Overall experience was of total amazement and delightÂ… despite such a goofy premise, the movie actually worked! One of the most amazing aspects for me, was that everything sort of made sense in the film. In 2008, I caught wind of this project concept for a horror/comedy/drama film about killer cellphones. I was fascinated... "this I gotta see".
The movie seems to poke fun at itself right from the start, and that alone made it interesting and totally endearing. About 2 minutes in, I suddenly found myself completely into the movie solely on its own merit.
Production quality was great, and despite one or two choppy spots it had excellent consistency, a cohesive film. Sound effects, from monster voicing to footsteps to ambient sounds were convincing, and I particularly enjoyed the score & thematic elements, and gunplay blended with on-screen action. The 'attack' of the phones was completely unnerving.
A true testament to Hellphone is that I actually caught myself criticizing it by comparing to present day major Hollywood blockbuster CGI. After seeing Hellphone, I realized that I was comparing a low-budget independent film to movies that had budgets of $25 million+! The directors accomplished feats in Hellphone that would have been impossible for ANY studio 15 years ago! The cellphone POV screen effect completely registered, and I seamlessly and subconsciously believed I was looking out through the inside of the phone. When comparing this movie to notorious independent film CGI offerings(the feet/birds in Birdemic come to mind), Hellphone sits high above the norm, which underscores the skill of director Jason Pierce.
The principle actors did a phenomenal job, and I absolutely accepted the fact that this was a small North Carolina caketown. The subplot's romantic complication was handled well, and I enjoyed the genuine imperfection and conflict among the 4 leads. Very clever character development, and not sappy or contrived.
The Unpleasant Surprise -- I was quite uncomfortable through parts of this movie. The reason for this was because I was genuinely scared. This was rather unexpected, and I had no intention of being frightened going in. Well done. For the first 15 minutes of the film, I completely 'bit' on the suspense that welled up in my gut every time a cellphone was answered on-screen. Masterful plot development.
Overall, Hellphone is a solid film on a shoestring pittance; a great treatment of a very challenging & potentially disastrous plot concept.
The movie seems to poke fun at itself right from the start, and that alone made it interesting and totally endearing. About 2 minutes in, I suddenly found myself completely into the movie solely on its own merit.
Production quality was great, and despite one or two choppy spots it had excellent consistency, a cohesive film. Sound effects, from monster voicing to footsteps to ambient sounds were convincing, and I particularly enjoyed the score & thematic elements, and gunplay blended with on-screen action. The 'attack' of the phones was completely unnerving.
A true testament to Hellphone is that I actually caught myself criticizing it by comparing to present day major Hollywood blockbuster CGI. After seeing Hellphone, I realized that I was comparing a low-budget independent film to movies that had budgets of $25 million+! The directors accomplished feats in Hellphone that would have been impossible for ANY studio 15 years ago! The cellphone POV screen effect completely registered, and I seamlessly and subconsciously believed I was looking out through the inside of the phone. When comparing this movie to notorious independent film CGI offerings(the feet/birds in Birdemic come to mind), Hellphone sits high above the norm, which underscores the skill of director Jason Pierce.
The principle actors did a phenomenal job, and I absolutely accepted the fact that this was a small North Carolina caketown. The subplot's romantic complication was handled well, and I enjoyed the genuine imperfection and conflict among the 4 leads. Very clever character development, and not sappy or contrived.
The Unpleasant Surprise -- I was quite uncomfortable through parts of this movie. The reason for this was because I was genuinely scared. This was rather unexpected, and I had no intention of being frightened going in. Well done. For the first 15 minutes of the film, I completely 'bit' on the suspense that welled up in my gut every time a cellphone was answered on-screen. Masterful plot development.
Overall, Hellphone is a solid film on a shoestring pittance; a great treatment of a very challenging & potentially disastrous plot concept.