The Call

5.5/10

Is this movie the worst of 2020! No, is it a masterpiece?! No!

Reviews are quite weird for this one, it is true the storyline is basic and seen may times but it was fun enough to keep me on my seat till the end.

Pros: Cinematography is beautiful, loved the colour contrast and the aesthetic of it. Creep factor was there and present in every location set. Some of the acting is decent. Story is good enough to keep you entertained for an afternoon.

Cons: Some of the actors just need to go back to acting school, makeup of the ghosts sometimes was a bit basic and amateurish. Predictable jumpscares. Rushed ending. And the storyline could be better, it felt this was the first draft of the script tbh.

Not worthy to be seen in cinemas so I would suggest for anyone who wants to watch it to wait till it drops on streaming.

Lin Shaye and Tobin Bell are horror Icons. Unfortunately they can't save bad writing, scare less deaths, poor dialog and a weak story.

Set in the mid eighties, the dialog is far more cliche than real, unlike Stranger Things and the recent It Ch 1. The acting is maybe a notch above a soap opera, but I'll give the lead credit. At least he's trying unlike the other 3 "teens." Seriously the line delivery felt straight out of Not Another Teen Movie.

The plot, the dreadful plot. Teens harass an old woman one of them suspects of witchcraft and the disappearance of her sister. Something happens to old woman. Teens must face their past...yada yada.

It is as cliched as it sounds but unlike movies like Saw, the past of a few of them is not their fault. So badly done.

I'd recommend watching any movie with Tobin Bell or Lin Shaye besides this one. It stinks.

This film isn't too bad. It is not a horror gore fest, and it is more about the story of the characters than anything else.

The acting is good, and the production (a la 1980s theme) is well executed.

The ending is a bit weak, otherwise it is a reasonable watch.

They story follows a group of four friends who torment an elderly woman because they suspected she's a witch. After her unexpected death, they're invited to her home and are forced to call a phone that's installed in her casket.

This movie manages to keep me glued to my seat half way through, The story has an interesting set-up and the conflict isn't that bad. The characters are introduced well even tho they aren't much developed. The scene where Tobin Bell's character explain to them what to do and how to do it, is handled very well, when he says "let's play a game" it felt like Saw all over again. But the film loses its status of excellence when the whole "calling" thing started. It resorts to typical horror elements like jump scares and fiddling with the character's mind, and the ending fails to make an impact. However, the film's cinematography is great with fantastic camera work and lighting that adds to the ominous feel in conjunction with Samuel Joseph's score with its piano and synths that add to the creepier moments. The costumes and hairstyle are fitting to the time period. The performances are good with the best coming from Lin Shaye and Tobin Bell, the actors that played the four main characters are decent as well.

No offense to the rest of the cast, but without Lin Shaye and Tobin Bell ... this movie probably would not have faired as good (with me and others I'm sure). Having said that, it doesn't mean everything else is bad. The story may be quite by the numbers (with a decent twist, even if you can guess that from miles away), but I've seen worse.

Talking about seeing: cinematography is also really good. So a neat little movie overall, that has almost all the horror movie cliches you can imagine ... just be aware of what you are to watch ... and if that is worth your time.