Cellphone

Technology have changed our lives completely. Through our cellphones we can pretty much do everything ourselves such as buy a car, buy music, order take out, pay our bills, read a digital newspaper, we don´t even need a TV anymore if you can watch movies and news on apps instead on your cellphone. I know some people don´t always like a more modern society and i have no problem with it, if technology can help us make life easier it is a good thing. Of course if the electricity goes out that is a problem, but then it is good to have a survival kit at home such as canned food, instant coffee, a gas lantern or perhaps candles ( depending on if you are outside or inside your home ), bottled water and other things that might come in handy. Some other good things about having a cellphone is that you can Skype and talk to anyone worldwide without paying lots of money for foreign calls, you can also use Google maps in case you are lost somewhere. There are many good advantages of using a cellphone and i am sure it will get even more developed in the future when im an old fart ( 47 this month so i am getting closer i guess ). I remember when i got my first mobile phone back in 1999 as i bought a Ericsson A1018. The coolest thing you could do back then was sending text messages to your friends and i remember especially sending text messages to my best friends Patrick, Anders and André at that time. It didn´t matter what we did if we worked or not we would text message each other talking about going to the cinema or VHS store. Too be honest i actually prefered meeting my friends in real person, text messages just made it easier arranging meeting each other. Speaking of cellphones there have been films made in the past talking about cellphones, especially in the horror category. A personal favourite of mine is the 2003 Japanese horror film One Missed Call from director Takashi Miike, a film that really manage to capture a really creepy vibe regarding strange cellphone calls, but also the idea that each call you will hear yourself speak right before you die. A really effective combination and when the truth comes out who is behind all of this you will be suprised. The first film is the best and the sequels that followed were ok, they just couldn´t capture the same creepy feeling as the original film. There was an American remake made but it´s nowhere near as good as the original Japanese film. Speaking of cellphones not that long ago i sat down while watching films on VOD and came across a horror film called Cellphone. Not knowing much about it the poster did look interesting so i decided to give it a chance. Is this a horror film you should see this summer or is Cellphone as predictable and incredibly dull as Jake Paul´s hiphop singles?

Wynne ( Whitney Rose Pynne ), who is suffering PTSD from the death of her fiancé Liam ( Jared Noble ), starts seeing disturbing images on her cell phone about her future and the past as well. Each detail that reveals itself forces her to struggle with her PTSD even further.

Without giving away too much away regarding the plot you can basically say that Cellphone is a very simple film. This is the kind of film you would call a slow burn film, meaning that it doesn´t rush into anything and takes it´s time to build up tensions. I am actually one of those people who can enjoy slow burn films if they are well made, have great characters and especially include an interesting plot. When it comes to Cellphone i have to admit that this is a very basic horror film. It doesn´t take any big chances or doesn´t really try anything groundbreaking. I think if you are going to do a horror film where a cellphone takes a lot of space of the film you should try and do it in a effective way. Even if this film does include a lot of cellphone references i think the most imporant detail about this film is how the main character Wynne ( played by actress Whitney Rose Pynn ) is struggling with PTSD and this is where we do find the most interesting part of the film. How does PTSD affect you? How do you function in ordinary day life while trying to do your best to stay positive? This is where i feel the real story of Cellphone becomes far more fascinating than the cellphone connections. The cellphone scenes are of course a part of her PTSD struggles but it is the stress disorder itself that makes the main character interesting. To be honest though i am not sure i would call this a pure horror film, i might have to call this more a psychological thriller drama since the horror elements are not that powerful. Actress Whitney Rose Pynn gives a performance that matches her character well. Actor Justin Malik Jackson as the character Chris is quite a fun character, you never really know what he will bring to the table and is odd in some ways but still charming. Nice to hear legendary actor Malcolm McDowell speaking through the cellphone conversations with Wynne. Cellphone is a mixed bag for me when i look at the film overall, i appreciate the film to trying to bring up the importance of understanding how PTSD may look like while trying to combine it with a cellphone story. Rating this film is actually quite hard for me since i do enjoy parts of it while feeling there are elements missing to make the film even more interesting. I will say this though, at the end of the day i appreciate Cellphone for trying to tell a story regarding PTSD and why we need people to understand what a struggle it is for many people worldwide. Director Luke Sommer directed a short film called Cell Phone back in 2012 and this is his full feature film version based on that short film. I do think he have made a film that could start conversations regarding the subject of PTSD and for that i am grateful. If you enjoy slow burn films, this might be a film you would appreciate.

Rating: DDD