Phone
(Tartan Video Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(2002)
review by Head Cheeze

Asian horror films have become extraordinarily popular in the west in the past few years, with Hollywood quick to tap into the somewhat exotic themes and style of some of the genre’s more popular releases. Until recently, however, the majority of this new wave of Asian cinema has been dominated by Japanese offerings, with films from countries like Korea, China, and Thailand being quietly enjoyed by Asian film enthusiasts. Tartan DVD hopes to change that with the company’s recent acquisitions of several critically acclaimed examples of Korean horror, including one of the country’s most popular exports, the international smash, Byeong-ki Ahn’s Phone.

Ji-won (Ha) is a reporter whose recent expose’ about pedophiles has stirred up a great deal of controversy, as well as earning her a whole host of enemies in the men she has publicly disgraced. When Ji-Won begins receiving threatening phone calls from a stranger who is stalking her, she turns to her sister, Ho-Jeong (Kim), who offers her family’s new home as a place for her sister to lay low until the controversy settles down. Ji-won gratefully accepts her sister’s offer, but the phone calls not only become more persistent; they become something else entirely, as Ji-won begins to see things that can’t possibly be there. When Ho-Jeong’s young daughter, Yeong-ju (Seo-woo Eun), accidentally answers Ji-won’s phone, she, too becomes haunted by visions of a mysterious young girl. Soon, Yeong-ju starts to act out violently, and it becomes obvious to Ji-won that these phone calls are no longer the work of the stalker, but of something much darker and more terrifying than she can imagine.

Phone is a very slick and scary ghost story that employs a few of the common themes found in a lot of Asian horror to great effect. From the use of common technology as a conduit for evil, to the culture’s strange obsession with exaggeratedly long, black hair, and the corruption of innocence, Phone is not a traditionally scary film, at least not by western standards, which is precisely why it’s so damned effective. The movie succeeds by keeping viewers in a constant state of unease, with scares where you’d least expect them, and all with the absolute minimum of violence and gore.

While I thoroughly enjoyed Phone, it’s not all that original as I noticed that director Byeong-ki Ahn borrowed liberally from films like Ringu and Ju-on, two fantastic examples of the genre. However, I did appreciate the movie’s very surprising twist ending, and young Seo-woo Eun turns in the most chilling performance by a child actor since Linda Blair’s head-spinning debut in The Exorcist!

Tartan Video presents Phone as part of it’s new Asia Extreme imprint, with a sharp widescreen transfer, booming DTS and Dolby 5.1 soundtracks, commentary track, behind-the-scenes featurette, interviews, trailers, and more.

While not the best example of Asian horror cinema, Phone is still a creepy and atmospheric tale that is sure to please fans of the genre, as well as those looking for a very different kind of ghost story.