Monday

I had thought I was going to watch a Japanese film last night, instead it was an American remake of a Japanese film that I saw. In English it is One Missed Call, in Japanese Chakushin ari (which I believe means the same thing). The Japanese version was directed by Takashi Miike (who also did Audition), and it was probably a lot better. Nonetheless, the storyline is extremely similar to The Ring, and I don't think this is something the Americans added. People receive a phone call from themselves in the future, from the moment before they die. Normally they have about two days to live, although towards the end this is sped up to hurry the film along. If you've seen The Ring you'll already be thinking of parallels. It gets worse, though, and the similarities go right through to the structure of the conclusion of the movie, which made it all a bit predictable. Yes, it was frightening, but not truly frightening in the way The Ring was, or The Exorcist is. There are big shock moments that you know are coming, and there are frightening apparitions that become normal after a while. Things also happen far too quickly. A good horror film, like Alien, builds up tension for a long time before showing you anything. I'm sure the Japanese version is better, but even then its plot must struggle to avoid ground that's already been covered.