10 Terrifying Horror Movie Phone Calls You'll Never Forget

6. Ring

Ring Ringu
Toho

Ring is largely viewed as the film that fully launched the global rise of what became known as J-horror.

Released back in 1998, itself based on Koji Suzuki's 1991 novel of the same name, Ring was - and still is - a masterclass of horror storytelling. The MacGuffin at the centre of this movie may well be a cursed video tape, yet Ring also has a place for a classic chilling telephone call in amongst its scares.

If you remember, the hapless victims of Ring, its countless sequels, remakes, and even the Ju-on crossover all receive a nefarious phone call moments after watching the video tape in question. This haunting call informs the person who watched the tape that they have just seven days left to live.

Staying true to its word, the spirit of Sadako/Samara will come calling for their next victim one week after the viewing of this cursed piece of footage. Which means that this particular phone call is one you want to avoid at all costs - for the end result is the cold, twisted reality of death for those cats curious enough to give this notorious tape a watch.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.