Lets say that youre being haunted by a ghost whos using cell phones to take revenge on the living, and you receive a call informing you of the date and time of your death. What would you do? According to One Missed Call, you should accept a sleazy producers offer to be exorcised on a reality show. Thats what Taylor (Ana Claudia Talancon) decides to do, and picture her best friends surprise when she sees the trailer: A cell phone rings and Death is one the line! A beautiful co-ed, a ticking clock of ghastly murder.NEXT on American Miracles! However, thats nothing compared to the reaction of the fire-and-brimstone exorcist, who cant figure out why the exploding lights, choking starlet and sudden appearance of the Antichrist werent in the script. This is the American remake of a Japanese rip-off of The Ring, a movie about a ghost that used a videocassette to attack people, so its not to be confused with Dark Water, the American remake of a Japanese movie about a ghost that uses water to attack people. Nor should it be confused with the American remake of a Korean movie about a ghost that uses mirrors to attack people (Mirrors) or the American remake of a Thai movie about a ghost that uses photographs to attack people (Shutter). And its completely different from Cello, Wishing Stairs, The Red Shoes or Acacia, where ghosts used Cellos, staircases, shoes and trees to attack people. Also, any similarity to The Wig, a Korean movie about a hairpiece possessed by a ghost, is purely coincidental. Platinum Dunes is producing a remake called Hell Toupee.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'