Phone (2002) is a Korean entry into the genre. The film finds reporter Ji-won needing a little down time. An article she wrote about wealthy men getting schoolgirl lovers has been getting her threats from the philandering sect of grumpy men. She's been followed, received threatening phone calls, and opened email containing doctored photos of herself bloodied and murdered. So, she retreats to her friends vacation home and has her phone number changed. But, from the moment she moves in, a new set of phone calls (static mixed with screaming) and weird visions begin to plague her.

After picking up one of the strange calls, her friends young daughter, Young-ju, begins to behave strangely. Ji-won puts her investigative skills on the case and finds that the previous owners of her phone number all met strange deaths. The beginning seems to stem from a highschool girl who disappeared. Meanwhile, faster than you can say Linda Blair, Young-ju's behavior worsens, she is given to fits of anger against her mother and possessiveness of her father, and Ji-won suspects that the little girl may be possessed.

Now, anyone who isn't a stranger to the modern supernatural Asian horror film will see all of the cliches right off the bat. Scary girl- Check. You even have not one, but two, the schoolgirl and Young-ju, the child. Ji-won's journalist occupation seems a little too close to the woman in the The Ring, who was also a reporter. There is the imagery of the ghosty-girl having long strands of hair. There is the modern appliance as the carrier of the paranormal curse. Flashbacks, macguffins, mystery; it is all the formula that has become commonplace in The Ring, Ju-on, and Tomie series, as well as Kairo, Dark Water, and many others.

Having said that, you may expect me to say that Phone is just another tired imitator. Not so fast. While there is something to be said for originality, in many genres, especially horror, that just ain't always going to happen. Especially when popularity breeds cloning, you can at least hope there will be some entertaining clones. Phone is one of them.

Phone panders to all of the established rules and plotting but does so with an engaging and slick production that is punctuated with some good scares/horror imagery and an involving story. Despite the b-level nature of the genre, most of the actors are not (pardon the pun) phoning it in. The standouts are Ji-won Ha, who gives a good everygirl, lead performance, and especially little Seo-woo Eun as Young-ju, who pulls off one of the best creepy-kid roles in the history of horror cinema. So, while it offers nothing new, Phone is still entertaining and amounts to a mixed bag of the best that this trend of Asian horror has to offer.

The DVD: Tartan

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. The framing for the film is kept very tight and claustrophobic. General print quality is very clean. Sharpness and contrast details are refined. Grain is fairly heavy but this is purposeful as a murky mood enhancer. As I said, it is a very slick production and it really comes across in the visuals. I couldn't find any glaring technical problems with the transfer.

Sound: Korean language DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0 Surround tracks with optional English or Spanish subtitles. The audio presentation really enhances the jumps that are essential to this kind of film. The surround does a good job of keeping the scares sneaking up on you from different angles. Good, mix, clear dialogue, nice fx, and a lushly presented score.

Extras: Interviews with the director and cast ranging form 5 minutes long to under a minute.— Three "Making of" Featurettes (44:15) (5:50) (13:17).--- Deleted Scenes. Oddly, all of these scenes are presented either from rehearsal footage or b-camera crews, so it appears like no actual "filmed" versions exist.— Scene Specific Commentary. Enamored with the cuteness of kiddie star Seo-woo Eun, she gets to comment on some of the scenes. Yeah, cute (and oddly disturbing when she says she rehearsed with her own father to do a kissing scene- ick) but not much else.— Epilogue (2:07). Basic footage from the films wrap party.— TV Spot and Promo Footage.

Conclusion: An entertaining entry from Korea to the ever increasing pile of Asian spooky horrors. The DVD presentation is solid, though some of the extras are pretty lightweight and not worth repeating. A good buy for fans of this latest horror trend.