The Call

In 2019 Seo-yeon returns to her old house and takes a call on a cordless phone she finds there. On the other end, Young-sook is living in 1999. At first they help each other: Young-sook prevents the fire that killed Seo-yeon's father. Then it turns, and the one who can alter the past holds the one living in the present hostage. Lee Chung-hyun directed. Park Shin-hye and Jeon Jong-seo star. What the two women have in common is a damaged relationship with a mother. Principal photography ran from January to April 2019. A theatrical release was planned and cancelled because of the pandemic, and it went out worldwide on Netflix on 27 November 2020. All 12 Rotten Tomatoes reviews are positive with a 7.1 average. Jeon Jong-seo won Best Actress at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards and the 30th Buil Film Awards. Its strength is in the cutting: as time changes the rooms stay the same, and all that shifts are the marks on the walls and the traces people left there. Who it is for: viewers who like Korean thrillers and films that play with time. Who it is not for: anyone who avoids violence. The second half becomes a raw and extended serial killer film.