Dont Hang Up 2016
Don't Hang Up (2016) review
I love horror movies but I feel like they are not as good as they used to be in the early 90s. The difference is originality, and most modern horror movies don’t have any, in my opinion. It feels like the same rehashed story over and over again, and this movie is unfortunately a prime example. Although there were some entertaining aspects, there were also some moments where they didn’t even seem to shy away from directly stealing ideas from previous horror franchises.
Don’t Hang Up (2016) is a british horror movie written by Joe Johnson and directed by Alexis Wajsbrot and Damien Mace. The story centers on two teenage pranksters, Sam (Gregg Sulkin) and Brady (Garrett Clayton) whose main hobby was to prank call and terrify people for some cheap laughs. One night the tables are turned on them by a maniac who continuously calls them and sends them into a level of horror they won’t soon forget.
First off, do kids really do this? I had a hard time believing that teenage boys would sit around and make prank calls for fun. The premise already seemed stupid to me. Then the caller starts spitting out some very familiar dialogue, such as letting them know he is aware of who they are by using their names to scare them. This was a great technique the first time I saw it in Scream.
I will say there were a couple things I liked. The use of social media to help bring the story to life was very effective. I was also impressed with some of the camera work, the sweeping shots and zoom shots added some character to the film, making it easier to watch for me.
This was mostly a generic modern horror movie with nothing really special to speak of, but it is mildly entertaining if you are bored and have nothing else to watch
Film trivia
- This film had a worldwide gross of 332,571
- Don't Hang Up was released on February 10, 2017. It was produced by WTFilms and distributed by Vertical Entertainment.
- This is Damien Mace and Alexis Wajsbrot's feature directorial debut.
- Damien Mace and Alexis Wajsbrot made this film as an homage to the teen slasher movies from the 90's such as Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
