Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueA psychic finds herself tapping into the "energy" of a deceased phone operator. She also finds that her friends soon begin dying mysteriously. An investigator determines to track down the ca... Tout lireA psychic finds herself tapping into the "energy" of a deceased phone operator. She also finds that her friends soon begin dying mysteriously. An investigator determines to track down the cause.A psychic finds herself tapping into the "energy" of a deceased phone operator. She also finds that her friends soon begin dying mysteriously. An investigator determines to track down the cause.
Pasquale Africano
- Uomo all'aereoporto
- (uncredited)
Avis en vedette
Man, it's really difficult to make a haunted phone seem scary, eh? Ruggero Deodato tries his best, but I can't help get the feeling that it might have occurred to him halfway through that this might not have been the best idea. However, what you have is the eightiest looking late eighties Italian horror ever. Eighties! Model Jenny arrives in Rome looking for her buddy Marco, but ends up dialling the wrong number and getting through to a haunted answer machine system that lives in an abandoned building left over from Blade Runner. After killing a random cleaner with a telephone cord around the neck, the ghosts now start stalking Jenny all over Rome, via the power of the telephone exchange! Just as well mobile phones weren't widely available by this point or Jenny would have been screwed.
She goes to her apartment (which, strangely, is full of pictures of herself), and also meets neighbour Ramon (I think that was his name) who has the hots for her. She's also got another buddy and there's a photographer called Carmen too. God, it's hard enough to sustain a review of this film, which should give you an idea of what it's like to actually watch it.
The haunted phones basically stalk Jenny around the place, killing of her mates (Carmen is stalked by a phone in a rather unscary sequence), and Deodato starts throwing everything he can at the screen, from a would be rapist being torn to shred by flying phone tokens, to Jenny getting all possessed, wearing lingerie and writhing about in a bath filled with what looked like pish, to William Berger turning up for about thirty seconds before his heart explodes out his chest. Berger, as an aside, seems to be the John Carridine of late eighties Italian horror, turning up in Maya and Spider Labyrinth (both of which are better than this film).
Mind you, all credit must be due to actress Charlotte Lewis. Having to looked scared (or turned on by) a telephone is hard work, as is spouting lines like "The telephone is trying to kill me". The film is helped by being set in Rome too, so you'll get to see the Piazza Navona, Castello Sant' Angelo and the Spanish Steps as Jenny goes around being told not to use phones and then using phones. Ruggero's no Bruno Mattei when it comes to directing either, so it's all done rather well except it's about a haunted phone.
In fact, now that I remember, Ruggero made a film about a haunted washing machine too, so maybe he thought it was a good idea? This one was okay but most of the grade here comes from the high cheese factor.
She goes to her apartment (which, strangely, is full of pictures of herself), and also meets neighbour Ramon (I think that was his name) who has the hots for her. She's also got another buddy and there's a photographer called Carmen too. God, it's hard enough to sustain a review of this film, which should give you an idea of what it's like to actually watch it.
The haunted phones basically stalk Jenny around the place, killing of her mates (Carmen is stalked by a phone in a rather unscary sequence), and Deodato starts throwing everything he can at the screen, from a would be rapist being torn to shred by flying phone tokens, to Jenny getting all possessed, wearing lingerie and writhing about in a bath filled with what looked like pish, to William Berger turning up for about thirty seconds before his heart explodes out his chest. Berger, as an aside, seems to be the John Carridine of late eighties Italian horror, turning up in Maya and Spider Labyrinth (both of which are better than this film).
Mind you, all credit must be due to actress Charlotte Lewis. Having to looked scared (or turned on by) a telephone is hard work, as is spouting lines like "The telephone is trying to kill me". The film is helped by being set in Rome too, so you'll get to see the Piazza Navona, Castello Sant' Angelo and the Spanish Steps as Jenny goes around being told not to use phones and then using phones. Ruggero's no Bruno Mattei when it comes to directing either, so it's all done rather well except it's about a haunted phone.
In fact, now that I remember, Ruggero made a film about a haunted washing machine too, so maybe he thought it was a good idea? This one was okay but most of the grade here comes from the high cheese factor.
Friend: "Okay. But if you lose, you have to make a film about a killer telephone."
Ruggero Deodato: "You're on!"
And thus, Dial Help (1988) was born. A spirit or spirits in the telephone line is haunting Charlotte Lewis and killing off her friends one by one. She must discover what the spirit/spirits want before it's too late.
It's ridiculous. It's poorly written. The powers and behaviors of the supernatural forces at play here are incredibly inconsistent. There are no rules here. The "special effects" are ridiculous. It's at the level of someone off camera throwing a telephone at someone on camera. Killer Phone!!
All that said, this film has a certain charm to it. It's very well shot with great lighting, locations, and atmosphere. Charlotte Lewis owns every scene here. The phone loves her, and the camera loves her too! She 100% commits to her character and brings a lot to finished product. The rest of the cast is also quite good.
At the end of the day, it's a bad movie, but it's hard to be mad at it. It really put its heart on the line.
Ruggero Deodato: "You're on!"
And thus, Dial Help (1988) was born. A spirit or spirits in the telephone line is haunting Charlotte Lewis and killing off her friends one by one. She must discover what the spirit/spirits want before it's too late.
It's ridiculous. It's poorly written. The powers and behaviors of the supernatural forces at play here are incredibly inconsistent. There are no rules here. The "special effects" are ridiculous. It's at the level of someone off camera throwing a telephone at someone on camera. Killer Phone!!
All that said, this film has a certain charm to it. It's very well shot with great lighting, locations, and atmosphere. Charlotte Lewis owns every scene here. The phone loves her, and the camera loves her too! She 100% commits to her character and brings a lot to finished product. The rest of the cast is also quite good.
At the end of the day, it's a bad movie, but it's hard to be mad at it. It really put its heart on the line.
A stunningly beautiful Charlotte Lewis stars as a woman who is terrorized by a ghosts who torment her on the phone.Driven to the edge in terror Charlotte is forced to confront this chilling mystery in order to save her sanity and her life.I can't believe that Ruggero Deodato,the director behind "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale","Cannibal Holocaust" and "House on the Edge of the Park" directed this absurd piece of trash.Admittedly the music by Goblin front man Claudio Simonetti is pretty good,but the story is painfully stupid.The script by Franco Ferrini is ridiculous and it makes no sense,the acting is bad and there is absolutely no suspense.The scene in which a prospective rapist of Charlotte Lewis is killed by coins ejected from a subway telephone is more than laughable.Don't waste your time with this piece of crap.There are far better Italian horror movies out there!
I don't get the overwhelming negativity directed at this film. It's quite entertaining and has an unique supernatural premise, with lots of traditional giallo atmosphere thrown in. People die in very giallo like ways. And Charlotte Lewis' energetic performance in lingerie for the last half hour makes up for any disappointment you might feel about the lack of nude scenes.
What a sales gimmick! This is certainly not an erotic thriller. There is a fraction of a second nipple flash at best, and this is while
.being seduced by
.her possessed TELEPHONE! She spends the entire movie running around screaming and terrified by eerie sounds on possessed telephones around the city. Through the stupid chaos of telephone cords attacking people, fish dying from telephone squeals, and quarters shot out of a pay phone killing a guy, this movie should have been placed in the low budget horror section. It doesn't earn the title thriller or erotic in the least! For a better movie with Charlotte Lewis see Bare Essentials instead.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesRuggero Deodato: Man in phone booth.
- GaffesWhen Jenny tries to explain her situation to the police officer, she says "two of my best friends are dead" even though only one of her friends has died. The only other death she's aware of at that point is that of a man who tried to violently rape her.
- Autres versionsThe USA English dubbed Prism VHS release is cut by 3 minutes. The Japanese VHS of the film has the full uncut 97 minute version.
- ConnexionsFeatured in Deodato Holocaust (2019)
- Bandes originalesBaby Don't Answer
(A. Focolari - C. Simonetti)
Published by BMG Ariola / Drums Ed. Mus.
Meilleurs choix
Connectez-vous pour évaluer et surveiller les recommandations personnalisées
- How long is Dial Help?Propulsé par Alexa
Détails
Contribuer à cette page
Suggérer une modification ou ajouter du contenu manquant
Lacune principale
By what name was Séduction teléphonique (1988) officially released in Canada in English?
Répondre