A group of friends is terrified by a series of mysterious deaths that are decimating them one by one: each victim receives a phone call on their cell phone from the future, which is always lost; the phone's voicemail records a message describing to the unlucky person the moment of their own death, which obviously happens. Beth, a psychology student, after witnessing the death of her friends, now finds herself having to investigate the origin of these mysterious calls because she too has received the "call." Assisting the girl in the investigation is Agent Jack Andrews, brother of the first victim of the phone curse.
In 2003, "Chakushin ari" (known in Anglo-phobic countries as "One Missed Call" and renamed by us as "The Call – Don’t Answer") was released in Japan, directed by the celebrated director Takashi Miike and based on a novel by Yasushi Akimoto. The film, which was a far too obvious clone of "The Ring," was a huge box office success, spawning two sequels and a TV series dedicated to it. Now the story of death messages via cell phone is re-proposed in Yankee style in the now consolidated policy of devouring that Hollywood has undertaken in recent years, especially in the horror genre, often targeting Eastern successes, because (according to the words of the producers) the original films are not understood by Western audiences due to evident cultural discrepancies.
Often, however, these remake endeavors do not give life to "flawless" products; on the contrary, most of the time the Western clone, even if crafted in a dignified manner, loses much of the original, especially regarding intrinsic meanings and sociological reflections. There are due exceptions where the remake is definitely more successful than the original (see "The Ring"), but roughly the rule is that these works are economically successful (here too there is the exception, see "Dark Water") but artistically of little relevance.
Regarding "Chiamata senza risposta" the rule is almost respected and roughly the same speech made some time ago on the occasion of the remake of "The Eye" applies; in the mind of the viewer who has already seen the original work, only one word comes to mind at the end of the viewing: useless. Yes, because just as it happened with the film with Jessica Alba, this "Chiamata senza risposta" remains very faithful to the prototype, varying as little as possible and failing here where changes are made. And just as it happened in the case of "The Eye," here too a promising French talent is chosen to direct this film; there were the David Moreau and Xavier Palud of "Them," here the Eric Valette of "Maléfique."
But it must be said that in the end Valette's film has a couple of aces up its sleeve. First of all, it can be noted that some innovations introduced to the story are not despicable, above all the introduction of disturbing figures that present themselves to all those who have received the "call." Shocking figures with strange plastic-like appearances that have a "reason" in the story. Moreover, Valette himself has managed to give the work a touch of personality by disseminating the sets with disturbing dolls (and those who have seen "Maléfique" will understand the connection) and giving the entire work an accentuated sense of macabre that culminates in the long part set in the abandoned hospital.
Unfortunately, "Chiamata senza risposta" also has a definitely bad ending, different from that of Miike's film, which loses the effective ambiguity of the predecessor to throw itself into the tacky display of unnecessary and ridiculous special effects that make the film lose at least half a vote.
Cast absolutely within the norm for products of this type: Shannyn Sossamon ("Catacombs – Il mondo dei morti"), on her way to becoming a scream queen, in the role of the protagonist, Edward Burns ("15 minuti – Follia omicida a New York") in the role of the detective-sidekick and scattered cameos of Ray Wise ("Twin Peaks"; "Jeepers Creepers 2") and Laura Harring ("Mulholland Drive"; "Ghost Son").
In short, "Chiamata senza risposta" will appeal very much to teenagers who have never seen the original and who rush to air-conditioned cinemas to escape the advancing summer heat. Probably, however, it will leave the others completely indifferent, despite not being among the worst-made remakes.
It still deserves half a vote more.
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