South Korea has given us some of the most inventive and genuinely terrifying horror films of the last few decades. Phone(2002), however, is not one of them. This is the horror equivalent of answering a telemarketer at 2 a.m. and realizing you’ve made a life-altering mistake. Directed by Ahn Byeong-ki, Phone tries to combine supernatural terror with melodrama, family drama, and Beethoven for some reason, but what it mostly delivers is a cinematic voicemail we all wish we could delete.
Ghosts, Pedophiles, and Real Estate Problems
Our protagonist Ji-won is a journalist who exposes a pedophilia scandal. Bold career move. In return, she gets endless creepy phone calls. Rather than, say, changing her number and moving to a new city, she does the sensible horror-movie thing and moves into her sister’s house — which, surprise, doubles as a mausoleum.
Her niece/daughter (don’t worry, the script will make this as confusing as possible) answers the wrong call one night, and suddenly she’s possessed, sexually jealous of her own mother, and batting her eyelashes at her dad. Nothing says “scary ghost movie” like a subplot that feels like it was cut from a rejected Law & Order: SVU episode.
Meanwhile, Ji-won keeps seeing a long-haired ghost playing Moonlight Sonata on the piano. Which begs the question: if you’re going to be haunted, wouldn’t you at least prefer Chopin?
The Diary of a Mad Teenager
The investigative legwork reveals that the cursed phone number once belonged to Jin-hee, a pregnant teenager who was madly in love with — you guessed it — Ji-won’s brother-in-law Chang-hoon. Because nothing says “sympathetic horror villain” like an older man stringing along a desperate teenager until she conveniently disappears.
The revelations pile up faster than bodies in a bad slasher: Jin-hee’s ghost possesses children, Chang-hoon is a sleazeball, Ho-jung (Ji-won’s sister) is infertile and jealous, Ji-won’s niece is actually her biological daughter thanks to an IVF twist, and oh yes — Jin-hee’s body is literally inside the walls of the house. Imagine HGTV’s House Hunters: Haunted Edition: “We love the open floor plan, but the corpse sealed in the wall is a bit of a dealbreaker.”
The Climax Nobody Wanted
The big reveal comes courtesy of Ho-jung, who confesses she killed Jin-hee during a staircase scuffle. She’s not only jealous of Jin-hee but also of her sister, because who doesn’t want to turn their family drama into a Greek tragedy with cell phones?
Chang-hoon conveniently dies to tie up loose ends, Ho-jung attempts arson like she’s auditioning for Chicago, and then Jin-hee’s spirit decides she’s had enough of being Beethoven’s ghost intern and strangles Ho-jung to death. Ji-won, who has been through hell, solves the problem the way every rational human should have in the first place: by tossing the cursed phone into the ocean.
Cue the final shot: the phone rings underwater. Because nothing says “sequel bait” like aquatic telecommunication.
The Real Horror: The Script
Let’s be clear: this movie wants to be The Ring but ends up as The RingTone. The scares are telegraphed, the melodrama drowns any actual tension, and the possessed child subplot is less horrifying than it is deeply uncomfortable. Instead of creeping you out, it leaves you wishing you had a cursed call of your own to interrupt the runtime.
The film tries to weave themes of obsession, betrayal, and family dysfunction, but it does so with all the grace of a drunk uncle at a wedding karaoke machine. Yes, ghosts are scary. Yes, cursed phones are unsettling. But do we really need a subplot where a child is sexually possessed by a ghost? That’s not horror. That’s therapy bills.
Performances That Deserved a Better Script
Ha Ji-won, bless her, gives it her all. She plays Ji-won with a straight face even when being menaced by a Nokia possessed by a moody teenager. Kim Yoo-mi as Ho-jung goes full melodrama, chewing scenery like it’s her last meal. The ghost Jin-hee looks the part with her wet-hair aesthetic, but honestly, her piano skills are scarier than her haunting.
If anyone deserves credit, it’s the poor kid actress playing Young-ju. She had to channel Oedipal longing, ghost possession, and childhood innocence all in one. Somewhere in the afterlife, Freud is applauding.
Missed Opportunities
The scariest thing about Phone is how much potential it wastes. The premise — cursed calls and supernatural vengeance — could have been a chilling meditation on modern technology and isolation. Instead, the movie devolves into a mash-up of soap opera twists and bad ghost story clichés. By the time we get to the haunted wall cadaver reveal, you’re too numb to care.
Also, let’s talk about the cursed object itself: a phone. Horror thrives on everyday objects turned sinister (The Ring’s VHS tape, Pulse’s internet, It Follows’… well, sex). But here? It’s just… a phone. Half the time you expect the ghost to be calling about your car’s extended warranty.
Final Verdict: Call Screening Recommended
Phone wants to be a terrifying modern ghost story, but what it really is is a melodramatic missed call. It’s a jumble of clichés, awkward subplots, and Beethoven product placement masquerading as horror. The film’s attempts at suspense feel like waiting for a call that never comes, and when it finally does, it’s a wrong number.
So should you watch Phone? Only if you want to see how not to handle a horror premise with promise. Or if you’re nostalgic for the days when flip phones were terrifying. Otherwise, let it ring.
