Directed by Ben Ross. Starring Chantelle Barry, Rob Benedict, Monica Gambee. Gore/Suspense. Synopsis: Two young actresses take an arrogant and womanizing horror director hostage in his own home and torment him in retribution for the way he has tormented others both onscreen and offscreen.
Now, the box cover alone is going to start the heart of any true gore movie fan to fluttering. But, know this going in, this flick, in my humble opinion, is not really a horror film, its a suspense (or psychological thriller, if you will) with enough gore to qualify for the genre but not really all that much gore when you compare it to other pure gorefests like Hostel or The Hills Run Red. So, you gore hounds, you've been fairly warned, the torture and blood you will see here multiplied by two is equal to the first 3 1/2 minutes of a Saw flick.
But, I've got be honest with you, I kind of liked this one though I realize many will not. Its not only a lower budget flick but has that feel, something I like but realize not all people do, especially the type of film fans who believe ever flick they see should blow them away with incredible CGI and/or do something that has never, ever, been done on film before.
The theme in Call Back, good old fashioned revenge, is nothing new (there isn't anything like that under the sun, right?) but it is certainly something we can all relate to at some level. The plot is simple and straightforward, if a tad unbelievable...our antagonist is a self absorbed horror movie director (Rob Benedict State Of Play) who is looking for his next scream queen. We see from the outset that he is not very politic in his assessment of those actresses who don't fit what he is looking for, telling his assistant that one young actress from Russia (Chantale Berry) "doesn't speak English well" and is probably "a slut".
He thinks he finds what he is looking for in Meadow (Monica Gambee) and he definitely wants to hire her...the only problem being that her "scream test" was easily the worst of the bunch. So, why is he willing to work with her to improve, coincidentally enough for him to invite her to his spacious home for a little practice in a different, more calm enviroment? Well, it seems that this is kind of a habit of his, inviting actresses back to his place and, if I may use the phrase, putting them through their paces.
Now, some of the more cynical among you likely think he has ulterior motives and, believe it or not, you're right. In fact, he wants to partake in a little "celebration of the flesh" (made that term up myself, what do you think?). But, it doesn't get that far, as Meadow has something else in mind...specifically, giving the director a taste of his own medicine.
She's not alone, as it turns out the Russian girl is Meadow's girlfriend, and I mean that in the literal sense of that word. After surprising him with a blow to the head, he is tied up and tortured by these two lovely young ladies.
Why are they doing this, you might be asking yourself Ahhh, that is a question that was racing through my simple mind during the majority of the movie but I will tell you that it is answered definitively in the movie but I can't really tell you without being the proverbial spoiler. I will say this...we learn it is not the first time our illustrious filmmaker has pulled-or attempted to pull-this stunt. It just doesn't work out for him this time, to say the least.
Now you have the basic outline of the movie and you'll probably want me to give you an idea of why I like it. Is it because I like the images of two beautiful women making out with each other hot and heavy in between torturing their victim? I wouldn't say I liked that aspect, though I 've seen worse things on film. Is it because I think torture with a tweezer, playing tic-tac-toe with knives on flesh, or putting a severed finger in a blender is cool? Nah, can't say that, either.
What I can say is that the acting in this flick is surprisngly good. No disrespect to any of the three main characters, but just judging from the box cover, you're not likely to expect Oscar winning performances, and you don't get them here, but you do get good ones. Shockingly enough, this is, in my opinon, the rarest of animals" a lower budget gore flick that is character driven.
Benedict is good here as the guy we like to dislike, after all we need to feel some level of antipathy towards him, don't we? But, not too much, and for most of the flick you'll probably be thinking "the guy is a turd, be he doesn't deserve this." Well, maybe, maybe not.
But, to me, Gambee really makes this flick work. She is completely believable as a borderline psycho/ tormented past victim of violence and I would pick up another flick just because she's in it based on her performance here.
Like I said, this won't be everybody's cup of tea, but no film is, and I think if you go into without too many preconceived ideas about what is should be, you just might really appreciate what it is.
Now, the box cover alone is going to start the heart of any true gore movie fan to fluttering. But, know this going in, this flick, in my humble opinion, is not really a horror film, its a suspense (or psychological thriller, if you will) with enough gore to qualify for the genre but not really all that much gore when you compare it to other pure gorefests like Hostel or The Hills Run Red. So, you gore hounds, you've been fairly warned, the torture and blood you will see here multiplied by two is equal to the first 3 1/2 minutes of a Saw flick.
But, I've got be honest with you, I kind of liked this one though I realize many will not. Its not only a lower budget flick but has that feel, something I like but realize not all people do, especially the type of film fans who believe ever flick they see should blow them away with incredible CGI and/or do something that has never, ever, been done on film before.
The theme in Call Back, good old fashioned revenge, is nothing new (there isn't anything like that under the sun, right?) but it is certainly something we can all relate to at some level. The plot is simple and straightforward, if a tad unbelievable...our antagonist is a self absorbed horror movie director (Rob Benedict State Of Play) who is looking for his next scream queen. We see from the outset that he is not very politic in his assessment of those actresses who don't fit what he is looking for, telling his assistant that one young actress from Russia (Chantale Berry) "doesn't speak English well" and is probably "a slut".
He thinks he finds what he is looking for in Meadow (Monica Gambee) and he definitely wants to hire her...the only problem being that her "scream test" was easily the worst of the bunch. So, why is he willing to work with her to improve, coincidentally enough for him to invite her to his spacious home for a little practice in a different, more calm enviroment? Well, it seems that this is kind of a habit of his, inviting actresses back to his place and, if I may use the phrase, putting them through their paces.
Now, some of the more cynical among you likely think he has ulterior motives and, believe it or not, you're right. In fact, he wants to partake in a little "celebration of the flesh" (made that term up myself, what do you think?). But, it doesn't get that far, as Meadow has something else in mind...specifically, giving the director a taste of his own medicine.
She's not alone, as it turns out the Russian girl is Meadow's girlfriend, and I mean that in the literal sense of that word. After surprising him with a blow to the head, he is tied up and tortured by these two lovely young ladies.
Why are they doing this, you might be asking yourself Ahhh, that is a question that was racing through my simple mind during the majority of the movie but I will tell you that it is answered definitively in the movie but I can't really tell you without being the proverbial spoiler. I will say this...we learn it is not the first time our illustrious filmmaker has pulled-or attempted to pull-this stunt. It just doesn't work out for him this time, to say the least.
Now you have the basic outline of the movie and you'll probably want me to give you an idea of why I like it. Is it because I like the images of two beautiful women making out with each other hot and heavy in between torturing their victim? I wouldn't say I liked that aspect, though I 've seen worse things on film. Is it because I think torture with a tweezer, playing tic-tac-toe with knives on flesh, or putting a severed finger in a blender is cool? Nah, can't say that, either.
What I can say is that the acting in this flick is surprisngly good. No disrespect to any of the three main characters, but just judging from the box cover, you're not likely to expect Oscar winning performances, and you don't get them here, but you do get good ones. Shockingly enough, this is, in my opinon, the rarest of animals" a lower budget gore flick that is character driven.
Benedict is good here as the guy we like to dislike, after all we need to feel some level of antipathy towards him, don't we? But, not too much, and for most of the flick you'll probably be thinking "the guy is a turd, be he doesn't deserve this." Well, maybe, maybe not.
But, to me, Gambee really makes this flick work. She is completely believable as a borderline psycho/ tormented past victim of violence and I would pick up another flick just because she's in it based on her performance here.
Like I said, this won't be everybody's cup of tea, but no film is, and I think if you go into without too many preconceived ideas about what is should be, you just might really appreciate what it is.
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