Friday, December 3, 2021

The Call: a treat for those who hate obnoxious teens

Greetings, commies!

You can never have too many revenge horror/thrillers featuring obnoxious, impulsive, selfish American teens. Check out The Call, a deeply satisfying, intellectually intriguing paranormal horror flick.

Synopsis:

In the fall of 1987, a group of small-town friends must survive the night in the home of a sinister couple after a tragic accident brings them to the couple's door.

My thoughts:

First of all, let me assure you: you are NOT a monster for gloating when obnoxious, self-centered teenagers get their comeuppance. In fact, it's one of the few acceptable guilty pleasures. There is a reason why teeny slasher movies with elements of torture porn are popular: too many people have less than pleasant memories from high school days, and too many people have fantasized of exacting revenge on their insufferable classmates. For that reason, movies about teens getting trapped, tortured and potentially killed will never go out of style. 

Bad acting and less than authentic costumes aside, "The Call" has a fairly intricate, intellectually stimulating concept framework. There is something to be said for setting this particular movie in the 1980s, before the popularization of mobile phones and the internet. Sometimes limiting technology actually opens up plot possibilities. The writers have to find new creative ways to use outdated technology.