This movie was released in January, 2008.  One Missed Call is a remake of the Japanese film, Chakushin Ari which came out in 2003. 

One Missed Call was directed by Eric Valette.  Eric Valette also directed a bunch of foreign films, such as Malèfique, which came out in 2002.  The screenplay portion was written by Andrew Klavan.  This playwrighter also wrote A Shock To The System, which came out in 1990.  One Missed Call is based on a novel written by Yasushi Akimoto.  Chakushin Ari 1 and 2 were novels that Yasushi wrote. 

The tagline of this movie is, "What will it sound like when you die?"  Sure that is an eerie tagline, but it makes for an interesting plot. 

Imagine getting a phone call from someone who has already died.  They leave a voicemail with the date and time of your pending death, and if you listen closely it is your voice calling.  Between the time of the call and the time of death, you see distorted images and faces, as well as things that are peculiar and unusual.  Those that die are left with a piece of hard candy, in the color red.  The story behind the hard candy comes later on in the storyline.

The movie starts off with the mysterious death of Shelley, played by Meagan Good.  Later on, at a party, Leann (Azura Skye) gets a call on her cell phone from Shelley's number, and it dated ahead of time.  When Leann listens to the voicemail she hears herself screaming. 

Note: all phone calls leading to the deaths take place on the death holders cell phone. 

Before each of her friends died, Beth (Shannyn Sassamon) heard the noise of an inhaler.  The inhaler becomes apparent later on in the movie as well. 

After Leann, her ex boyfriend Brian (Johnny Lewis) gets the death call, followed by Taylor (Ana Claudia Talancòn).  Taylor is freaked out by the call and goes through an 'exorcism' that would be televised.  Needless to say, an exorcism could not save her. 

Then Beth herself gets the call, but by this time Detective Jack Andrews (Edward Burns) is there to help her.  They try to trace back to where the calls first started.  Jack's sister also received the call.  In fact, she is the one that called Shelley in the beginning of the movie.  This news was able to help them to trace it back to the Layton family.  While the youngest Layton daughter was in the St. Lukes Hospital, it burnt down, and Beth was concerned that this was where it all started.  The mother had abusive issues, so the detective and Beth thought that she was the one the started the calls. 

Now the question is, was the mother the one that started it all?  To find out the answer, you will have to watch the movie for yourself.  The movie is well worth the watch.  It is one of those great thrillers, that will keep you guessing till the very end, and that is a rarity in movies these days.

The film starts off with newlyweds Ben (Joshua Jackson) and Jane Shaw (Rachel Taylor) heading off to Japan for both their honeymoon and Ben's new photography job. On the way to their cabin, they have an accident, running over a girl with their car, only to find no trace of her anywhere. Following the incident, strange, shadow-like images begin to appear in the photos they take, some of them appearing like the girl from the accident. Doing her own investigation, Jane learns that these are spirit photos and that the girl they ran over may be haunting them. As they begin seeing the girl both in cameras and in various reflections and suffer nasty attacks, Jane and Ben try to figure out who the girl is and what she wants with them, in particular Ben's own connection to her.

I'll admit that “Shutter” is a pretty decent film. It has a good set-up with an interesting idea behind it. Spirit photography has been around since the camera itself was invented, and the idea of how real it could be, even in today's digital age, is intriguing. And it does have some tense and suspenseful moments that keep you on the edge of your seat. The best one, I think, is the scene where Ben, alone in his photo studio after the lights go out, is stalked by the girl, who can be seen as camera flashes go off. The fact that the scene takes place almost completely in the dark, with only Ben's dialogue to guide us as he stumbles about, is scary enough. Watching the camera flashes go off adds to the effect, as you never know where Ben will end up or where the ghost will appear. It's truly an original scene, one quite suitable to horror.

But despite that scene and the decent set-up, the movie isn't all that great. Much of it is rather predictable; you can easily figure out what's going on as you watch it, even if you didn't watch the trailers. For example, when Ben and Jane go to a spiritualist to figure out what's going with their photos, Ben refuses to translate to Jane what the man is saying, just dragging her out and saying he's a fraud. If that's not a clue that he's knows something's going on, I don't know what is. You even manage to figure out that his two buddies, Bruno and Adam, are involved, though the question is what and how so there is that need to find out. It's easy to compare this movie to “What Lies Beneath”, a much better horror film involving a haunted couple where the husband is more deeply involved than he's saying.

You do learn a lot about spirit photos in the film, with the possibility that they could be real. Especially, as magazine owner Ritsuo (James Kyson Lee of “Heroes” fame) points out, that they can't be faked if taken with a Polaroid camera (no negative or digital image to mess with). That line helps both the credibility of the phenomenon and his expertise, since we do see one of his employees using a computer to insert a ghost image onto a photo for the magazine.

The DVD sports some interesting bonus features, I'll give it that much. We get the usual commentary track, some deleted/alternate scenes and some trailers. We also get some the standard behind-the-scenes stuff, like interviews with director Masayuki Ochiai and screenwriter Luke Dawson, a “tour” of the movie and what it's about (“A Ghost in the Lens”), and a short piece about shooting a film in Japan (“A Cultural Divide”). There are also some interesting features on spirit photography; “A History of Spirit Photography” pretty says it all, right there, a short documentary about the phenomenon. “Create Your Own Phantom Photo” tells you how to do just that with your computer and some good editing software, and “The Hunt for the Haunt: Tools and Tips for Ghost Hunting” is a textual piece that offers advice on how to be a ghost hunter, where to go and what to do. The nice thing about all the bonus material is that each one is nice and short, the longest ones not even ten minutes long, and you do learn something interesting.

As stated, “Shutter” is alright, but there are much better horror films out there. If you want Asian remakes, stick with “The Ring” and “The Grudge” and maybe go with the original version of this film.

Released by: 20th Century Fox

Starring: Joshua Jackson (Ben Shaw), Jane Shaw (Rachel Taylor), Megumi Okina (Megumi Takana)

Directed by: Masayuki Ochiai

Rating: Unrated DVD

Score: 5 out of 10

For one thing, the remake actually tells a completely different story with new characters, rather than just simply retell the original version with updated details. Made in 1980 and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen (in a surprisingly serious role), the original “Prom Night” was a “revenge” slasher story in the same manner of “Friday the 13th and “I Know What You Did Last Summer”. It began with four kids accidentally killing a girl while picking on her, then swearing to keep it a secret unaware someone else had been there and saw the whole thing. Years later at prom, those same kids are now being targeted in retaliation, with the killer possibly being an escaped mental patient. It was one of the many films that capitalized on the success of “Halloween”, and had a surprising twist ending that made it a very good film.

In the new “Prom Night”, high schooler Donna (played by Brittany Snow) comes home one night to find her family murdered by her teacher, Richard Fenton (Johnathon Schaech), who has an obsession with her. Three years later, Donna is getting ready for prom and move on with her life, unaware that Fenton has escaped from the mental hospital and is coming for her so they can be together. Rather than killing for revenge, Fenton's victims are either out of necessity (like a man whose car and identity he steals) or to get rid of those he feels is keeping Donna from him, such as her friends. The “obsessed stalker” idea is nothing new to slasher films, but this new story helps make this remake seem somewhat original and keep things fresh.

The other thing “Prom Night” has going for it is the fact that it's “old school” horror, relying on suspense and scare tactics for the horror rather than excessive blood and gore. The film makes great use of camera tricks, tense moments and music to build suspense and scares, and there are plenty of moments where what you think is going to happen doesn't, not only throwing you off but then truly surprising you when it does happen. There are some violent moments in the film, particularly when Fenton attacks someone, but much of it happens off camera and the blood is kept to a minimum. Some horror fans, particularly those who have been getting their fix with films like “Saw” and “Hostel”, may protest this, but as an “old school” fan, I feel it helps to build the tension and make things seem more scary.

Speaking of Fenton, he's another “old school” example is how his character is played out. In this age where something is usually given to make us sympathetic towards a villain, Fenton is not such a case. He's played as a classic psychopath, showing absolutely no remorse in actions and having an obsession with Donna that's frightening. There is nothing to make us like this character, and that's good, because that make us root for the good guys to catch him. You don't get a lot of villains like that anymore, and that's something to enjoy about this movie.

Naturally, there are some things to groan about. Given the setting, a lot of this does play out like a teen drama series. Donna and her friends gripe and bitch about rich girl Crissy, who herself is the traditional “mean girl” of their class, eager to stay on top and become prom queen rather than Donna's friend Lisa (a fresh surprise, Donna is NOT one of the contenders for prom queen, when under a different writer and/or director she would have been). There are also relationship problems, talks about moving on and going away to school, stuff a lot of us probably experienced in high school ourselves or saw on TV recently. The good thing about it is that it helps break the tension of the main story and make the characters more human, but it's probably going to draw out more than a few snorts.

My other gripe is the police's pursuit of Fenton. Surprisingly, they're actually portrayed as seriously doing their jobs in trying to catch the bad guy, rather than just being stereotypical idiots like in most horror movies. Even they groan about the fact that it took several days for the news about Fenton's escape to reach them. My complaint, though, is that when asking about Fenton, they use his old mugshot, where he has long hair and a beard, when now he has a buzz-cut and is clean shaven. You would think that the police would have a more recent photo to pass around, but then again, that would make things a little too easy.

Other than that, the film plays out rather well. A good story, plenty of suspense and some decent characters. This new version of “Prom Night” is definitely worth watching, though most might want to catch it on DVD. At the very least, it'll make for a good rent on Halloween.

Directed by: Nelson McCormick
Rating: PG-13
Score: 7 out of 10

Since the return of "The Bionic Woman" to the television lineup had such a successful premier for NBC, you might be wondering what other blasts from the past will be making a comeback. Here's a rundown on what's on the horizon.

Knight Rider

From NBC. In the new series, Doug Liman will take on the role played in the "80s by David Hasselhoff. Look for a morphing "Kitt" as early as next fall.

Speed Racer

From the Wachowski Brothers, of "Matrix" fame. This live action big screen adaptation is slated for a May 2008 release, with Emile Hirsch taking on the title role.

Get Smart!

Warner Brothers will be releasing this action/comedy in June of 2008. Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway will play Maxwell Smart and "Agent 99.' With Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson.

Elvira

Yep, the FOX reality network is currently airing a "reality" show where contestants compete to be the next "Mistress of the Night."

Friday the 13th

Due in part to the success of the recent "Halloween" remake, Jason will be back in a re-boot of the original franchise with an updated storyline. Newline Cinemas and Platinum Dunes have retained Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (the same ones who penned "Jason vs. Freddy") for the screenplay. Look for an early summer 2008 release.