La mort en ligne 2

After the ultimate success of its predecessor, "One Missed Call 2" is released in 2005 with a different crew on-board. Having an upgraded premise, you'd expect this sequel to be better--but it really isn't. Sure, the deaths are more intriguing, but you've got to listen--the film has more cons than expected. The ending is somewhat unsatisfying, and it seems that a brand new story is attempted to be forced into the original lore of Mimiko from the first "One Missed Call" film. Fortunately, the runtime is much more reasonable than the first film, and the terror stays the same, not changing much from the original film!

The strangest thing about this movie is that even though all of the characters are speaking Japanese, the whole affair feels like an American remake of a Japanese horror film.

The first One Missed Call was quite the rip-off of the current flavor of the month, when it comes to Japanese-style horror films. Fortunately, it had the talented Takahashi Miike at the helm, therefore even though it didn't really offer the viewer anything new, it still had that Miike flare to it that made all the difference.

One Missed Call 2, is brought to us without Miike and it is apparent to us from start to finish. And we end up with a bland rehashing of old themes, average acting, and nothing special in the dialogue department. Admittedly it is still scary at times, still no where as near as its predecessors of the genre. And the ghost story behind it all is not as compelling either.

One Missed Call 2 is not a waste of money, however, and can still entertain you if you are a big fan of the Japanese horror genre, or even of horror films in general.

In Japan, the daycare teacher Kyoko Okudera (Mimura) is convinced by her colleague and friend Madoka to visit her boyfriend Naoto Sakurai (Yû Yoshizawa) in the restaurant where he works instead of studying as planned. When the owner Mr. Wang answers the cellular call of his daughter, he receives a message telling that he would die in an accident in the kitchen that immediately comes true. Later, Naoto is visited by the snoopy journalist Takako Nozoe (Asaka Seto), who is researching the death call, and she plays the deadly ring tone for him. He recalls that not only Mr. Wang, but also Madoka have received similar calls. Meanwhile Kyoko is talking to Madoka and she sees a ghost in her phone. She rushes to Madoka's apartment and finds her dead in the bathtub, with Naoto and Takako arriving immediately after. Their investigation shows that Mimiko's grandfather Wei Zhang is in Taiwan and Takako asks her former husband Yuting to search him. Meanwhile, Kyoko receives a phone call and the autopsies of Mr. Wang and Madoka indicate the presence of coal dust in their lungs and no candies in their mouths. Takako, Naoto and Kyoko travel to Taiwan expecting to solve the mystery and save Kyoko from her fate.

"Chakushin Ari 2" is scary like most of the Asian horror movies, and has a promising beginning supported by a good sequel of Takashi Miike's "Chakushin Ari". I saw both movies in sequence and I found many explanations about characters and situations of the first movie. However, like in the first story, the conclusion the movie is confused, not clear, needing interpretation of the pretentious plot point that contradicts the whole plot and character development; therefore, the screenplay writer Minako Daira or the director Renpei Tsukamoto or both failed since they were not able to transmit a clear conclusion of the story to the audience. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Chamada Perdida 2" ("One Missed Call 2")

I tend to like Japanese horror, whether is it a gory slasher, or just a creepy film like this one. I prefer the characters over the WB actors they use in Hollywood remakes.

There were some really good actors in the film: Mimura as Kyoko Okudera, Yû Yoshizawa as Naoto Sakurai, and Asaka Seto as Takako Nozoe.

It was a little hard to follow all the characters, but it still was scary and well worth watching.

It may have been better to see Takashi Miike's first part of this to have a better understanding, but it is not necessary to enjoy the movie.

I didn't care for the first one; it was competently made, but too derivative for my liking, along with multiple endings, the final one of which didn't seem to make sense. There was a funny line in this movie as some characters recalled the events of the first one and asked "how did that end?"

In the first, there was a chain of deaths linked by cell phone calls apparently originating with a death in a home involving Munchausen Syndrome-by-Proxy. The deaths typically involved some sort of poltergeist activity preparing a location for a death by falling, and then a person being dragged or thrown from a height. Some of the deaths involved twisting of the body in bone-cracking ways. One clue found on the bodies is a red candy, and each call is announced by an annoying ringtone taken from a children's television show (one that exists in the world of the movie).

In this one (I might have called it Two Missed Calls rather than One Missed Call 2), the manner of deaths, and clues and possible cause are mixed up somewhat. The two female leads are quite attractive. Again, I guess it could be said that it is competently made, but I didn't find it very interesting and again the ending involves some sort of twists that aren't particularly appreciated. Those who liked the first one a lot might enjoy this one too. The first one is being remade and I would guess that a sequel will be made to that one as well though it will probably not be a remake of this one (think the American Ring 2 or The Grudge 2).

There's a short film "gomu" on the second disc which takes place in the One Missed Call world, though when in relation to the two films, I'm not sure. It is poorly shot on video and isn't really worth the minute or two that it lasts.