The Canadian director and screenwriter David Cronenberg first tested the idea of the deadly impact of video recordings in his film project Videodrom in 1982. However, the relevance of all the paintings of the same name “Call” lies in their general context, which demonstrates the current situation of a technocratic society. The original Japanese tape released in other states of the remake - two US Calls and the Korean Call Virus - are evidence that the spread of "calling" has gained a global scale.
1998 Japanese Mystical Horror Movie
The tape of Japanese 36-year-old director Hideo Nakata “The Bell” (front-end actors: Miki Nakatani, Nanako Matsushima, Yuko Takeuchi) is important for the development of the horror genre, comparable to the American cult horror movie “Halloween” by John Carpenter. She not only spawned a mass of imitations and direct sequels. The film was shot in an extremely concise, almost minimalistic manner. His cinematic narrative style is characterized by an impeccable sense of style. The director managed to create a unique creation, distinguished by the existentiality of the horror experienced during viewing.
Despite the obviousness and external simplicity of the methods used by the creators of intimidation and escalation of suspense, the film is distinguished by the fact that its authors tried to fit into the picture a distinctive element of national folklore "Kaydan" - tales of ghosts. Therefore, the distributor of evil in the cinema is an otherworldly entity that easily overcomes the border between reality and surreal, in a female form with matted long hair.
The plot from the category of "urban legends"
According to the original plot motive, “Call” can be attributed to typical “youth horror films” about boys and girls who allegedly underwent an unsuccessful rally using a “frightening video recording”, after watching which they hear a phone call and die seven days later in terrible agony. But the "urban legend" materializes in real life. Young girl Tomoko Oishi was found dead, her aunt, a young journalist Reiko Asakawa, begins an independent investigation into the circumstances of the death of her niece. She finds the ill-fated cassette and decides to get acquainted with its contents by connecting the ex-spouse Ryuji Takayama to the investigation, thereby increasing the number of potential victims.
Great hit rental
After the release of the film, the modest film “Call”, the actors and roles of which are familiar to fans of the genre, becomes a super hit, leaving behind the box office “Saving Private Ryan” and the next part of Bond. It is not surprising that in the wake of his triumph, “Call 2”, “Call: The Last Chapter”, shot by the same director, instantly appeared and the prequel “Call 0: Birth”.
The actors of the film "Call" continued their creative careers in their homeland. Nanako Matsushima, taking part in the production of the second part, after until 2007, she starred mainly in television series. A wide audience, she is known for full-length films: "Ghost", "Straw Shield."
Japanese actress and singer Miki Nakatani has a more impressive filmography, she graced her presence with more than a dozen paintings. The most famous among them, in addition to the two parts of the film “Call”, are “Memories of Matsuko”, “Sweet Little Lie” and “The Tale of Genji”.
Yuko Takeuchi starred in many dramas and films, although she announced herself only in the first part of the “Call” tape. Actors working with Yuko on the set of a horror film predicted a brilliant career in Hollywood, but the actress preferred the national film industry.
2002 American Remake
The American "Bell" (leading actors: Naomi Watts, David Dorfman, Martin Henderson) in the interpretation of the director Gore Verbinsky transformed into an emphasized "Western history". The author significantly departed from the original source, only externally maintaining a similar plot. The story is set out similarly: again under mysterious circumstances, Kathy Embry (actress Amber Tamblyn) dies, her aunt Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) is taken to find out the cause of the death of her niece. Having acquired a deadly cassette, it goes on the trail of mysterious incidents. The presence of her young son Aidan (David Dorfman), to whom an evil ghost wants to get, is a distinctive feature of the American film "Call". Actors invited to participate in the project, at the direction of the director, were required to review the original film, but to reveal their characters in a "Western manner."
Performers of the first plan roles of the American masterpiece
For the starring Naomi Watts, the movie Mulholland Drive by David Lynch was the springboard to fame. After participating in this project, the career of an Anglo-Australian actress experienced a rapid rise. Subsequent paintings "Ellie Parker" and "Call" consolidated her reputation as a movie star. The best paintings that brought Naomi an Oscar nomination are 21 Grams, Kill the President, Divorce, Heartbreakers, and King Kong.
The filmography of David Benjamin Dorfman is not so impressive, on his account no more than 15 films. The American actor made his debut in a big movie in the film "In Search of the Galaxy", but worldwide fame brought him to participate in the thriller "Call" and its continuation, "Call 2".
Fear closing circle
Verbinsky and like-minded people managed to launch on a colossal scale the growing "snowball" of video messages about death, while earning substantial fees. Accordingly, in 2005, a sequel from the director Hideo Nakata "Call 2" was released. Acting actors David Dorfman and Naomi Watts migrated to the new creation from the first part. From the main motive for the destructive video, there are only a few separate points. Having got out of the “visual captivity”, Samara is pursuing an unhappy journalist who moved with her son to another city in order to move into the body of a child.
The project does not manage to repeat the success of the original picture, it is initially positioned by film critics as a commercial product. Not one of the director’s trump cards is triggered, not even an invitation to the role of a mysterious woman who knows the secret of Samara, actress Sissy Spacek, who had previously played the role in Carrie.