One Missed Call 2

I tend to like Japanese horror, whether is it a gory slasher, or just a creepy film like this one. I prefer the characters over the WB actors they use in Hollywood remakes.

There were some really good actors in the film: Mimura as Kyoko Okudera, Yû Yoshizawa as Naoto Sakurai, and Asaka Seto as Takako Nozoe.

It was a little hard to follow all the characters, but it still was scary and well worth watching.

It may have been better to see Takashi Miike's first part of this to have a better understanding, but it is not necessary to enjoy the movie.

A sequel to Takashi Miike's fun and frightful "One Missed Call," this follow-up set a year later is entertaining, but the mystery becomes a convoluted mess by the end.

The introduction of new characters, a child in Taiwan with frightening abilities and a reporter who's past is possibly(?) connected to the multiple malicious spirits involved, make this sequel harder to keep up with while also making the events of the original film feel accidental.

There's still some great performances and gnarly scares, but this sequel is not necessary viewing, especially if you're a fan of the first film and don't want to see the story become a weird mess.

It's not bad, though. Just okay.

Japanese horror, like any other cinema industry, has it's duds. Ju-on the Curse 2 (TV), Dead Waves, Gozu, Shikoku, and the entire Tomie series qualify as disappointments, just to name a few. As a fan of East Asian horror, I demand good entertainment by the industry, and have no problem lambasting a crappy movie when I see one. Fortunately, One Missed Call 2 is not an utter disappointment, as some on IMDb have claimed. Unlike my other comments, this review will be short and sweet.

The storyline is more complex and intricate than the original. Multiple supernatural elements and threats are introduced and the structure of the plot is more like a mystery, which keeps the viewer off balance and engaged at the same time. I actually needed a pad and pen to jot down notes because there was a lot of relationships and events to keep track of. If anything else, One Missed Call 2 is not easily predictable, and that is a good thing. Also, the technical quality is solid. Good cinematography, acting, and lighting.

One negative is that the movie drags a bit in the middle and is not quite as scary as the original. The filmmakers should have added one or two entertaining kills during the middle half hour. That would have made this one as good as the original. In it's current state, however, it is less entertaining to a degree – but still entertaining nonetheless.

I can't see how people can complain about One Missed Call 2 when they are constantly peppered by the sheer idiocy and low quality tripe dished out by Hollywood. Sure, this film is not as good as Kairo or as original as Tetsuo, but it's MUCH better than Hostel, Silent Hill, The Hills Have Eyes, or The Devil's Rejects, just to name a few.

So if you liked the first one, give this one a try. Remember, even the most formulaic horror films from Japan are still better than your average American slasher.

After the ultimate success of its predecessor, "One Missed Call 2" is released in 2005 with a different crew on-board. Having an upgraded premise, you'd expect this sequel to be better--but it really isn't. Sure, the deaths are more intriguing, but you've got to listen--the film has more cons than expected. The ending is somewhat unsatisfying, and it seems that a brand new story is attempted to be forced into the original lore of Mimiko from the first "One Missed Call" film. Fortunately, the runtime is much more reasonable than the first film, and the terror stays the same, not changing much from the original film!

This is a nice follow up to the original (One Missed Call, 2003). It's not a rehash of the original film, but it builds on the story by introducing new perspectives on the mysterious process by which the killer telephone calls are made. There are some quite atmospheric scenes and a nice mystery for the characters to solve. I liked some of the acting, too. However, some elements of the plot are a little bit nonsensical. Something to mention... I watched the deleted scenes on the DVD and the director's interview about those deleted scenes. The director said he removed those scenes from the movie in order to improve the pacing. However, the deleted scenes improve the story, containing important information that explains the background (including an intriguing tale, told by an old woman, of how she saw the same thing in her youth, but with handwritten letters rather than phones!). In other words, the deleted scenes enrich the story and render the story more understandable. So, if you watch these on DVD, be sure to check out the deleted scenes afterwards.