The Phone (2015) User Reviews

Interesting enough action thriller.

[paulclaassen · 6/10 · 4 May 2019]

Interesting concept, but nevertheless very confusing, no matter how well they try to explain it. The film plays in two time periods at once, so you have to pay attention to not get confused. Unfortunately, I just didn't find it believable enough, as with films of this genre. 'The Lake House' is probably the best example, which I didn't enjoy.

'The Phone', however, is much more entertaining than 'The Lake House' and certainly much better. There are a few good action scenes and the suspense is well set-up, together with very good acting. Ji-won Uhm won the Best Actress award.

Is it a film I'd watch again, though? I doubt it.

Suspense Phones In

[dvc5159 · 6/10 · 18 May 2016]

The Hitchcockian thriller, having being ditched by Hollywood in favour of comic- book blockbusters, is alive and well in South Korean cinema. This incredibly suspenseful film by first- time filmmaker Kim Bong-Joo continues in the tradition of frustrating audiences with cracker-jack suspense, as he skillfully unveils the tale of how a politician (Son Hyun-Joo, very nuanced here), haunted by the loss of his wife (Uhm Ji-Won), gets a mysterious call from her a year to the date she passed. Without haste, he immediately tries to avert her death by informing her of future events, but both find out something's amiss when a particularly nasty villain comes into play. It's neo- noir by way of the Twilight Zone.

If you think this admittedly ludicrous plot sounds familiar, it does: it's similar to 2000's "Frequency" starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel, with a father-son focus, and an old radio instead of a husband-wife focus and phone, respectively. That American film had a much stronger dramatic dynamic that allowed the audience to invest better in the characters' plights, making their conflicts all the more intense. This film falters on that front, ironically succumbing to Hollywood's popcorn-minded temptations without rising above the genre, especially in the final third. There is a strong sense of urgency, yes, but the film needed a bit more fleshed-out characters for us to make us truly feel for every character's predicament.

No matter, Hollywood can rest easy knowing the genre is in capable hands. Better to play it safe than having it sink further below.

A good thrilling experience

[aji4u4ever · 7/10 · 16 January 2017]

Writer-Director Kim Bong Joo teams up with Sun-Hyun Joo (Korean Liam Neeson :P) for a time loop action fantasy thriller. After the murder of Jo, Ko was drowned in vein and was unable to keep the pieces. And after one year of Jo's murder, he starts to rebuild his life and career receives a call from his wife. He realizes that she is calling from the past and warns her about the murder and tries to find the murderer. Movie's script was okay (even though i have watched a similar themed movie long time back, didn't remember) and the fast paced narration along with the brilliant musical score kept the movie a thrilling one. Action choreography was okay. Some of the scenes were clichéd but it was also an okay experience. Camera-work and Lighting was good but not the best. Sun Hyun Joo's performance was okay. Uhm Ji‑won played Jo and she was okay. Bae Seong-woo was okay, but could have been better. A good thrilling experience My rating 7.3 on 10

Pretty much similar movie of "Frequency" (2000).

[ravijani · 7/10 · 30 December 2018]

I m gonna give it much star but this movie reminds and mostly parts are very much inspired from movie "frequency".. a Hollywood movie which came out on 2000. Though it's enjoyable. Because it's not fully copied..and likely very enjoyable.

Thriller with time travel concept

[akshayks-73711 · 7/10 · 14 May 2021]

Dead wife's call from past, later mystery, thriller,action.

Excellent plot, Good Making

[mijanur02 · 7/10 · 30 September 2022]

I always love to watch thriller movies, and somehow I search and found this movie. I enjoyed the entire movie. In some places, it was a little confusing but it's okay! All actor tried their best, and they produce good results.

This movie is not like other typical thriller movies, It's a bit more complex. You have to keep close your eyes to understand what going on.

So if you look for suspense and thrill this movie could be a good choice for two hours. A little bit of time travel also gives you science fiction feelings.

And last thing, the movie sound, making, music, and place were fair enough. It's don't make you bore.

Another Version of Frequency (2000)

[dknb_29 · 7/10 · 22 April 2023]

Watching this remind me of the Frequency movie (American movie year 2000). The aspects are different, but the main plot is the same. A person try to save a family member by telling them what will happen in the future. The past and present were connected by a weird phenomenon (a wave/magnetic field) enable them to communicate. This is a nice thriller, but lack of the originality. It's a good watch if you want an excitement weekend movie. It's just predictable at the end because there's already a lot of movies doing the same plot. The acting is great. Overall, this movie is nice executed. I wouldn't say that it's a much watch, but it's a decent watch.

Decent thriller covering similar territory to Frequency

[mcdaid · 8/10 · 2 April 2016]

The Phone is a perfectly decent watch. Son Hyun-Joo is the businessman who by going on a drinking session with his work colleagues is unable to stop the brutal murder of his wife. It also happens to be a day when there is extremely unusual solar activity which interferes with mobile phone communication. Fast forward 12 months and Hyun-Joo is beginning to put the pieces of his life back together and return to his job as a lawyer for the first time since his wife's death. Again there is unusual solar activity and on his way to work he apparently receives a phone call from his dead wife; dismissive at first he comes to realise that he is actually speaking to his wife on the day of her death. Hyun-Joo then desperately tries to convince his wife that her life is in danger in the hope of changing the course of events. This also has an impact on events in the present as history is constantly rewritten to take account of every change in the past. It is now not only his wife who is in danger; her killer is also aware that history is in danger of changing. The film moves along at a pace and certainly kept my attention; there are some similarities to the Dennis Quaid / Jim Caviezel film Frequency; not just the explanation for the ability to communicate across time, but also in the way that current events literally change before ones eyes as the past is rewritten. It is a stylish film which i hope gets a chance for some attention outside of Korea. Well worth a watch.

6.3/10. Watchable

[athanasiosze · 6/10 · 17 August 2023]

It's good. Similar to FREQUENCY, not as good of course. Not so overdramatic as you might expect, there is a "down to earth" approach here that it works, even though its plot it's not realistic at all. Acting is good, it's kinda intense and enjoyable. The only problem here was the running time, it should have been shorter. At some point, it dragged. Some scenes were not needed, it became too complicated without reason. However, it finds its rhythm and the ending is satisfying. Likeable characters, viewer roots for them and the villain was menacing enough, without being a caricature. Overall, i enjoyed it. Lower your expectations and if you like movies like FREQUENCY (2000), you will like it too. Still, not a MUST WATCH movie.

To eassy to guess

[tduc-42782 · 2/10 · 15 May 2019]

I really like this plot and and acting actors are also very good. But I can't image that is a thrilling movie.There are no unexpected factors that pierce the film and "is it the mood of a husband in the face of an assassin who kills his wife." Legally speaking this is a fairy tale for babies, extremely simple murder, but within a year the police could not gather any evidence :) are you kidding me? So 2/10 stars one star is for love with Korean movies, the rest is mandatory ^^. Of course I am not talented enough to make a movie so just sit here to write my own review but if I have a movie about this genre next time I hope the author will be "logical" a bit and should live in film to not produce such a superficial product.

Charming plot, fresh tricks.

[monoworks · 8/10 · 14 April 2016]

First, such an unfair called 'fantasy' movie. This movie looks more like well mixed realistic and surreal. Characters get confused when suspicious things happen. The bad guy's line represents it 'this is nonsense but it make sense'. I think this point of view makes The Phone stronger.

Second, the tricks were fresh. Most of time-reaction plot works were copycat, but the phone gently refuse those mistake. In police station sequence, smart presentation of time-reaction with a single notepad. Brilliant. Decent watch for whole two hours. Screenplay guy and the crew made it well done. Tracing sequence in lantern march was stunning, and the lawyer's house looks beautiful. Fine work. Recommended.

Watched via Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival 2016.

Embarrassingly bad, derivative, cliche-fest

[stairways · 1/10 · 10 December 2023]

Utterly trite, shallow, uninvolving and almost totally incoherent Korean movie taking its cue from the worst Harrison Ford / Liam Neeson spouse-murder-chase movies, a formula so bad that no one thought it could be further dis-improved by adding the conceit of frankly ludicrous parallel time zones, bad guys that are so obvious from their first appearance on the screen that you'd wonder why the police don't live outside their homes, and, as if the formula wasn't bad enough, a chase through a lantern-filled street carnival and the obligatory cutesy love scene between the (in this case dead) wife and the (haunted) husband trying to avenge her death. All together in a blender of bad weather and cliched showdowns, this adds up to a complete mess of badly directed, badly performed derivative garbage. An embarrassment from start to lament finish.

Great Korean Butterfly Effect crime-thriller

[jdsbwzmpm · 10/10 · 20 November 2021]

One of the best Korean crime thrillers I have seen. The movie that made me become hooked to Korean movies in the first place. If you like the concept of going back in time (in this case, one year) and the butterfly effect, this is your movie. All though a lot of time-switch movies are difficult to follow, this one is not. 5 years later the Korean "The Call" was released, in the same genre. Also, and maybe even better.

Hey! 2014 Is Calling And It Wants You To Keep Your Wife From Being Murdered!

[Foutainoflife · 8/10 · 16 August 2022]

Not a bad movie. Concept is simple enough. In 2014, a husband returns home after a long night of drinking with colleagues to discover that his wife have been murdered. A year goes by without the investigation making any progress. Due to a miraculous cellphone disruption caused by a solar flare, the wife from 2014 calls the husband in 2015 hours before she is to be killed. To save his wife they will have to work together to keep her alive.

I thought this had a decent plot, acting, action and suspense. It moved a steady pace and held my interest. The story is put together well aside from a couple plot holes that I'm willing to over look. A little more character development would have been beneficial. However, I wouldn't mind suggesting it.

Suspense and keeps you on edge

[seedsofdavid · 10/10 · 26 December 2021]

If you love frequency, signal, the call which are thrillers with past/future change. You will love this fantasy which, the cast future changes through a phone call.

Hello? Is it me you're calling for?

[kosmasp · 9/10 · 17 October 2022]

"Who you gonna call?" could have been another pun I could have used ... so I won't use my "catchphrase" and say no pun intended. To be honest most of the times there is some sort of intention. And talking of intention: your intent while watching this should not be to depict this and try to make too much sense of it. It is very important to suspend your disbelief! Because if you go on this ride - just take the thrill of it.

Because I am certain you could really rip this a new one (or multiple new ones), if you actually took the things that happened in the present and the past and compared them to each other ... and how it might work. Even the ending is ... well it does not work the way it is presented - logically that is. Because it does work for the viewer (the one that suspended their disbelief that is).

South Korea is able to do really good movies. Be it dramas, action movies, horror movies or thrillers ... this has parts of many of these ... and does a generally good job with most of them. The pacing is high enough to not make you think too hard while the movie is running .... and it is not just the movie that is running ...

Deo Pon is a style of story we have seen before but is still GOOD!

[silicontourist · 8/10 · 13 December 2022]

Its the usual good film standard from the South Korean film industry.

If you have seen films in the same vein as the superb 2000 film, 'FREQUENCY' (and the follow up TV series of 2016) then you will have an inkling of an idea what this film will dwell upon.

When a man on a post work drinking binge, with work colleagues, decides not to answer the phone call from his wife he suffers dire consequences; including a twist in the story you do not expect at all!

The next day he has some bizarre occurrences that he cannot, as yet, fathom out. Eventually he pieces things together and realizes that his wife has strangely been dead for a year and, he was partly to blame for her death when he neglected the phone call from her at his drinking night out.

The story then reveals itself as a strange supernatural event begins to unfurl as he suddenly finds out -in another call from his supposed dead wife- that they are both in contact with each other through a strange connection of time blending! They work together to find the person who murdered her.