross, come to life, with some of them appearing demonic (with a large millipede crawling out of one's mouth). The TV lights on the set then burn out and flicker, while we see a ghastly figure approaching Taylor from behind. We then see another figure behind a man where the figure appears to be partially burning, and then what looks like fingers under Taylor's skin around her throat, strangling her to death.
  • Beth gets the doomed voice mail message, indicating she's to be the next victim.
  • Jack sees old cigarette burns on Beth's arm, and we then see a flashback to her mom smoking and young Beth appearing quite frightened (with the mom telling her, "Crybaby, cry. You're disgusting"). We then see young Beth slowly walking up some steps, peering through a hole in a door, and seeing the swinging feet and legs of her father who's hanged himself.
  • From a distance, Beth sees a figure with doll-like face standing behind Laurel in a window.
  • A student passes by Beth in the library and has a ghastly, disfigured face.
  • Beth races against time to find answers before the predesignated time of her death arrives.
  • Beth arrives at a burned out hospital, and is then wary when a previously locked door suddenly opens by itself. She then slowly goes in, turns on the lights, and starts looking around, with creepy sounds there making her even warier. She then reaches out and yanks a curtain open, but finds nothing there. She does, however, spot a small doll that's holding a phone in a crib, turns its head toward her, and hisses, causing her to flee in fright.
  • Beth realizes she's standing among many large millipedes crawling on the floor all around her feet. Suddenly, a figure grabs and drags her across the room.
  • A hand suddenly grabs Beth by the face between some doors. Jack saves her and closes the doors, which then receive dents from the other side in the shape of human-type faces.
  • Beth is locked in a room when she hears the distinctive ring tone of the cell phone. She then crawls through a vent shaft, following handprints in the dust and using a flashlight to illuminate her way. She then discovers a badly burned body in the shaft with a cell phone in its hand. Beth removes that and turns her back on the corpse that then comes to life and quickly crawls after her as she tries to backpedal away. The figure then catches and crawls on top of her, with its ghastly and gross face just inches above her as she pleads for her life.
  • We see recorded, nanny-cam footage of young Laurel and Ellie playing when the latter dons a hood, grabs a large knife, and cuts her younger sister's arm (we just see the motion, and no blood). Their mother then comes in and catches her daughter in the act, pushing her away and then locking her in that room. Ellie then has an asthma attack, and when her inhaler doesn't work, she tries to call for help, but then dies while gasping for air.
  • A cop hears the distinctive ring tone coming from inside an evidence box.
  • We see a figure behind Beth in her house, followed by a sound that leads her to a bedroom where she can partially see a figure in there.
  • A person goes to look through a peephole but is stabbed in the face via a knife through the door, killing that person (we don't see the actual impact or any blood).
  • The windows in Beth's place suddenly implode, sending glass everywhere, followed by a ghostly figure coming at her with a knife until another ghost blocks that attack.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Jack and another cop wear sidearms.
  • We see recorded, nanny-cam footage of young Laurel and Ellie playing when the latter dons a hood, grabs a large knife, and cuts her younger sister's arm (we just see the motion, and no blood).
  • A ghostly figure comes at Beth with a knife after stabbing another person in the face through a door.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "It's sh*t, it's total bullsh*t," "It sucked," "That's creepy," "You seem kind of weirded out," "That guy was so full of it," "No way in hell," "A hell of a housekeeper," "What the hell's happening?" "Crybaby, cry. You're disgusting," "Are you out of your mind?" and "What the hell was that?"
  • Some of the scares that occur in the film might be enticing for some kids to try to pull on others.
  • Beth and Taylor stomp down onto one or two phones to stop them from working.
  • Jack breaks a cell phone and drops the pieces down into an aquarium.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • Young Laurel's anguished face suddenly shows up at the window of a burning building.
  • A miscellaneous young woman searches for her missing cat, leans over to look down into a pond, and a hand suddenly erupts from the water, grabs her by the face, and yanks her under the water. The hand then grabs her cat and yanks it under the water as well.
  • A car nearly hits Brian.
  • Beth is surprised by Taylor's sudden appearance.
  • Jack and Beth slowly walk through an apartment looking for clues. She hears a sound in a closet, and when she opens the door, a puppet suddenly falls and then hangs upside down from the ceiling.
  • A person suddenly positions their hand with a cell phone in it by Taylor's head.
  • A figure suddenly passes by Beth, as does another one.
  • Beth suddenly runs into Jack inside some otherwise deserted hospital ruins.
  • A hand suddenly grabs Beth by the face between some doors.
  • Jack looks around a dark room with a flashlight and suddenly sees a figure in the corner of the room.
  • The sudden combined sound of a doorbell and thunder in a tense scene might startle some viewers.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 6 "s" words, 4 hells, 1 damn, 3 uses of "Oh God," 2 uses of "Jesus" and 1 use each of "G-damn" and "Oh my God."
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • A miscellaneous young woman shows some cleavage, particularly when she leans over to look down into a pond.
  • In passing, we hear one guy at a party tell another that he had phone sex and regular sex at the same time.
  • About Brian having broken up with Leann and now liking Taylor, Beth comments, "Before the sheets are even cold," followed by Brian saying he's a man and that he has (sexual) needs.
  • Beth and Leann walk in on a miscellaneous couple fooling around on the floor in a bedroom. The young woman quickly pulls her skirt back down and we briefly see her in her bra before the couple gets up and leaves the room (she appeared to have been straddling the seemingly clothed guy, but the view is brief at best).
  • A college professor lists various repercussions of child abuse, including later sexual dysfunction.
  • Taylor shows some cleavage.
  • SMOKING
  • A miscellaneous guy smokes.
  • We see a flashback to Beth's mom smoking.
  • Jack sees old cigarette burns on Beth's arm, and we then see a flashback to her mom smoking and young Beth appearing quite frightened.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Laurel doesn't respond to questions about where her mom is, suggesting she's still inside a burning hospital.
  • Jack unzips the body bag holding his dead sister's body. Her face is bloody and/or slightly charred, and he puts his gloved fingers into the mouth and retrieves a round piece of hard candy (that looks like a marble).
  • Beth receives a letter requesting forgiveness from her mom, but tears it up without reading it.
  • Ted states that five years ago his son suffered from a supernatural possession.
  • There are allegations of Laurel's mom abusing her and her sister, but we later learn that's not true.
  • Beth states that her father is dead and that she and her mother don't talk much.
  • Jack sees old cigarette burns on Beth's arm, and we then see a flashback to her mom smoking and young Beth appearing quite frightened (with the mom telling her, "Crybaby, cry. You're disgusting"). We then see young Beth slowly walking up some steps, peering through a hole in a door, and seeing the swinging feet and legs of her father who's hanged himself.
  • We see recorded, nanny-cam footage of young Laurel and Ellie playing when the latter dons a hood, grabs a large knife, and cuts her younger sister's arm (we just see the motion, and no blood). Their mother then comes in and catches her daughter in the act, pushing her away and then locking her in that room. Ellie then has an asthma attack, and when her inhaler doesn't work, she tries to call for help, but then dies while gasping for air.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Whether the film is a parable about the dangers of using cell phones.
  • Ted states that five years ago his son suffered from a supernatural possession.
  • Domestic abuse (by parents and/or siblings).
  • VIOLENCE
  • A miscellaneous young woman searches for her missing cat, leans over to look down into a pond, and a hand suddenly erupts from the water, grabs her by the face, and yanks her under the water. The hand then grabs her cat and yanks it under the water as well.
  • A young woman falls from a bridge and is struck and killed by a passing train.
  • An explosion rocks a construction site, and we then see a young man with a metal rod sticking out of his chest (no blood, but the wound is fatal).
  • Beth and Taylor stomp down onto one or two phones to stop them from working.
  • During an exorcism, we see what look like fingers under a young woman's skin around her throat that strangle her to death.
  • Jack breaks a cell phone and drops the pieces down into an aquarium.
  • A figure suddenly grabs and drags Beth across a room.
  • A hand suddenly grabs Beth by the face between some doors.
  • Some sort of supernatural force blasts Jack out of a room and against a wall, knocking him out.
  • We see recorded, nanny-cam footage of young Laurel and Ellie playing when the latter dons a hood, grabs a large knife, and cuts her younger sister's arm (we just see the motion, and no blood). Their mother then comes in and catches her daughter in the act, pushing her away and then locking her in that room.
  • A person goes to look through a peephole but is stabbed in the face via a knife through the door, killing that person (we don't see the actual impact or any blood).
  • The windows in Beth's place suddenly implode, sending glass everywhere, followed by a ghostly figure coming at her with a knife until another ghost blocks that attack.



  • Reviewed January 4, 2008 / Posted January 4, 2008

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