The Call

THE CALL

Director : Brad Anderson
Year : 2013
Genre : Thriller
Rating : ***1/2

 

Every day in the United States, an astonishing 2,500 people are classified as 'missing' and sadly, we are constantly reminded by the news, many of these abductions result in cold blooded, senseless murder.But while we are haunted by the stories of Madeleine McCann, James Bulger and Sarah Payne, we never hear of the fates of the nameless thousands across the world who are taken against their will and while 'The Call' may not be based on a real -  life story, it tells a tale that could very possibly be centred in reality. Starring Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin, the movie centres around the abduction of a young girl and the efforts of a 911 operator who tries to save her from certain death. Combining the elements of a Fincher-esque thriller with the aesthetics of the influential proto-slashers of the 1970's, 'The Call' is a brilliantly stylish film that manages to create a lot of tension and threat with a clever use of ominous scoring and invasive camera work. However, it really is a movie of two parts and while the first hour is an extremely effective, nail biting thriller, the final half becomes much more generic and predictable; relying more on jump scares and standard thriller conventions to generate an atmosphere of dread. This is a shame because 'The Call' works so well for a large portion of it's running time and thanks to the brilliant performances from Berry and Breslin, I became emotionally invested in the both the high concept of the plot and the believable and relatable characters. However despite it's problems, the film is still an extremely entertaining watch that manages to hold our attention for it's entire duration; even when it flies off the rails and stretches our suspension of disbelief that little bit too far.

Halle Berry plays Jordan, a veteran 911 officer who takes the calls of those who are in need of the emergency services. After giving the caller advice about how to best deal with the situation they are in, Jordan is then put in charge of sending out the appropriate team to deal with the crimes or felony  taking place in the city. Fast talking, witty and extremely likable, Jordan has become known as one of the best phone operators in the LAPD. But when a botched operation leads to the murder of a young girl, she is racked with guilt and leaves her post, instead becoming a trainer for upcoming operators. Six months later, Jordan is giving a tour of the centre to a group of future officers when a call comes in from a teenage girl (Breslin) who has been kidnapped and placed in the boot of a car. Fearing the worst, Jordan takes over the call from the distressed operator who answered the phone and begins a race against time mission to save the life of the girl and prevent history from repeating itself. 

Clearly taking it's influences from the movies that would begin the slasher craze of the early 1980's, 'The Call' echoes the tone of both Fred Walton's 'When A Stranger Calls' and Bob Clark's 'Black Christmas' (my all time favourite horror movie). In fact, director Brad Anderson even copies a now iconic image from the 1974 cult classic, that of an eyeball peeping through the crack of a door, showing that 'The Call' owes more than a debt to the underated masterpiece. Of course, the plot device of a phone call from an unknown person is now considered old hat thanks to the popularity of the 'Scream' franchise, but many forget that Clark and Walton made the telephone an object to be truly feared. However, while 'Black Christmas' relied on abject fear and an astonishingly creepy atmosphere to generate chills, 'The Call' relies more on Fincher-esque, noir inflected set pieces and a build up of increasingly violent momentum to thrill us and for the most part, it works. Constantly placing seemingly insurmountable obstacles in our way, Anderson refuses us respite and by the film's rather disappointing climax, I was pretty exhausted from the constant muscular tensing and frantic heart racing that I had undergone in the  previous two hours.

Halle Berry is very good in the central role and her personability and likable nature allows us to anchor to both the plight and desperation of her character. Playing essentially the matriarchal role, she is the heart of the story and while the abduction of the teenager is the raison d'etre of The Call', the real drive and emotional centre is that of a women's search for redemption and self - forgiveness. Clearly haunted by the spirit of the girl killed by her professional negligence, Jordan is a character who is desperate to do the right thing and trying to correct the mistakes of the past. Berry is very convincing playing both the determined and collected operator and the damaged and deeply sorry human being and the addition of a romantic interest played very well by Morris Chestnut helps to make Jordan that little bit more relatable and more interesting than the generic movie cop who cares more about their job than their personal lives.

While essentially playing the damsel in distress, Abigail Breslin is brilliant as the kidnappee and whose ingenuity and logic helps to save her life. Unlike the other kidnapped girls we see in films such as 'Taken' and 'Stolen', Breslin's character is much more proactive and energetic; just as determined to escape the clutches of her captor than the operator who is trying to save her at the end of her phone. She is not just content to be an unseen puppet for the actors to work around, she is just as vital to the tension and the energy of the film and her drive and forceful nature help to make her role much more interesting than that of many of her archetypcal counterparts. She fights back, she shouts, she uses her ingenuity, she does everything that a relatable and realistic cinematic victim should do. 

Michael Eklund is incredibly creepy as the abductor who seems to take girls without rhyme or reason. While his character may be overwritten and too stereotypically insane, Eklund does a very good job of generating terror and threat with a sinister expression or a quiet but stern vocal pattern. While he isn't prone to violence, the antagonist will kill if necessary and this allows Anderson to show us scenes of hideous cruelty and bloody carnage while never pushing the boundaries of a '15' certificate. Unfortunately, the character is given a backstory that does slow the film down and due to the convoluted nature of the prior events, some of the tension created by the previous scenes is lost. Becoming much generic and conventionally 'mental', the main antagonist does lose some of his mystery and spontaneity; an element that up to that point had been working so well. As the old adage goes; 'the less you know, the better' and this is certainly true here.

Made for the surprisingly small budget of $13 million, 'The Call' shows us that low cost movies can be just as scary and as tense as the multimillion blockbusters that flood our multiplexes. A sequel is already in the works and I am sure that it will not be too long that 'The Call' becomes a modern cult hit. Yes, it's not perfect and could have done with one more run through the editing machine, but it is an extremely efficient thriller that should entertain, shock and thrill in equal measure.