A FRANK MOVIE REVIEW: “THE CALL” 8

If you are a junkie for high-suspense, don’t miss The Call, now showing in most big screen theaters. It’s a thriller in the first degree.

This has nothing to do with chases, crashes, three-zillion bullets and female martial arts displays. Rather it’s edge-of-your-seat suspense that builds throughout the film into a chilling climax.

Halle Berry stars as a police dispatcher for L.A.P.D. confronted with numerous life and death situations in her career, as are many of the other dispatchers who are unsung heros in a thankless job which is the emergency life-line for millions of Americans every day. In this movie, she is faced with a call from a teen-age girl who is kidnapped by a psycho, trapped and terrorized, but able – in her situation – to make stealth contact with a police dispatcher (Halle Berry) pleading for her life. Berry becomes emotionally involved in the ensuing events that build in tension from beginning to end.

While Berry is the only A-level actor, other actors do a credible job of bringing realism to the story, particular the young victim,  Abigail Breslin, who is kidnapped.

If we measure frightening tension by pictures like Psycho, this nearly reaches that level and worthy of a movie ticket by folks who enjoy that kind of drama.

Only two criticisms:

1) A couple lines by cops were a bit corny

2) I think they could have come up with a more alluring title for the movie.

For tension and suspense, I give The Call – 8

Here’s a two-minute trailer: Click here: The Call (2013) – IMDb