One Missed Call - PG-13

Violent, sloppy Japanese horror remake.

Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, frightening images, some sexual material and thematic elements. Studio: Warner Bros. Directed By: Eric Valette Cast: Edward Burns, Shannyn Sossamon, Ray Wise Running Time: 87 minutes Release Date: 01/04/2008 Genre: Horror

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this Japanese horror remake features frequent tense scenes and some grisly deaths, with mutilated bodies and screaming victims. The movie's thematic focus on child abuse is vague and incoherent, but it might still provoke questions from attentive younger viewers. Violence includes choking, burning, stabbing, a rod going through a chest, and a girl getting hit by a train. Several girls show cleavage, and there's a very brief shot of a college girl in her bra. Language includes "s--t" and "damn," and there's some drinking and smoking.

Families can talk about the many U.S. remakes of Japanese (and other Asian) horror movies. How do these moody, strange films translate for American audiences? Why do you think their focus on spirits and hauntings is so popular? How do you think the remakes are similar to and different from the originals? And why do you think many of them revolve around media (videos, cell phones, etc.)?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs

Like many girls in scary movies, ONE MISSED CALL's Beth (Shannyn Sossamon) is smart, pretty, and puzzled when her friends start turning up dead. A college psych major, she not only studies child abuse but is also a survivor, which somehow enables her to comprehend the exceedingly convoluted motives of the vengeful spirit who sets victims up via their cell phones.

First up: Shelley (Meagan Good), who's disposed of in about a minute; her drowning in a backyard pool sparks the fears of her classmates, including Beth. Beth is aided in her deciphering of the increasingly senseless plot by a detective named Jack (Ed Burns, looking earnest and pained, though not nearly as pained as the rest of us). His interest is piqued when his sister is killed and her cell phone sends out a message -- a call from the receiver's future self, screaming in terror at the moment of his or her death -- to someone Beth knows.

It doesn't help that a smarmy TV producer (Ray Wise) solicits one victim-to-be for his show, American Miracles. It's too bad that this sequence is cut short, because the reality TV satire shows promise (and Wise is always fun to watch). But once a girl suffers a very nasty death on set, the show's resident exorcist reveals that he's not "real" at all.

As Beth's friends grow frustrated, get phone messages, and, oh yes, die, she pursues answers (not realizing, of course, that the plot will never make sense). Jack is intermittently helpful (when he's not knocked out), but Beth must figure out the original trauma and so put the ghost to rest. To that end, she goes through the usual scary movie motions: exploring dark hallways, conducting Internet research, and finally, resolving her own mommy issues. Yay for her.

Other Japanese horror remakes include The Ring and The Grudge; or try the movie that inspired this one, 2003's Chakushin Ari. Better yet, opt for a more enjoyable scary movie with a similar theme -- like Final Destination or 1979's When a Stranger Calls.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Several outfits show cleavage and toned midriffs. During a college party, two students are shown briefly engaged in foreplay (she's down to her bra).
Violence Repeated slasher-style assaults, with victims grabbed, dragged, and mutilated. Several jump scenes. Very first scene shows a child slammed into a window as the building behind her burns. Scary images include cracked faces, yucky bugs, and a rat in a sink. Grisly deaths include drowning, being hit by a train, being punctured by a construction rod, choking, burning, asphyxiation of a young asthma victim. Discussions of child abuse and trauma. Flashbacks show a mother approaching her daughter with a cigarette to burn her. Body in morgue is days old, discolored, in a body bag. A young girl cuts her sister with a knife, upsetting their mother.
Language Several uses each of the following: "s--t" (a couple with "bull"), "hell," and "damn."
Message
	Social Behavior A mean spirit traumatizes and kills assorted screaming victims. A heroic girl tries to save herself and friends, to little avail.
	Commercialism Brief shots of the following: Motorola cell phone, Dell and Apple computers, Pizza Hut.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Brief cigarette smoking (and use of cigarettes to burn a child's arm). College party shows students drinking (beer and liquor).