One Missed Call 2 (2005) User Reviews

Average horror sequel

[Rocco3000 · 6/10 · 28 July 2005]

The strangest thing about this movie is that even though all of the characters are speaking Japanese, the whole affair feels like an American remake of a Japanese horror film.

The first One Missed Call was quite the rip-off of the current flavor of the month, when it comes to Japanese-style horror films. Fortunately, it had the talented Takahashi Miike at the helm, therefore even though it didn't really offer the viewer anything new, it still had that Miike flare to it that made all the difference.

One Missed Call 2, is brought to us without Miike and it is apparent to us from start to finish. And we end up with a bland rehashing of old themes, average acting, and nothing special in the dialogue department. Admittedly it is still scary at times, still no where as near as its predecessors of the genre. And the ghost story behind it all is not as compelling either.

One Missed Call 2 is not a waste of money, however, and can still entertain you if you are a big fan of the Japanese horror genre, or even of horror films in general.

A Reasonable Sequel

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 23 August 2008]

In Japan, the daycare teacher Kyoko Okudera (Mimura) is convinced by her colleague and friend Madoka to visit her boyfriend Naoto Sakurai (Yû Yoshizawa) in the restaurant where he works instead of studying as planned. When the owner Mr. Wang answers the cellular call of his daughter, he receives a message telling that he would die in an accident in the kitchen that immediately comes true. Later, Naoto is visited by the snoopy journalist Takako Nozoe (Asaka Seto), who is researching the death call, and she plays the deadly ring tone for him. He recalls that not only Mr. Wang, but also Madoka have received similar calls. Meanwhile Kyoko is talking to Madoka and she sees a ghost in her phone. She rushes to Madoka's apartment and finds her dead in the bathtub, with Naoto and Takako arriving immediately after. Their investigation shows that Mimiko's grandfather Wei Zhang is in Taiwan and Takako asks her former husband Yuting to search him. Meanwhile, Kyoko receives a phone call and the autopsies of Mr. Wang and Madoka indicate the presence of coal dust in their lungs and no candies in their mouths. Takako, Naoto and Kyoko travel to Taiwan expecting to solve the mystery and save Kyoko from her fate.

"Chakushin Ari 2" is scary like most of the Asian horror movies, and has a promising beginning supported by a good sequel of Takashi Miike's "Chakushin Ari". I saw both movies in sequence and I found many explanations about characters and situations of the first movie. However, like in the first story, the conclusion the movie is confused, not clear, needing interpretation of the pretentious plot point that contradicts the whole plot and character development; therefore, the screenplay writer Minako Daira or the director Renpei Tsukamoto or both failed since they were not able to transmit a clear conclusion of the story to the audience. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Chamada Perdida 2" ("One Missed Call 2")

Unfairly Criticized

[ebossert · 6/10 · 12 May 2007]

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.

Poor

[atinder · 5/10 · 15 April 2008]

This movie is not as good As the 1st, but still very good Sequel. i would Say this is the Worst one out of the Trilogy.

The Plot One Missed Call 2 introduces us to Kyoko and her friend Madoka. Both women are teaching assistants at a kindergarten in the middle of Tokyo and when the pair aren't working, they seem to spend a lot of time in a Chinese restaurant where Kyoko's boyfriend, Naoto, works. It is here that Kyoko first encounters the cursed ring tone.

While enjoying a night out with friends at a Chinese restaurant, Kyoko receives an eerie call, but strangely, instead of dying three days later, tragedy strikes almost immediately and not to Kyoko directly. Since one of the deaths in the original film occurred on television, both Kyoko and Naoto are familiar with the urban legend and find themselves at a loss as to how to solve the problem. Luckily for them, a plucky journalist named Takako ) is on the case, enlisting the help of Detective Motomiya (a returning Renji Ishibashi) who's pieced together quite a bit about how the curse works.

I Can't tell you too much about this because, it will Ruin the movie as there are few Twist and Turns, Which are really confusing at times and You will need to re- watch this movie, more than once to understand it.

And finally - This is a good Sequel, as it had some really good Creepy scene in this movie.

What i didn't like in this movie was the Twist, They are really Confusing, it hard to understand what going on and acting was On and Off in some place, Few people are lazy in some scenes but most of time they can act .

i Rate this movie 5 out 10

Play with me.

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 18 July 2009]

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.

More killer calls

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 13 April 2020]

One year later, One Missed Call 2 continues the story of cursed cell phone calls.

Kindergarten teacher Kyoko Okudera and her friend Madoka Uchiyama are eating at the restaurant where Kyoko's boyfriend Naoto Sakurai works. The chef, Mr. Wang, gets one of the cursed calls from his daughter's phone, which immediately sets his face on fire.

Yumi Nakamura - the survivor of the first film - is still missing ever since she killed Hiroshi Yamashita a year before. Now, the killings are about to start all over again.

These cursed cell calls are happening all over Taiwan, always leaving behind traces of coal. The truth is that Mimiko has not been stopped and neither has her reign of terror.

The second of these films is directed by Renpei Tsukamoto, who has spent much of his time directing TV miniseries.

Superior, shocking sequel

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 22 September 2016]

This is a superior sequel to the 2003 original, directed then by Takashi Miike. ONE MISSED CALL 2 is better because there's a better director on hand, Rempei Tsukamoto, who actually seems to believe in his source material, rather than Miike who adopted an offhand, workmanlike approach in the original film. This one benefits from similar scares but a deeper plot that goes further into the origins of the curse story to try and find out that makes the ghost tick, rather than just being a string of gruesome and inexplicable murders. It also recalls the kind of Hong Kong horrors of the 1980s in which characters head off to foreign locales (here it's Taiwan) and run foul of backwards characters and the kind of primitive superstition that's supposed to have disappeared in the modern world.

The acting from the cast is excellent – whether it's the young couple caught up in the chaos or the female journalist trying to fix her own mental problems as well as solve the case. This is the main reason the film is better than the original – the actors just feel better here and the film goes off in a different direction, rather than just copying the formula of JU-ON: THE GRUDGE or RING, as did the original. That said, there are still plenty of effective scare moments and some grisly deaths, so fans who enjoy the formula will find something here for them as well. Camera-work and effects are fine. This may not be the loudest, most shocking or original horror film out there, but its mix of an intriguing and horrific storyline and solid chills and acting make it a superior one.

Not really scary but heart-wrenching.

[zombiefan89 · 5/10 · 23 May 2014]

One Missed Call 2 is more of a tragic drama that a horror movie. The ghost isn't sympathetic and all, just another Sadako/Samara rip off(Long black hair that covers her face, dressed in white, etc.) It fell into the same trap most horror movie sequels fall in, trying to rehash the original. What you get is a well-meaning, confusing mess. I gave it two extra points for the characters. The star-crossed lovers were very moving to watch. It's a clichéd horror movie romance, but it still worked here. It was a decent movie, but I'm getting rather bored with all the Sadako knock-offs. She had me going in One Missed Call, but as of know, I've seen enough Japanese horror movies to notice the pattern.

As worthy as the first

[cai_tian_long · 7/10 · 1 August 2010]

Chakushin ari 2 is a worthy addition to the One Missed Call franchise. It has a strong sense of narrative that drives the film, with enough twists to thwart the viewer when he thinks he already sees what's to come next. Certain scenes offer up subtle but truthful commentaries regarding man's mediated communication through technology, man's mediated relationships, and the obvious message of the first--abuse spawns more abuse.

This sequel is as good as the first in its attempt to create a world all too real and similar to our own yet with its own quirks and rules that gives possible space for the supernatural narrative. There may be times when the film lags with certain scenes that stay too long on screen but the general idea is one worth watching, not to mention the killer ending! :)

typical but inferior J-horror fare

[FieCrier · 3/10 · 17 November 2006]

I didn't care for the first one; it was competently made, but too derivative for my liking, along with multiple endings, the final one of which didn't seem to make sense. There was a funny line in this movie as some characters recalled the events of the first one and asked "how did that end?"

In the first, there was a chain of deaths linked by cell phone calls apparently originating with a death in a home involving Munchausen Syndrome-by-Proxy. The deaths typically involved some sort of poltergeist activity preparing a location for a death by falling, and then a person being dragged or thrown from a height. Some of the deaths involved twisting of the body in bone-cracking ways. One clue found on the bodies is a red candy, and each call is announced by an annoying ringtone taken from a children's television show (one that exists in the world of the movie).

In this one (I might have called it Two Missed Calls rather than One Missed Call 2), the manner of deaths, and clues and possible cause are mixed up somewhat. The two female leads are quite attractive. Again, I guess it could be said that it is competently made, but I didn't find it very interesting and again the ending involves some sort of twists that aren't particularly appreciated. Those who liked the first one a lot might enjoy this one too. The first one is being remade and I would guess that a sequel will be made to that one as well though it will probably not be a remake of this one (think the American Ring 2 or The Grudge 2).

There's a short film "gomu" on the second disc which takes place in the One Missed Call world, though when in relation to the two films, I'm not sure. It is poorly shot on video and isn't really worth the minute or two that it lasts.

One intriguing, surprisingly decent sequel.

[almagrimoira · 8/10 · 30 December 2008]

It is strange indeed how people dismiss sequels on the sheer basis of them not being 'distant' from their original! And to top it off those very same people repeat over and over that the only sequel that could surpass its original is Godfather II.

Talk about shamelessness.

Chakushin Ari 2 is a very powerful example of such cases. Even for a Miike Takashi fan such as myself, I cannot but bow to Renpei's unique entry.

Renpei Tsukamoto's style, at least here, does very much remind me of M. Night Shyamalan. It should be noted that I find it quite uneasy to endure 90 minutes of Shyamalan's viewers-are-mentally-challenged- and-my-mission-is-to- sing-them-a-lullaby 'technique', which, thank god, is not the case with Renpei. Rather, he uses Shyamalan's dream-like/fairy-tale atmosphere mixed with the harshness of classic Greek tragedies, as well as 'hidden' complex personae for his characters. Renpei also pays homage to the infamous Franco-ish nature-loving crossover, which sucks! Daira Minako provided an intriguing screenplay where each character's actions end up uncovering aims that might even contradict with what had appeared on-screen (note Ho's character as Nozoe Takako's husband). This device is taken to the extreme with the vengeful Li Li, whose reaction to others' compassion towards her past life ordeal is a merciless, cruel indifference(!), together with an utter hunger that makes her accept even replacement sacrifice.

Beautiful Mimura, with her cute accent, puts up a so-so performance, occasionally tainted by J-Horror clichés (one of them felt as if it had been ported scene by scene from Honno Gurai Mizuno Soko Kara) and the annoying turn-slowly-to-scream-at-some-ghastly-presence. The most noteworthy of all though was Yoshizawa's performance as Kyoko's boyfriend-- he could actually create something good out of a god-awful, flatly-written Hollywood-style character.

Seto Asaka (Nozoe Takako) was mediocre, while all the others were extra-ish more or less.

Plot devices taken from the original, i.e. the ring-tone and blue-skin ghost appearing in unlikely places, were used almost to the point of perfection despite the apparent excessiveness of the former.

The plot itself felt a little distracted and moved a little out of control as the Taiwan act starts; however, it soon manages to tie its knots and form a satisfying narrative. Ending was brilliant in a way, even though it clearly shows that Renpei wanted more space for his vision to be realised, and hence it is more of a cliff-hanger rather than an open ending like in the original.

Summing up, this picture is one of the most artistically-satisfying "mainstream" J-Horror titles, clearly surpassing its initial entry while introducing a Japan-made cross J-Hollywood taste to the genre.

Should have kept the deleted scenes in

[yrussell · 7/10 · 17 December 2020]

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.

Ignore

[Atavisten · 2/10 · 23 September 2007]

I was skeptical to Miikes entry to the ringu craze and this is a sequel made by an unknown director. No surprise then that this doesn't hold up.

The plot is a mystery to me and the buildup is weird. After jumping right into the action from the beginning with many "accidents" connected loosely through a particular ring tone it uses most part of the movie to explain the previous one (a often used tactic in sequels) and ends up boring in the end. Not that it was too exciting in the first place.

The taiwanese-Japanese sounded funny though (language wise). I wonder what the kids feel about the ring-tone, if they would be terrified to hear it now even after this dread.

Poorly done movie, horror-wise.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 4/10 · 2 October 2010]

Most disappointing aspect about this sequel is that it falls incredible flat as an horror.

It's a sequel to an already troubled first movie, that showed lots of premise with its main concept but was one that was not without its flaws and also fell kind of short as an horror movie.

I just can't see how horror lovers, or fans of the Japanese horror genre in particular, can get any satisfaction out of this movie. Seriously, most of the time there isn't a whole lot happening and its horror moment mostly consists out of people looking scared whenever they receive a phone call. And the other moment, the feature some more classic Japanese kind of horror elements, you most of the time have no idea what is going on.

Again, just like was the case with the first movie is that this movie becomes incredible confusing in its second half. I can't really say if this was because it was all hard to understand or simply because I had lost interest in this movie, halfway through. Whatever was the case, it ruined quite a lot for me. Before its second half I was still pretty much giving this movie the benefit of the doubt and was still willing to give this movie a better rating then I'm giving it now.

What also really doesn't help this movie is that it has some incredible poor acting in it. It especially ruins a lot of the supposedly scary and tense moments.

Otherwise, it's one fine looking movie, with a typical Japanese horror look and style all over it. Nothing about this movie is basically bad looking, so all the blame could be put on the movie its script and acting.

Disappointing sequel to an already average movie.

4/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

An interesting premise with a weaker tale.

[bevryy · 6/10 · 31 March 2022]

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!

I even got completely disappointed about Japanese Horrors.

[blackpose · 3/10 · 27 April 2005]

I can clearly remembered the frightening moments I have when I saw the Chakushin ari 1, which is considered as one of the most classic Japanese horror movies. But this one,the following one, is just like something went wrong in the writer and the director.

The whole "horror" story went in a very gentle way. I can say that I was not frightened even one single time. The actors played dull and stupid. this is an horror movie that makes me sleepy.

The director was changed to a rookie who is completely unknowledgable about directing a movie.(He just made some series before). And the bad script again make the movie die.

I even got completely disappointed about Japanese Horrors.

A very well done film

[Tokyo-1997 · 10/10 · 7 October 2010]

I watched this film 3 years ago after renting the DVD in a shopping mall near my house. This is an excellent film that builds up tension and fear towards the end of the film. The last twenty minutes of the film were very terrifying. I had nightmares after watching this movie. The actors and actresses play their roles very well. I highly recommend this movie for any horror fans. This movie may not be as good as the first one but is still really chilling. The director manages to create an extremely creepy and dark atmosphere for this film. And do watch out there is a frightening twist at the end of this film. Spoilers below: People have been found with coal dust on their body instead of a candy in their mouth. Could there be another new curse? Our heroes goes to Taiwan to find out. There is a huge frightening twist at the end of this movie that isn't common in other movies. This movie is very slow pacing at the beginning. It takes a while to really grab you. But I can assure you, by the end of the film you will be really satisfied. Score:10/10

Barely better sequel to a rather decent original

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 8/10 · 7 March 2020]

With the events of the first film passed off as urban legend, a reporter helps a group of friends experiencing the same situation as the legendary tale featuring their cell phone receiving a message from the future of their death, and upon investigating finds that there was more to the curse forcing them to stop the chain of events.

This one had a couple of good points that helped it out. One of the big ones is the connection it has with the first entry making it exactly what a closely-related sequel should be like. This is important as it takes the first one and expands upon the elements introduced, at times rewriting them but still keeps enough of it to appear as to not be trampling too heavily on it, and it comes off nicely. Scenes, plot points, even characters, from the first one are touched upon and give it a deeper connection than expected. That it also decides to give us the true backstory also shines nicely, going into a lot more detail and being able to get into the mystery is a nice plus, and it also manages to showcase the disfigured and incredibly freaky-looking ghost, a tie-in with the events that are shown in this sequence, all combine with these other elements to give off a fantastic time that marks the best part of the film. The last plus here is the usual high-standard of extremely good ghost action present, and the hauntings are just as good. The first one, where the ghost creeping up on the video message is shown on the receiver but not to the broadcaster, is an immensely entertaining sequence that shows the real dangers of the technologically-minded ghost better than anything else and the outcome is still as shocking. A couple of other brief pop-ups are just as much fun and set the stage for the final half down in the underground mines. This is a fairly involved and extended segment with a lot of time devoted to it, from the haunting voices appearing to the lone victim, the action and setting working well and allows for an outstanding opening to a grand segment. The later attacks are just as fun, especially with the big highlight coming from the rock-projectile attack that is both inventive, clever and adds a special addition to a fun sequence. These are the film's good points as a few problems are holding it down. One of the main ones is that there's a large segment of the film that suffers from absolutely no action at all. The middle segment, when they learn about the family's true origins and the trip to Taiwan, is incredibly dull and slow-going as hardly anything at all happens during that time. That there's a lack of ghost action or even appearance during this time, is the main factor here as the film has them wandering around talking, spouting off useless plot meanderings that just amount to endless scenes building up with no payoff. That isn't even remotely interesting or exciting, and as a result, leaves these scenes feeling drained of life and it suffers a lot from its fun opening. The other problem here is the fact that the ending gag is played out for so long it loses its power and would've been fine if shortened. It starts fine but goes so long that it's staying power and impact are severely threatened and undermine how good it had been before then. These are the film's problems.

Rated R: Violence and Language.