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Hell Phone
Teenage Sid isn’t
exactly the coolest gamin on the bloquer. His best friend
is a bespectacled ginger, he is shy around members of the opposite sex
and doesn’t even own a mobile phone, tantamount in this day and age to
being a leper. Desperate to impress Angie, the glamorous and seemingly
unattainable object of his affections, he quickly sets out to remedy the
latter of these deficiencies by purchasing a devil-shaped cell from a
mysterious Chinese bazaar. In addition to being affordably priced, the
Mephistophelean mobile has the added bonus of being capable of
singlehandedly wreaking revenge on Sid’s detractors, such as his
recalcitrant maths teacher and the catty friends of Angie who won’t give
him the time of day. While this proves appealing in the short term,
matters quickly escalate out of control, though fortunately as the body
count piles up so do the laughs.
As an incurable
Francophile I was always going to have a soft spot for this
comedy/horror solely on the basis of its luscious shots of French
scenery and architecture, not to mention its equally luscious shots of
leggy Parisian beauties cavorting about in a variety of tasteful yet
skimpy attire. That Hell Phone is also laugh-out-loud funny,
charming and impeccably directed certainly doesn’t go astray either.
Jean-Baptise Maunier, heretofore best known amongst Western audiences
for his role in 2004s The Chorus, is perfect as the would-be
Lothario, and Angie (Jennifer Decker) and her cronies have likewise been
brilliantly cast.
It should be pointed out
that Hell Phone veers markedly more towards the comedy end of the
spectrum. Though there are certainly some inventive methods of
dispatch, those expecting real scares won’t find them on offer here. In
fact it’s downright wholesome, at least as far as films regarding killer
technology go. The violence is refreshingly tame and hammed up for good
comic effect, and much of the impetus comes from the solid performances
and polished screenplay, rather than the usual reliance on gore so
prevalent in this age of brutal straight-to-video slashers.
The only real deficiency
is the lack of extras. A bonus feature or two would have been a nice
additional incentive, but as is so often the case with R4 releases of
Gallic fare there’s nothing on offer in this regard. Still, this
cleverly scripted and highly enjoyable teen romp will appeal to a broad
audience, and should have little trouble attracting fans Down Under. It
looks to have been shot on digital, and though some of the headbanging
soundtrack tends towards the generic and the only audio option is a 2.0,
the sound and video quality are pristine throughout. Certainly worth
your three bucks the next time you’re down at Video Ezy! Unlike the
majority of horror films released these days this is also one that,
despite its unwarranted and gratuitous MA rating (it’s about a killer
phone for Christ’s sake), is actually suitable for younger viewers too. |
