The Call Review: Lin Shaye Shines In This 80s Horror Callback

Release date: October 30, 2020
Running time: 92 minutes
Starring: Lin Shaye (Insidious, The Grudge), Tobin Bell (Saw, Jigsaw), Chester Rushing, Erin Sanders, Judd Lormand 
Director:  Timothy Woodward Jr
Writer:  Patrick Stibbs 

From the creator of Final Destination, Lin Shaye and Tobin Bell star in this tale of death from the fall of 1987. After a tragic accident, a group of small town friends must survive the night in the home of a sinister couple. One by one, their worst nightmares quickly become reality as they enter the realm of The Call.  Each must call a strange phone for 60 seconds and hope that they can survive the night.  

You'll instantly recognize the main star of this film, Lin Shaye.  She has become a modern day scream queen as one of the main driving forces behind the Insidious series.  In this film she gets to play a more insidious character than in the namesake movies, and it was a lot of fun to see her play this.  And her husband in the film, Tobin Bell, is another easily recognized actor that is fun to see in a horror role.  They play the two adults in this film who have a confrontation with the group of young friends.  The rest of the cast are mostly young but well cast.  The characters aren't incredibly deep, and only little bits of their backstory are revealed at first.  You learn more as the movie progresses, but it would have been nice to have some more build up before the call part. 

And when the film gets into the call part of it, the horror really starts.  The call takes place in a creepy setting with a good horror aesthetic. And initially the film has a good amount of tension as you try and figure out what will happen next.  This is accompanied by some atmospheric music and sounds to keep you on edge.  And the call itself is a creepy experience, though it feels like it has been done before.  The unknown parts of the film really drive this, and you learn more as the characters learn more.  And as you learn more about the characters, the reveals do help to paint a fuller picture of what is going on.  However, the ending of the film left something to be desired.  Some characters make some uncharacteristic and frankly bad choices towards the end that cause the ending to fall flat.  The film tried to go for a horror ending but some of it feels forced.  

The Call gives Lin Shaye a platform to shine as a different, insidious type of character, surrounding her with a young cast and a creepy setting for this atmospheric 80s horror callback.

Rent it.

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The Call is available digitally and premium on demand October 30. 

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And make sure to check out our interview with Erin Sanders, who plays Tonya!  We discuss the film, her love of horror, what it was like filming an 80s period piece, and her Halloween plans!