the call korean movie review

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Review: k-movie “the call” is a chilling and suspenseful murder mystery.

Park Shin-hye and Jeon Jong-seo star in Korean thriller “The Call,” which now streams on Netflix.

By Anthony Kao , 1 Dec 20 07:27 GMT

How do you stop a killing in the past? That’s the central challenge of The Call , Netflix’s latest Korean film acquisition. Featuring leading starlet Park Shin-hye and rising actress Jeon Jong-seo, this thriller depicts two women who become connected across time periods through a mysterious landline telephone. When the woman of the past starts on a serial killing spree, the woman of the present must take action before it’s too late.

Even if it doesn’t aspire to push filmmaking boundaries or provide philosophical musings, the movie is a solid piece of entertainment that doesn’t feel trite, even with the preponderance of time travel murder mysteries . Through effective world-building and acting, The Call creates a distinctively chilling and suspenseful vibe that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats until its very last moments.

[ Read: The 13 Best Korean Horror Movies ]

Telephone Time Travel

The Call begins with a young woman named Kim Seo-yeon (Park Shin-hye) getting dropped off at an ornate countryside house with creepy gothic vibes. After getting situated, Seo-yeon hears the rings of a clunky landline telephone. She picks it up, and hears the pleading cries of another young woman named Oh Young-sook (Jeon Jong-seo), who insists that her shaman mother is trying to kill her. Seo-yeon soon realizes that Oh Young-sook lived in the same house two decades ago, and the landline somehow allows the two women to connect across time.

In spite of Young-sook’s abusive shaman mother, Seo-yeon and Young-sook begin to form a bond. However, when a warning from Seo-yeon leads Young-sook to kill her mother and embark on a murder spree, Seo-yeon realizes that she may have opened a time-traversing Pandora’s Box with bloody—and personal—consequences.

[ Read: The 11 Best Korean Dramas on Netflix ]

Gothic Shamanistic Vibes

Time-travel murder mysteries aren’t exactly novel. The Call is actually adapted from a Puerto Rican-British film named The Caller ; Hollywood makes many instances of the subgenre. Superfans of Korean media might also feel that The Call evokes hit K-drama Signal , which featured a walkie talkie that allowed a detective in 1985 to communicate with a criminal profiler in 2015.

Despite this, The Call avoids feeling formulaic—especially for global audiences—by building a chilling world that blends reliable horror elements with Korean tradition. The house that much of the film takes place in looks a lot like your classic Western haunted house, with gothic architectural elements like hood moulds and a creepy basement to boot. As expected for a horror-tinged thriller, dark colors dominate the movie’s palette, and much of the action takes place using artificial lighting or in low light.

However, The Call goes beyond those standard horror expectations by bringing in a distinctive Korean flair. For example, one scene has Young-sook stuff a clump of tendrily seaweed into her mouth and gnaw like a deranged cthulhu . This chilling use of Korean cuisine certainly wouldn’t occur in a Hollywood horror film. Furthermore, Young-sook’s mother performs exorcisms that draw from traditional Korean shamanism—which has been enjoying a renaissance in the 21st century and influenced numerous Korean movies . Reminiscent of Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden , The Call blends “Western” visuals with distinctive Korean context to create a distinctively foreboding vibe.

[ Read: Korean Movie “The Shaman Sorceress” Explores Clashes Between Competing Faiths ]

Acting and Suspense

Beyond worldbuilding, The Call also features an outstanding performance from Jeon Jong-seo. This is particularly notable given Jeon’s only prior acting role was as Hae-mi, the female lead of Lee Chang-dong’s critically acclaimed film Burning .

Jeon plays Young-sook with a degree of intense unhingedness that not only contributes to The Call ’s chilling vibes, but keeps audiences guessing about what she might do next. Young-sook toggles seamlessly between victim and manipulator, crying to Seo-yeon on the phone in one moment and incapacitating victims with fire extinguisher blasts in the next. The fact that Young-sook is such a contrast from the rather carefree Hae-mi of Burning speaks positively to Jeon’s range as an actress.  Coupled with a well-crafted narrative that incorporates ample twists, Jeon’s acting gives The Call a constant current of electrifying suspense that lasts even into its post-credit scenes.

While The Call may not have the same philosophical aura as other Korean thrillers like I Saw the Devil , that probably wasn’t the film’s intent. When judged as a blockbuster, The Call is a solid piece of work. Its chilling visuals, suspenseful plot, and compelling acting should please anybody with a thirst for thrilling murder mysteries.

The Call (Korean: 콜) – South Korea. Dialog in Korean. Directed by Lee Chung-hyun. Running time 1hr 52min. First released November 27, 2020. Starring Park Shin-hye, Jeon Jong-seo. 

The Call is available for streaming on Netflix worldwide .

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Call’ On Netflix, A Twisty, Bloody South Korean Thriller With Stellar Performances

Where to stream:.

• The Call (2020)
• Stream It Or Skip It

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With flicks like #Alive , Train to Busan , and The Wailing ,  South Korean horror continues to put out some top-quality titles. The latest entry in the genre is  The Call,  a twisty time travel slasher thriller now streaming on Netflix. Starring #Alive star Park Shin-hye and  Burning star Jong-seo Jun,  The Call  has is armed with a talented cast and intriguing premise. We’re here to tell you if it’s one worth answering, or if you’re better off sending it straight to voicemail. 

THE CALL : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: In the wake of her mother’s cancer diagnosis , Seo-yeon (Park Shin-hye) returns to her hometown and moves into her childhood home. Seo-yeon blames her mother for her father’s death, believing that she left the gas on one day and caused the house fire that killed him, so their relationship is less than perfect. Soon after moving back home, Seo-yeon begins to receive calls on the house phone from a young woman begging for help as her stepmother tries to kill her. She is Young-sook (Jeon Jong-seo), a 28-year-old being tortured by her “shaman” mother. She also just so happens to live in 1999. The two women begin to develop a relationship over a series of calls, and when Seo-yeon realizes that Young-sook may be able to prevent her father’s death, she asks her for a life-altering favor – and it works. Seo-yeon’s whole life is made better and more beautiful by her father’s survival, and she gets caught up in it all, letting her relationship with Young-sook fall by the wayside – but only for a short while.

When Seo-yeon discovers that Young-sook is about to get murdered by her stepmother during an exorcism, she intervenes, inadvertently changing everything – and affecting tons of lives – in the process. Young-sook is in fact the mentally deranged murderer her stepmother believed she would become (and was trying to prevent). Young-sook delights in bloodshed and taking lives, and when her freedom is threatened, she takes things to the next level. Seo-yeon must now race against the clock to save herself and others from the monster she created, and each twist and turn is more shocking than the last.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?:   With a good blend of sci-fi and slasher components,  The Call  hits the sweet spot for lovers of serial killer flicks, tight thrillers, and twisty science fiction.

Performance Worth Watching: Jong-seo Jun is magnificent as Young-sook, taking us on a twisty journey that begins with deep sympathy for her horrifying situation and ends with pure loathing and terror. She’s convincing in both her quieter moments and her more maniacal outbursts, masterfully drawing out all the thrills and chills you could hope for with a movie of this nature. A role like this easily could be played in a much campier manner and lose its power, but Jong-seo Jun knows when to keep her contained and when to let it rip, and boy, does she.

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take:  It’s rare that a thriller or slasher is able to do anything super innovative these days, which makes  The Call  all the more delightful (in a dark, demented way, of course). The combination of the time travel concept with the slasher and thriller components really work, despite all the ways it could potentially go wrong. The Call spends a lot of time establishing Seo-yeon’s world and her mental state, taking an effective slow burn approach that allows the intrigue and tension to build in a truly unsettling fashion. Things start pretty innocuously; at first, it seems like Seo-yeon and Young-sook’s connection could be some beautiful, important thing, a friendship that might help them both through their unique situations. Any quaint notions about this relationship are violently squashed, however, when the true nature of it all is revealed, and it’s thrilling to watch it all unfold.

In addition to having an original storyline,  The Call  also boasts some gorgeous, eerie production design and is full of interesting camerawork. These visuals are balanced beautifully with the strength of the performers, who fully embrace the wide spectrum of emotions required for their roles. The entire cast is great, but the two leading ladies – Park Shin-hye and Jong-seo Jun – truly carry  The Call . They spend very little time on screen physically together, but they’re the perfect foils for one another, solidifying their bond – an immensely strong one, for better or worse – from the very beginning. Park Shin-hye established her star power in #Alive and it’s so exciting to see her take on an even bigger, more complex role this time around. It’d be nice to see her become a Netflix staple – she really is totally magnetic.

If you’re someone who needs answers to every single question,  The Call  may be frustrating for you, but it’s worth setting aside the need for allllll the information to enjoy a truly fresh flick. A strong contender for one of the best original thrillers the streamer has ever put out, The Call  is entertaining, emotional, and extremely bloody, one bound to make more than a few year-end lists (even with its negligible plot holes).

Our Call:  STREAM IT. With an original concept, chilling kills, and stunning performances, The Call  is more than worth picking up.

Should you stream or skip the South Korean thriller #TheCall on @netflix ? #SIOSI #TheCallonNetflix — Decider (@decider) December 2, 2020

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines and harboring dad-aged celebrity crushes. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski .

Stream  The Call  on Netflix

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Parents' guide to, the call (2020).

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 3 Reviews
• Kids Say 4 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Dark, bloody thriller has unexpected twists, violence.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Call is a Korean thriller about a young woman who returns to her abandoned childhood home only to find another young woman calling her on the landline phone screaming for help. There's lots of violence, blood, and some gore. A young woman is tied up, beaten, and burned. A handful…

Why Age 16+?

Lots of violence, blood, murder, and some gore. Multiple stabbings, beatings, an

Language includes "f--k," "c--t," "s--t," "bitch," "goddamn," and "hell."

Adults smoke cigarettes. A young woman smokes luxuriously. Adults drink wine ove

A young woman entices a strawberry farmer with new clothes she purchased as he g

Clear mention and use of Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

Any Positive Content?

Persevere through difficulty and admit mistakes to find redemption.

Seo-yeon is brave and perseveres through difficulty. She tries to forgive hersel

Violence & Scariness

Lots of violence, blood, murder, and some gore. Multiple stabbings, beatings, and torture. A young woman is tied up and whipped. An older woman performs various exorcisms on the young woman, including burning her legs. A few scenes show victims pleading for their lives before being killed. Body parts in plastic bags in the fridge later leak everywhere in the sink and onto the kitchen floor. Victims in peril, chase scenes, and lots of crying. Burn scars on legs, backs.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults smoke cigarettes. A young woman smokes luxuriously. Adults drink wine over dinner.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A young woman entices a strawberry farmer with new clothes she purchased as he gazes longingly at her.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Positive messages, positive role models.

Seo-yeon is brave and perseveres through difficulty. She tries to forgive herself and her mother for the past. She thinks quickly in peril and overcomes a killer.

Parents need to know that The Call is a Korean thriller about a young woman who returns to her abandoned childhood home only to find another young woman calling her on the landline phone screaming for help. There's lots of violence, blood, and some gore. A young woman is tied up, beaten, and burned. A handful of adults are killed with knives; several stabbing scenes. We see the cleaning up of blood, body parts in plastic bags. People are in peril, terror, and fear. Lots of screaming and crying. Plenty of swearing, with frequent use of "f--k," "s--t," "c--t," "bitch," and "goddamn." Adults smoke and drink. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (3)
• Kids say (4)

Based on 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE CALL, Kim Seo-yeon (Park Shin-Hye) moves back into her old family home, long abandoned. Her father is dead and her mother is in a hospital for vulnerable adults. After getting unpacked and situated, Seo-yeon receives a phone call from another young woman screaming for help. These calls continue, and eventually Seo-yeon realizes that the young woman on the phone, Young-sook (Jun Jong-Seo), is somehow calling from the past, from inside the same house. This woman in the past seems to be in danger. Gaining Seo-yeon's trust, Young-sook makes Seo-yeon's father alive again, as Young-sook prevents the accident that killed him. This new future finds Seo-yeon's mother not ill and in hospital, but still with her husband, still in the same house, and still living naturally with their daughter. So Seo-yeon advises Young-sook that according to old news stories, she will be murdered by her stepmother. But after Young-sook manages to escape death, she begins to demand more and more from Seo-yeon. Will Seo-yeon somehow manage to change the past to keep her present from spiraling into complete annihilation?

Is It Any Good?

This movie certainly requires some suspension of disbelief, but it still delivers thrills while providing unexpected twists and scares along the way. The Call starts out with a silly premise, a phone in an abandoned house that somehow connects those on either end through time. This phenomenon is never explained, and the reasons why these two young women are connected is also never explored, but the writing is surprising and tense. The actors clearly relish their incredibly juicy scenes, especially Jun Jong-Seo (Young-sook), like when she finds herself very disappointed with an outcome and vents by beating and punching a bunch of body parts tied up in plastic bags that are floating in a large sink. Within seconds she's fully in the sink herself, thrashing about, punching, and screaming. Likewise, Park Shin-Hye continues to impress, and she again stuns with an incredibly emotive and tender performance, needing to cry often, scream, and also somehow get revenge.

The deeper social underpinnings of why a family-less family drama like The Call resonates so strongly in South Korea (and also films like Mother , Parasite , Oldboy ) might be misunderstood or missed altogether by non-Korean audiences, but in no way does this take away from the film working as a simply effective thriller with a fun conceit. For instance, when Seo-yeon finds out that Young-sook was an orphan and now cared for by an "evil stepmother" figure, Seo-yeon notably reacts in a devastated fashion, showing immense sadness and compassion toward Young-sook. But the plot and horror of The Call belies a darker norm of Korean society and culture where family is everything. It reinforces, again, that those without "real" family can easily lose themselves and quickly turn to evil as they are "lost."

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence and use of blood in The Call . Did these horror elements enhance your viewing experience? Why or why not? Would this film be as scary, thrilling, and horrific without the blood and violence?

Why do you think Young-sook behaved the way she did? Was her stepmother right to try to contain what she saw as "future evil"?

Is there anything you would have done differently? How might you prevent someone in the past from changing your present?

What did you think of the epilogue?

What lesson do you think Seo-yeon learned after all was over?

Movie Details

• On DVD or streaming : December 15, 2020
• Cast : Park Shin-Hye , Jun Jong-Seo , Kim Sung-Ryung , Lee El
• Director : Lee Chung-Hyun
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Asian actors
• Studio : Netflix
• Genre : Thriller
• Run time : 112 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : June 20, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Two people live in different times. Seo-Yeon lives in the present and Young-Sook lives in the past. One phone call connects the two, and their lives are changed irrevocably. Two people live in different times. Seo-Yeon lives in the present and Young-Sook lives in the past. One phone call connects the two, and their lives are changed irrevocably. Two people live in different times. Seo-Yeon lives in the present and Young-Sook lives in the past. One phone call connects the two, and their lives are changed irrevocably.

• Chung-Hyun Lee
• Sergio Casci
• Park Shin-hye
• Jeon Jong-seo
• Kim Sung-ryung
• 377 User reviews
• 56 Critic reviews
• 4 wins & 11 nominations

Top cast 15

• Seo-yeon's mother

• Young-sook's mother

• Seo-yeon's father

• Junk collector

• Baek Mi-hyun
• (as Dong-hwi Lee)

• (as Kyung-Sook Jo)

• Junior police officer

• Seo-yeon (young)
• Police officer
• (as Yo-sep Song)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia In 1999, Young-sook says she is 28 and was born in 1972. This is due to the unique age-calculating-system used in Korea. When a Korean baby is born, they already one years old.
• Goofs The post credits scene reveals old Young-sook had called her younger self to warn her she might die, however, she couldn't make the call from the future if she had died in the past. If young Young-sook did survive, then the mother wouldn't blink away from existence, she wouldn't exist to begin with, and old Young-sook wouldn't have disappeared when she tried to kill adult Seo-yeon.
• Connections Referenced in Film Junk Podcast: Episode 798: The Empty Man + Jiu Jitsu (2021)

User reviews 377

• Dec 2, 2020
• How long is The Call? Powered by Alexa
• November 27, 2020 (United States)
• South Korea
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 52 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Home » Movies » Movie Reviews

The Call (2020) review – a twisty-turny South Korean thriller

It might be a bit convoluted for its own good, but The Call (2020) is a solid South Korean genre-blender with a couple of excellent leading performances.

This review of The Call (2020) is spoiler-free. 

Netflix is increasingly becoming the home to a diverse array of Korean content, particularly television, so The Call should fit right in on the streaming platform. It’s a twisty-turny genre-blending effort that takes a relatively simple premise and radically contorts it, but two excellent central performances help to keep the whole thing grounded in a human element. It might be a bit too convoluted for some, and certainly for its own good, but there are enough upsides to it that it’ll probably find an audience in what is otherwise a light streaming weekend.

Past and present collide in a premise that links two characters, Seo-yeon (Park Shin-hye, late of the recent #Alive , also on Netflix) and Young-sook (Jong-seo Jun), across two decades via a landline phone in the same house at two distinct points in time. There’s much more to it than that, obviously, but to reveal more would be to inadvertently spoil a lot of the fun, since the plot folds in varied elements plucked from multiple different genres, giving The Call (known simply as Call on IMDb, possibly for good reason given how many other films have the same title) tinges of sci-fi, horror, crime, mystery, and a bit more besides.

Seo-yeon is the nominal present-day POV character, but Jong-seo Jun ( Burning ) might deliver an even better performance as Young-sook, trapped in dire circumstances in 1999. Films like this are always something of a puzzle, and when you’re finished putting it together there’s usually a sense that certain pieces don’t fit right. Diligent viewers might find similar holes in The Call , but less than would be necessary to really damage its overall effect. By all accounts it holds up rather well, and writer-director Lee Chung-hyun proves a capable guiding hand.

With solid performances, excellent production highlighting the cause and effect relationship between parallel past and present timelines, and a willingness to get lurid where necessary, The Call is a solid effort, and all within two hours. Well worth a look on Netflix this weekend.

What did you think of The Call (2020)? Comment below.

Article by Jonathon Wilson

Jonathon is one of the co-founders of Ready Steady Cut and has been an instrumental part of the team since its inception in 2017. Jonathon has remained involved in all aspects of the site’s operation, mainly dedicated to its content output, remaining one of its primary Entertainment writers while also functioning as our dedicated Commissioning Editor, publishing over 6,500 articles.

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K-Movie Review: “The Call” Rings An Enthralling Narrative That Keeps Your Attention From Start To Finish

It’s amazing how the call plugs a virtual connection the moment you hit “play” on your netflix screen.

Park Shin Hye and Jeon Jeong Seo take the viewers to a roller-coaster ride into their worlds happening instantaneously from different timelines in The Call .

The film threads on the story of Seo-yeon (Park Shin Hye), who after moving to an old family home, receives a call from a stranger named Young-sook (Jeon Jong Seo). She learns Young-sook lived in the same house she currently lives 20 years ago, and they become friends. As they call each other, they make risky choices that change each other’s lives drastically.

The Call Highlights *Spoiler Alert

A thrilling narrative.

Met through a series of strange phone calls, Seo-yeon and Young-sook develop a bond that change their lives forever. Discovering their actions can change and implicate their existence in the different timelines they live, they start a friendship that unfortunately becomes awry.

Young-sook saving Seo-yeon’s father has been a dream came true for the latter. However, with her new life reimagined, she has slowly provided lesser time to Young-sook who has been receiving maltreatment from her step-mother.

From Seo-yeon’s tip of how she will die in the hands of her step-mom, Young-sook was able to save herself by killing her step-mom in the process. Enjoying her new-found freedom, the ominous warning of her step-mother about her causing life losses is proving to be true. After mutilating her step-mom and the poor strawberry farm owner, she learned from Seo-yeon that she will rot in jail for the killing she committed.

From there, their outwitting games begin; both of them waging their lives come hell or high water. Seo-yeon uses the details she can get from the investigation notes of the local police. Meanwhile, Young-sook creates a trusted ally – her future self.

Impressively keeping the thrill running while simultaneously connecting the lives of the main characters in the story makes The Call set a bait that reels the viewer to finish the film in one sitting. Aside from its enthralling run, its easy-to-follow narration is also noteworthy.

A Well-Decked Conflict & Climax

Funneled to the conflict of Seo-yeon’s quest to undo her connection to Young-sook; The Call grips attention with its smartly-pocketed pace. Establishing the friendship of the main characters, down to the favors they both gave each other; the film rivetingly culminates to ill intention harbored by Young-sook and Seo-yeon’s determination to protect herself and loved ones.

Accordingly, the movie’s conflict and climax go well convincingly. In the frames highlighting the parallel events happening in Seo-yeon and Young-sook’s present, past and future lives. It pushes any viewer to be at the edge of his seat at the sight of Seo-yeon’s helpless situation and feel scared of Young-sook’s menacing nature.

Superb heroine-villainess Showdown

Young-sook’s mind, though convoluted was such a good match to the quick-witted Seo-yeon who can rationalize things. An ability that her tortured friend-turned-enemy from 1999 does not have. However, Young-sook makes it up with determination that knows not how to compromise, that include wielding atrocities without regret.

Featuring women in a psychopath chase story was interestingly made more absorbing by Park Shin Hye and Jeon Jeong Seo. The heroine has a grit of her own to match the villainess who is twice dangerous owing to her mercurial temperament.

In an interview with Park Shin Hye, she mentioned initially turning down the movie. I’m glad she reconsidered because she powered a distinct role quite different from what her regular fans have seen so far on small and big screens.

Jeon Jeong Seo on the other hand easily suited to her role with utmost conviction. Her intricate characterization assures an impeccable recall for people who will know her for the first time in this film.

Individually, the two actresses colored their roles efficiently. Together, they match their characters mettle to an outsmarting game that inevitably stakes all they have to win.

The Call Movie Afterthoughts *Spoiler Alert

I was also surprised that I was held on my seat watching The Call in one sitting. Evidently, its thrilling ride piqued my interest that its hard not to watch its end game. Plus the fact that the female leads did not take the usual annoying girlish route.

Its fascinating narrative inescapably made me want to root for Seo-yeon, who got a glimpse of the dream life she wanted, only to be sent to a nightmare because of a phone call.

Understanding the events that brought about Young-sook’s wickedness can be traced to the disheartening life she suffered in the hands of her step-mom. Obviously, the step-mom who combines psychopath tendencies and shaman beliefs greatly influenced Young-sook’s nefarious nature.

The Call concludes with Seo-yeon surviving the attack from present-day Young-sook, who materialized after her old self destroyed the evidence that change the course of her prison-bound life.

Her life presented in grandiose flair of full blown psychopath killer displayed an array of refrigerators storing her kills. A successful nod to how she escalated from her awkward, but already dangerous murderer beginning, when she mutilated her step-mom and stored her inside the kitchen fridge.

For this film, it is important to note that the actions of Seo-yeon and Young-sook affect their lives, albeit living in different timelines. However, it pushed confounding moments with the placement of epilogue scenes.

The baffling ending

After the climactic and heroic sacrifice of Seo-yeon’s mom, it showed Seo-yeon surviving and running to find her mother. Her bittersweet reunion with her mother appears to be a false reality to console her weary heart, which regrets failing to grant her mom’s request of being buried beside her husband.

The scene where they walk together and her mom vanishing in the picture proved the prophetic claim of how lives will be killed because of Young-sook. It was another epilogue snippet concurring to the evil step-mom’s warning.

Then, we see Seo-yeon trapped and imprisoned somewhere, suggesting she might have not been killed, but was just held hostage by Young-sook. Something that may connect to the tip from present-day Young-sook given to her 1999 counterpart to hold on to the phone no matter what for them to survive. It also agrees to the scene of Young-sook opening her eyes amidst a pool of blood her head lays on from falling together with Seo-yeon’s mother.

Hence, the ending is really confusing if Seo-yeon solely survived; or both she and Young-sook managed to stay alive. This is the only thing I can’t help but nit-pick on, because it was easy to close the story neatly right there and then. Young-sook dying because of Seo-yeon’s mom’s sacrifice is a satisfying way to seal the conclusion landing on a good prevails evil note.

Film Takeaways + Recommendation

As I usually take away the relevant messages when I review films and dramas. I can only arrive at two lessons. First, to cherish our parents wishes, especially if it’s not hard to begin with. Because hey, we might not get another chance to dote on things that they specifically request.

Second, to be always wary of creating friendship. Seo-yeon and Young-sook clicked on so fast, until they start devaluing each other because of owed favors, they demand to be returned. Never estimate someone’s friendship value based on what they have done for you.

Even now, I can’t reconcile what the ending of The Call was trying to achieve when it was easy to close the story neatly following its deftly limned story. Nonetheless, it is still a good watch for me. The puzzling closure does not demerit the scintillating drive of its narrative.

• “The Call” Starring Park Shin Hye & Jeon Jong Seo Tells An Intriguing Thriller Story Not To Be Missed

Photos/Videos: Netflix

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Review | Netflix movie review: The Call – Korean thriller starring Park Shin-hye, Jun Jong-seo bends time and space for a high-concept cat and mouse game

A remake of the caller, a british/puerto rican thriller from 2011, the call takes all established rules of time travel movies and turns them on their head if you can put logic and realism firmly on hold, the film’s audacious premise proves hugely effective and results in an entertaining experience.

3.5/5 stars

If you could contact the past, what would you change? That is the question posed in Korean director Lee Chung-hyun’s deliriously bonkers thriller The Call . Pitching Park Shin-hye ( #Alive ) against Jun Jong-seo ( Burning ) in an escalating supernatural tête-à-tête, the movie explores the repercussions of a figure from the vengeful past becoming resentful of someone in the present.

Soon after moving back into her abandoned family home, Seo-yeon (Park) receives a mysterious phone call on the old landline from a distraught teenager. Young-sook (Jun) is being held captive by her stepmother (Lee El) and fears for her life.

Seo-yeon discovers a hidden basement in the house, which appears to have been used as a torture chamber, and soon learns that Young-sook died in the same house 20 years earlier.

As though trapped in a demented reimagining of the romantic Korean classic Il Mare , the phone calls continue and the two young women form a strange codependent kinship. Seo-yeon realises that Young-sook’s present is just days before her father died in a house fire, and persuades her new friend to intervene.

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Substance & Meaningful Entertainment

Against gossip & scandal, independent media network, global stories from local perspective, factual culture news, korean film ‘the call’ review: “did somebody dial time travel”.

Melissa McGrath is a writer for Hollywood Insider, offering rich and engaging content for reviews and features. Melissa feels at home with Hollywood Insider’s lively team who share an equal passion for the art of cinema. Having sought out compelling stories her whole life, she is eager to examine and share her observations with others interested in thought-provoking material. She believes in changing the world through meaningful dialogue and hopes to provide helpful insight with her work. She values open discussions concerning morality, culture, personal development, and holds a soft spot for cathartic humor. Through the art of storytelling, journalism, and cinema, Melissa seeks to help build a strong community of free-thinkers and cultivate a deeper understanding of the human experience.

Jan 30, 2021

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Photo: ‘The Call’/Netflix

Ring, ring, ring. “Hello?” “Oh hey, what’s up, I’m just sitting in the same room as you– but in the past– what are you up to?” “Nothing much, just wishing my dad was alive again, just chillin, what about you?” Wiping the blood off her forehead, “Still having trouble with this witch lady, but I think I took care of it…hey do you want me to tamper with time and bring him back? That would be pretty sick…” In tears, “Oh wow, that would mean the world to me, thank you person from the past!” Dances to Korean metal music.

Based on the 2011 British and Puerto Rican film ‘ The Caller ’ and directed by Lee Chung-hyun , ‘The Call’ stars Park Shin-hye and Jeon Jong- Seo as two women who are from separate times but connect through a bulky cordless phone that intertwines their fates, all the while featuring angsty Korean punk and metal music. Colliding past and present across two decades, the girls exchange details about their lives.

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‘The Call’

They both experienced the loss of a parent, which retrospectively might have been some kind of emblem of unspoken trust and empathy between the two of them, allowing Seo-yeon to trust Young-sook maybe more than she should have–scratch that, definitely more than she should have. It’s like if the movie ‘Saw’ had a baby with the ‘ The Butterfly Effect ’, and then that baby called the guy from ‘Saw’ and said, “Hey, I’m your baby. Don’t ask how I can speak, I have a magic phone, idiot. Also, I will rip myself out of your scrotum and you will feel it in the present time if you disobey my demands..” To which he would respond, “Wait, won’t that mean you die too?” “Goo goo ga ga!”

After Young-sook discovers she can alter the past, subsequently altering Seo-yeon’s present, she ventures off to prevent the tragic fire that killed her new friend’s father, and is successful. But this friendship kindles a new flame, born of envy and neglect. Seo-yeon is happier than she’s ever remembered, reunited with her mother and father in their flourishing new life together, all the while leaving Young-sook to seep in the harrows of her much dimmer reality. Living with her mother who performs rituals on her, and violently punishes her for being on the phone, she grows resentment towards Seo-yeon.

In an act of self-defense, Young-sook commits murder but then proceeds to heinously murder anyone who might threaten her newfound freedom in the world. After doing research and revealing to Young-sook that she will be arrested for her crimes, she calls upon Seo-yeon to give her information so she can avoid being caught. Emotionally distraught, she refuses to help and the relentless heckle ensues like a live-action Tom and Jerry blood bath, whoever outsmarts the other survives–once again cue angst metal.

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A Burning Call for Jeon Jong-Seo

While both actresses held impressive performances, I had recently viewed Jeon Jong-Seo in ‘Burning’ , and I am just so captivated by her. She is something of a wild card, which really complimented her strengths as the demented serial killer in this film. She is a unique batter of precarious and silly, highlighted by an almost lackadaisical aloofness that distinguishes her from being pigeon-holed as the stereotypical damsel in distress or the vapid villain.

Her alarmingly playful attitude — whether she’s being touched by the heaviness of life’s fleeting beauty, or severing heads and placing them in black plastic bags to store in her refrigerator– is a whimsical waltz of magnetic endearment. She’s just so fun to watch, I almost imagine her occupying another dimension than the rest of us, evident in her body as she floats and sways in her own very idiosyncratic formula–like she’s tilting with the earth , rotating on its axis. She’s listening to music no one else can hear, and she doesn’t give a damn. Even in her anguish, she can make twisted funny.

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Allegorical Alternative Ending

In the film ‘The Butterfly Effect’, there were some editions that had alternate endings. This film wasn’t like that, as far as I can tell, but I picked up on something that I felt was pretty powerful–had it gone in that direction. In the film, Seo-yeon lost her father, and she blamed her mother for his death. She saw her as careless and neglectful, and shamed her for accidentally leaving on the gas that licked her father in flames till his death. In this timeline , her mother is suffering from a serious illness, and they are both filled with resentment and regret. When her father is brought back to life, her mother is vibrant and caring, heroic even. 

When fate changed the second time around, shifting reality, she goes back to see her mother expecting it to be the way it was before Young-sook ever interfered–and found her to be the same kind, caring, flourishing version of herself that she became when her father was brought back to life.  

It occurred to me that it could have easily been interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. Seo-yeon had the same kind of internalized hatred for her mother as Young-sook did for her adoptive mother, she could have very well been a metaphor–and have not existed at all. Instead, she was a projection– a hologram for the hollowness in her heart to which a complex narrative. It would make sense, as her psyche desperately needed to contend with the grievances of her loss –and finally forgive her mother for the accident. A dark allegory for the absurd lengths our minds go when we are unconsciously processing intense emotions–to vie with tragedy that dismantles the soul, it often requires some paramount psychological symbolism , not just mere confrontation.

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This is the power of stories and metaphor, they are perhaps the greatest tool we have for the mind. Maybe language paved a new era for the imagination that allowed us to process the emotional complexity of higher consciousness, posing as the quintessential accolade that separated us from our ape predecessors. The apparatus of allegorical content may have been the precursor for our evolution, as it were. 

Another alternate ending idea! The guy from ‘Saw’ never actually had a baby, in fact, the baby was him–using the same bulky cordless phone from deep inside his mother’s womb, guiding him to convert to veganism before the antibiotics in his favorite beef stroganoff gave him the cancer that wracked his better judgment. 

Now Streaming on Netflix. ‘The Call’, not ‘Saw’.

Director: Lee Chung-hyun

Starring: Park Shin-hye and Jeon Jong-seo 

Producers: Syd Lim, Jeong Hui-sun |  Written by: Lee Chung-hyun |  Based on: ‘The Caller’ by Matthew Parkhill |  Music: Dalpalan |  Cinematographer: Jo Young- jik

Editor: Yang Jin-mo |  Prod. Company: Yong Film

By  Melissa McGrath

Click here to read H ollywood Insider’s  CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Black Lives Matter,  in which he tackles more than just police reform, press freedom and more – click here.

An excerpt from the love letter:  Hollywood Insider’s  CEO/editor-in-chief  Pritan Ambroase  affirms,  “Hollywood Insider  fully supports the much-needed Black Lives Matter movement. We are actively, physically and digitally a part of this global movement. We will continue reporting on this major issue of police brutality and legal murders of Black people to hold the system accountable. We will continue reporting on this major issue with kindness and respect to all Black people, as each and every one of them are seen and heard. Just a reminder, that the Black Lives Matter movement is about more than just police brutality and extends into banking, housing, education, medical, infrastructure, etc. We have the space and time for all your stories. We believe in peaceful/non-violent protests and I would like to request the rest of media to focus on 95% of the protests that are peaceful and working effectively with positive changes happening daily. Media has a responsibility to better the world and  Hollywood Insider  will continue to do so.”

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Movie Review “The Call (2020)” – Netflix’s Latest Korean Horror

10 best korean movies of 2021 you need to watch, 3 reasons “sinkhole” is one of the greatest korean films of 2021, the top 8 original korean movies to stream on netflix in 2021.

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Netflix’s newest Korean original movie “The Call” shows why Korean horror movies should be a genre of their own. Its clever bend on time and location has claimed it the score of 100% on Rotten Tomato. Here is our review of the Netflix Korean movie, “The Call”.

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With fresh thrillers like “ Train to Busan” , “ #Aive “, “ Burning” , South Korea has become one of the leading countries for chilling horror entertainment. “The Call” is no exception. 

The film takes place in a few different timelines. In the present day, Seo Yeon moves back into her childhood home in her hometown in order to take care of her mom who has been diagnosed with cancer. Seo Yeon believes it was her mom’s fault that her dad died in a fire when she was little. This causes them to have a strenuous relationship. Once settled in at the house, she receives a phone call from a girl whom she thought called the wrong number. The girl, Young Sook, keeps calling and confesses to Seo Yeon how her mother is abusing her. 

One day, Seo Yeon discovers a hidden room in the house and finds unusual objects for ritual and a picture of Young Sook that dates back to 1999. She realizes that they live in the same house, but Young Sook is in 1999 while Seo Yeon is in the present. Something about the phone allows the two to defy time to communicate 

Things turn sinister after Young Sook realizes she can change the future with her actions. And she is thirsty for revenge and blood. 

“The Call” Cast

Kim Seo Yeon – Played by Park Shin Hye

The 28-year-old living in the present moves back to her hometown to take care of her mother. She is kind, persistent, and deeply misses her father who she believed was killed in a fire that was started by her mom. She corresponds with Young Soo and the two begin an unusual friendship. Seo Yeon asks Young Sook to save her father by preventing the fire. To repay the favor to Young Sook, she warns her about Young Sook’s stepmother attempting to kill her. But after that day, Seo Yeon begins fearing for her life as Young Sook gains an obsession with killing. 

Oh Young Sook – Played by Jeon Jong Seo

Young Sook is the same age as Seo Yeon but lives in 1999. Her step-mother traps Young Sook in her room and performs rituals on her out of fear that her step-daughter will create chaos in the future. Young Sook saves Seo Yeon’s father when she realizes the future can change with her actions. After learning about her potential death, Young Sook takes revenge on her step-mother and begins her killing spree. She threatens Seo Yeon with her parents ’ lives if she doesn’t help her escape her arrest. 

Young Sook’s mother – Played by Lee El

As a shaman, it is her duty to rid the world of evil. And she believes that evil lives in her step-daughter, Young Sook. That’s why she locks Young Sook in her room and frequently performs rituals on her. On the surface, she seems cold and heinous, but the audience later learns that there’s a good reason behind her actions. 

Seo Yeon’s mother – Played by Kim Sung Ryung

After her husband’s death, her relationship with Seo Yeon declines over the years. In the present, she is sick with cancer and spends her time at the hospital. Despite everything, she cares deeply for her daughter and feels guilty that she can’t do more for her in the present. She is also keeping a secret from Seo Yeon about the cause of her father’s death. In a temporary new timeline, she is not sick and lives peacefully with her daughter and husband. 

Seo Yeon’s father – Played by Park Ho San

At the beginning of the movie, the audience learns that he died in a fire when Seo Yeon was little. After Young Sook saves him, he joins Seo Yeon and his wife in a new timeline and the family lives happily in Seo Yeon’s childhood home.  

Is it Worth Watching?

What I enjoyed most about this movie was that it kept me guessing with every twist and turn. You never know who to trust and the ending might not actually be the ending. With saturation in movies, especially thrillers and horror, it’s often very hard to come up with a new innovative story. However, “The Call” took me by surprise with its character development and chilling plot. There’s tension, drama, blood, time-traveling, plot twists, all the elements someone would want out of a good thriller. 

Park Shin Hye is known for her work in popular Korean dramas , like “Heirs” and “Pinnochio” so it’s really refreshing to see her in a role that is so different from her other ones. Jeon Jong Seo gives an amazing performance as a psycho killer. This is her second major film , after “Burning” in 2018, which was selected as South Korea’s choice for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars of the same year. Unfortunately, it was not nominated. However, it goes to show just how exceptional Jeong Jong Seo is as an actress. 

Audience Perception of “The Call”

On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has an audience score of 79%. On google review, it has a score of 4.6 stars. Some reviewers praised the movie for its clever way of building mystery. 

Check out the trailer for “The Call” below and stream it on Netflix. 

To learn more on Kdrama, check out the video below!

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The Call (2020) – Netflix Movie Review

A Decent Thriller Held Back By A Poor Ending

The idea of two people being connected through time thanks to an unexplained supernatural occurrence is nothing new on the small screen – especially in Korea. Much like Signal, Tunnel and – more recently – the currently airing thriller Kairos, this narrative device almost feels like a trope now coming from South East Asia. In its simplest form, The Call is a twisty-turny thriller that takes this aforementioned idea and blends it with pure slasher vibes to mixed results.

On the one hand, The Call effectively builds up an air of dread-inducing atmosphere and backs that up with a pacey screenplay that never looks like letting up. There’s a lot of interesting plot developments and a couple of unexpected twists that completely change the game. On the other hand, this pacey thriller does have a couple of nasty plot holes and the final scenes of the film effectively undermine a lot of the good work in a bid to jump in for a possible cash-grab sequel. But that’s not to say this film doesn’t have its moments.

Our protagonist here is Seo-Yeon (Park Shin-Hye) who returns to her family home and finds an old phone hidden away in storage. Connecting it back up, she receives a strange call from someone asking to speak to Sun-Hee. It soon becomes apparent that this girl, Young-Sook (Jong-seo Jun), is living in the past. After convincing each other that they’re not in the same time period, both characters soon realize that their actions could affect the reality surrounding the other.

What ensues is a game of cat and mouse, as Seo-Yeon begins by helping this girl before realizing that’s probably not the best move. With time rewritten before her very eyes and reality shifting depending on the actions either of these two take, the thriller aspects eventually crescendo into two duels – both split across two time periods.

It’s a nice way to end things but unfortunately the movie takes liberties with this satisfying conclusion to bait for a sequel that probably won’t arrive – and nor should it. The original ending actually rounds things out nicely but brings niggling plot issues into whole narrative-disjointing confusion while threatening to undermine the premise.

I won’t get into spoiler territory here of course but if you do intend to watch this one, please turn the film off the minute this one fades to black and ignore the scenes that follow. If you can do this, The Call winds up that much more enjoyable and satisfying.

In fact, there’s actually quite a lot to like with this thriller – even with the wonky ending. The pulsating rock soundtrack works well to show the brewing anger and chaotic feel to many of Young-Sook’s scenes while the slick editing and smooth camera work feeds into the feel of this playing out like a big budget Korean blockbuster. At times the movie gives off the same vibes The Invisible Man did earlier this year, playing into that aforementioned cat and mouse feel in a really positive and absorbing way.

On top of that, both Park Shin-Hye and Jong-Seo Jun bring their A game to this production. Both of them give heartfelt, solid performances and given Shin-Hye’s acting in Memories Of The Alhambra last year, it’s great to see her back on screen again for this thriller.

If you’ve never experienced Korean sci-fi before this is not a bad place to start. The premise is certainly unusual and the movie manages to nail the right amount of unnerving tension across its run-time. For those more accustomed to the quirks and tropes in Asian cinema and dramas, The Call is a pacey, enjoyable thriller ruined by a final bid to shoot for a sequel and unable to quite make the most of its talented cast on-hand. It’s certainly not a bad film but it’s far from the great one it so easily could have been with a bit more editing and a thoughtful ending.

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• Verdict - 7/10 7/10

1 thought on “The Call (2020) – Netflix Movie Review”

Actually I have seen this before. The movie was “Frequency” with Dennis Quaid.

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The Call: Korean movie’s ending explained

The ending of The Call — a new South Korean psychological thriller movie that premiered on Netflix on Saturday (November 28) — left many viewers perplexed.

After seeing the movie on Netflix , many viewers took to Twitter to inquire about the meaning of the ending of the movie.

Many Twitter users who had seen the Netflix movie responded to the request with various suggestions.

A debate ensued as people offered different explanations of the ending of the movie.

If you are also one of many viewers who were left scratching their heads after seeing the end of The Call, here is what you need to know.

I just finished The Call on Netflix and im inviting anyone who watched the film to talk about that very confusing ending and what do you think really happened? Go. #TheCallonNetflix pic.twitter.com/m2b89IExfv — Are Zack’s thumbs in danger? (@CursedSoo) November 27, 2020

What is The Call about?

The Call tells the story of two women, Seo-yeon (Park Shin-Hye) and Young-sook (Jong-Seo Jun), who live in the same house but during different times, 20 years apart. Their lives and fate become intertwined after they connect through a phone.

Young-sook helps Seo-yeon to undo a tragic accident in the past that led to her father’s death, while Seo-yeon warns Young-sook that she will be murdered by her stepmother.

The plot takes a dark turn when Young-sook later becomes a serial killer.

Young-sook learns that she will be sentenced to life in prison in the future for the murders that she committed. So she tries to force Seo-yeon to help her avoid her fate by threatening to harm her younger self and family.

Seo-yeon refuses to help and Young-Sook murders Seo-yeon’s dad in the past and kidnaps her younger self.

The  Call: Closing scene

The future Seo-yeon connects with her mother in the past. Her mom rescues young Seo-yeon and kills Young-sook by throwing her down from a height.

However, Seo-yeon’s mom also dies in the fall.  In the future, Seo-yeon mourns by her mother’s grave. But viewers were left with questions when her mother appears at the graveside.  Seo-yeon is relieved and happy to see her mother.

The closing scene shows her walking away with her mother, suggesting that her heroic mother didn’t die in the past and that she managed to survive the fall.

Post credits: The ending explained

However, the post-credits suggest that Young-sook also did not die in the fall.

Young-sook’s future self contacts her past self and gives her advice on what to do to prevent her own death.

Young-sook appeared to have fallen to her death when Seo-yeon’s mom threw her over the railings, but in the post-credits we see her open her eyes while lying in a pool of her own blood.

After Young-sook opens her eyes, Seo-yeon’s mom, who was walking with her daughter from the graveyard, suddenly disappears.

So we appear to have a late plot twist where Young-sook is able to save her past self and thus initiates an alternative timeline in which Seo-yeon loses her mother.

Some Twitter viewers suggested that the ending was probably meant to set up a sequel for the film.

The Call is streaming on Netflix.

The English translation on the mother’s grave shows her death as December11 1999 but we clearly see the countdown to 2000 on the TV just before the policeman is murdered.It would be imposdible for the mother to turn up at her own graveside. Seems to me a good film got spoilt by an ending which was inconsistent with the logic of its own premise for the sake of a negative twist or the chance of a sequal. I had enjoyed watching the film until that happened as it, for me, cheapens what was an otherwise good film. Then when I think about it there are other inconsistences, particularly surrpunding the main character not being able to remember the creepy girl that lived in the house when they first visited.

K-Movie Couch Spotlight: “The Call” Rings An Enthralling Narrative That Keeps Your Attention From Start To Finish

It’s amazing how the call plugs a virtual connection the moment you hit “play” on your netflix screen.

Park Shin Hye and Jeon Jeong Seo take the viewers to a roller-coaster ride into their worlds happening instantaneously from different timelines in The Call .

She learns Young-sook lived in the same house she currently lives 20 years ago, and they become friends. As they call each other, they make risky choices that change each other’s lives drastically.

The Call Peak Points *Spoiler Alert

A thrilling narrative.

Young-sook saving Seo-yeon’s father has been a dream came true for the latter. However, with her new life reimagined, she has slowly provided lesser time to Young-sook who has been receiving maltreatment from her step-mother.

From there, their outwitting games begin; both of them waging their lives come hell or high water. Seo-yeon uses the details she can get from the investigation notes of the local police. Meanwhile, Young-sook creates a trusted ally – her future self.

A Well-Decked Conflict & Climax

Accordingly, the movie’s conflict and climax go well convincingly. In the frames highlighting the parallel events happening in Seo-yeon and Young-sook’s present, past and future lives. It pushes any viewer to be at the edge of his seat at the sight of Seo-yeon’s helpless situation and feel scared of Young-sook’s menacing nature.

Superb heroine-villainess Showdown

In an interview with Park Shin Hye, she mentioned initially turning down the movie. I’m glad she reconsidered because she powered a distinct role quite different from what her regular fans have seen so far on small and big screens.

The Call Movie Musings *Spoiler Alert

I was also surprised that I was held on my seat watching The Call in one sitting. Evidently, its thrilling ride piqued my interest that its hard not to watch its end game. Plus the fact that the female leads did not take the usual annoying girlish route.

The Call concludes with Seo-yeon surviving the attack from present-day Young-sook, who materialized after her old self destroyed the evidence that change the course of her prison-bound life.

The baffling ending

After the climactic and heroic sacrifice of Seo-yeon’s mom, it showed Seo-yeon surviving and running to find her mother. Her bittersweet reunion with her mother appears to be a false reality to console her weary heart, which regrets failing to grant her mom’s request of being buried beside her husband.

Hence, the ending is really confusing if Seo-yeon solely survived; or both she and Young-sook managed to stay alive. This is the only thing I can’t help but nit-pick on, because it was easy to close the story neatly right there and then. Young-sook dying because of Seo-yeon’s mom’s sacrifice is a satisfying way to seal the conclusion landing on a good prevails evil note.

Film Takeaways + Recommendation

Even now, I can’t reconcile what the ending of The Call was trying to achieve when it was easy to close the story neatly following its deftly limned story. Nonetheless, it is still a good watch for me. The puzzling closure does not demerit the scintillating drive of its narrative.

abbyinhallyuland

You may also like, im si wan adorably teases netizens on his latest instagram post, deck these new korean films on your netflix movie marathon schedule, “busted: season 3”, “what happened to mr. cha” & “love (ft. marriage and divorce)” are the first korean content runners on netflix in january 2021, follow us on sns.

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What to Know

The Call builds plenty of suspense before taking a problematic turn in the third act.

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