The Call

www.call-movie.com/site/

I'm not one for "scary" movies. 

Most of them seem to be all about counting how many limbs can be chopped off and how much blood spurts out of a severed artery before a scantily clad blond dies screaming, leaving little room for actual fear, just disgust. 

I have not seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre LXVI, and no, I'm not curious enough to see this year's installment of The Devil's Omen of Paranormal Signs on Friday the 13th blah-de-blah. Not interested.

Instead, it's the movies that thrill and chill my mind that I find truly terrifying- the psychological thrillers that leave the gore off screen, because really, the monsters we imagine in our minds are always scarier. 

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Except for this guy. Pan's Labyrinth was visually freaky, man.

The Call was this kind of movie- the kind that had me on the edge of my seat, gripping the arm-rests of my couch for dear life.

There are still hand imprints on my pillows.

This level of anticipation began after a slow opening and then lasted for, oh, most of the movie, and I felt this way while watching a woman named Jordan (Halle Berry) talk on the phone to a girl named Casey (Abigail Breslin).

Keep in mind that Casey is locked in the trunk of a car, kidnapped and on her way to certain doom, and Jordan is a 911 emergency response operator, but still, it was a movie made up of two people talking on the phone. Such a simple, terrifying premise, and so, so good.

Halle Berry has had her ups and downs, and this is absolutely an up. She is convincing, not over the top, and about 20 minutes in, I stopped seeing her as a famous actress, but as an unnaturally pretty 911 operator. Kudos to her.

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I almost forgive her for this. Almost. 

Abigail Breslin has always been something to see, from Signs to Little Miss Sunshine, and she doesn't disappoint in The Call. By the end, you'll be calling out "You can do it, honey! Don't give up!" just like I was.

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No, I am not afraid to admit that I yell at the TV. A lot.

As the movie's credits scrolled up the screen, I couldn't help but feel that everything up until the ending (which was totally over-the-top) could have really happened, and probably has happened. 

Now that's creepy. 

On the plus side, this movie acts as an exciting guide on what to do (and what not to do) if you find yourself kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a car. 

Absolutely worth the rental- be prepared to hold someone close and never let your children go out alone without a cell phone.