KRMN-058 · MOVIE NIGHT

The Call

2020 • Lee Chung-hyun

ORIGINAL TITLE콜
GENREThriller / Mystery / Science fiction
ABOUT THIS FILM
RUNTIME
111 min
FAMOUS QUOTE
“Should I kill her for you?”

Vibe

Immediate genre hookEscalating tensionStrong lead performancesDistinct Korean textureMoral pressureMemorable set piecesSharp visual storytellingTonal confidenceRewatchable craftAudience-friendly momentum

The Call centers on two women connected across twenty years turning a telephone premise into a vicious contest over memory, causality and control. Beyond the immediate plot, the film turns on communication as causal power: intimacy becomes dangerous because each woman can rewrite the other’s reality.

MOVIE NIGHT RANK
#58 of 100

Watch for

  • Learn the practical rules behind two women connected across twenty years turning a telephone premise into a vicious contest over memory, causality and control in The Call, then watch how each rule changes a relationship, debt or choice rather than merely expanding the premise.
  • Repeated objects and locations keep two women connected across twenty years turning a telephone premise into a vicious contest over memory, causality and control tangible in The Call; the speculative device becomes most revealing when it creates an ordinary cost.

Production notes

The Call was directed by Lee Chung-hyun and released in 2020. Lee Chung-hyun’s feature debut stars Park Shin-hye and Jeon Jong-seo as women occupying the same house in different years. KOFIC lists Yong Film as producer and Contents Panda as international sales. Netflix identifies Lee Chung-hyun as director and Park Shin-hye and Jun Jong-seo as the leads.

Trivia

  • The film is based on the 2011 film The Caller but substantially reshapes the premise around Korean family history and temporal cause-and-effect.
  • Its planned theatrical release was disrupted during the pandemic and it reached a global audience through Netflix.
  • The original Korean title is 콜.

Legacy

What survives beyond its release context is the precision with which The Call makes two women connected across twenty years turning a telephone premise into a vicious contest over memory, causality and control part of the viewing experience. Its legacy is best framed through its performances and time-thriller construction rather than broad unsourced claims.