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One out of Five stars
Running time: 87 mins

Poorly conceived, badly cast and frequently dull horror film that fails in its quest to make mobile phones scary.

What's it all about?
One Missed Call is a remake of a 2003 Japanese horror flick. It stars Shannyn Sossamon as Beth Raymond, a young woman whose close friends keep dying, shortly after receiving mobile phone calls from their future selves, made at the moment of their deaths.

Naturally, the police think Beth is crazy, except for Detective Jack Andrews (Ed Burns), whose dead sister turns out to have been part of the mobile phone chain of death. However, when Beth receives a phone call from herself, she and Jack have to solve the mystery before it's too late.

The Bad
The main problem with One Missed Call is that it isn't remotely scary – indeed, as a concept, it feels exactly like the guys from the Orange mobile phone adverts ripping off The Ring. ("You get a call...and then YOU DIE!")

In addition, the script is frequently tedious and all the characters are extremely dull. It doesn't help that Shannyn Sossamon and Ed Burns are two of Hollywood's least interesting actors – for the most part the film doesn't even bother trying to generate any chemistry between them, which only makes it more ridiculous when it shoehorns in a chatting-up scene towards the end.

The Worst
Aside from a distinctly unscary plot and a deeply unsatisfying ending, the film also badly wastes the excellent Ray Wise (currently having a great time playing the Devil on TV's Reaper) as a TV producer in a completely pointless sequence that adds nothing to the film.

Worth seeing?
In short, One Missed Call is a complete waste of time, thanks to a badly written script, dull plotting and lazy characterisation. If you want to be scared by mobile phones, read a news report on whether or not they give you brain cancer instead.