Bibz Spoils | The Call (2020) | Movie Review, Explanation, Ending Thoughts

Been a while since I’ve done one of these movie reviews, but I think that this warrants it. Today I’ll be talking about The Call, staring the lovely Park Shin Hye and the captivating Jeon Jong Seo. (As well as sharing my personal ending explanation)

This is a spoiler filled movie review, so i highly suggest that you perhaps click away somewhere else if you don’t want this movie to be spoilt for you because it most definitely will be spoilt the second you start reading 2 paragraphs in.

Ok, I warned you.

Now seriously.

I’m going to spoil this movie really hard.

Absolutely last warning.

Okay, you’re going to read this anyway? Let’s start with the review.

Cast

Park Shin-hye as Seo-yeon
Jeon Jong-seo as Young-sook
Kim Sung-ryung as Seo-yeon's mother
Lee El as Young-sook's mother
Oh Jung-se as Seong-ho
Lee Dong-hwi as Baek Mi-hyun
Park Ho-san as Seo-yeon's father

The Plot (With Spoilers, like seriously if I spoilt this movie for you this is really your own fault)

Skip towards the end to hear my take on the ending.

It basically all starts when Seo Yeon (PSH) loses her phone on the train after visiting her mum in hospital. She digs up an old phone from the cupboards and tries to dial her phone number. Ultimately her actual mobile phone is just the instrument at which she stumbles upon the real villain of this movie: this time travelling phone.

After that, she suddenly receives her first call from Young Sook, only Young Sook isn’t looking for Seo Yeon, she’s looking for her friend Sun Hee. YS mentions that her mum is crazy but realises that she probably stumbled upon a wrong number.

Next scene cuts to SY’s mother and she has some form of brain cancer and basically there’s a bad prognosis. She’s thinking of where she should be buried - she wonders whether she should be buried next to her husband - Seo Yeon takes offence to that because we later learn that SY’s dad was killed in a fire 20 years ago - with the additional twist which I’ll talk about later on.

The wrong calls to that landline persist and SY basically just thinks that YS needs help from her mum. Of course at that point in time she’s not really thinking that this is something happening 20 years ago and that she can even do anything about it.

Nothing really happens for a bit and then one night Seo Yeon starts hearing noises in her house. But I mean if you’re suddenly living in a big house by yourself where your father died I wouldn’t think it is beyond the realm of possibilities that you do begin to hear things but I digress. She finds the source of the noise and hammers down the wall (like most sane people who hear things in the middle of the night).

Seo Yeon finds what is Young Sook’s mum’s secret exorcism lair (I don’t really know to be honest, because that seems like the only time it was properly used in the movie). She also stumbles into Young Sook’s old diary. She realises the connection when the diary suggests her mum burning her before she receives a distressing call from Young Sook that her mum is burning her alive.

Next part is basically them developing a relationship and just talking about themselves. Young Sook needs a bit of evidence and Seo Yeon provides it in the form of a plane crash that is about to happen in Young Sook’s time.

Then suddenly they meet in real life…. 20 years ago. It’s the scene of Seo Yeon’s family being about to move into the house. Seo Yeon (present time) is emotional as she hears the voice of her father, who incidentally died 20 years ago (was supposed to die in a few days time).

So they try something. Seo Yeon gives her the address of her old house and Young Sook rushes to stop the gas leak which ultimately killed her father. Young Sook learns a devastating secret which we find about later on but stops the gas leak.

Things change. Seo Yeon is dressed now in a pretty purple dress. Her house is suddenly more modern and chic. An outcome of her dad being alive, her family has better economic fortune. Her mum is fine (which I don’t actually understand too much because the brain cancer thing should really just not be affected by this change) and her father is alive. Seo Yeon is grateful beyond words.

Next scene: Young Sook being exorcised by her shaman of a mother when Seo Yeon picks up the phone. Seo Yeon does some googling and she finds out that Young Sook is about to die on that night to her mum.

Young Sook is prepared for the ambush and almost struggles to believe that her mum would actually try to kill her. Her mum says that she has visions of her killing a lot of other people, so this is one of those ‘greater good’ kinds of things. But it proves a few things: a) a shaman cannot beat a time travelling landline and b) that I guess at least she wasn’t entirely a sham.

This kicks off a series of murders starting with their next door neighbour who chances upon the dead remnants of Young Sook’s mother. Seo Yeon learns about what happened to them in the present and tells her it is not okay and that she is about to go to jail for the rest of her life. Young Sook refuses for this to be the outcome and reminds her that she saved SY’s father.

But I don’t know, SY did save your life so doesn’t that make it even? Maybe it’s just me. So Seo Yeon just ignores the calls for a bit, trying not to help a serial killer.

But low and behold, Seo Yeon (1999) and her father (1999) end up at YS’s front door, supposed to meet with YS’s mother. She traps them and SY sees her father (2019) disappearing in front of her eyes. Only then does she return the call.

2019 changes drastically for SY. Her house is in tatters, her clothes are dark and drab. She picks up the call. YS threatens her with SY from 1999. GG. SY goes to work to plan to try to trap YS. She finds an explosion in 1999 on that day and says that a man has evidence from her murder on that day.

By pure chance, YS makes it out alive with a new vengeance for SY. YS starts scalding 1999 SY with boiling water. That burn is felt all the way in 2019.

We then learn that it was SY who turned the gas back on after her mum closed it in that accident (I’m not exactly what convinced her to do it from that TV show programme, but I digress).

It’s SY’s mum and a policeman’s turn next as they go and see what happened to her husband. But back in 2019, SY finds like 15 fridges in the basement - bodies of YS’s serial killings being kept. But you would SERIOUSLY think that with that kill count and the fact that she killed POLICEMEN, you would seriously think that those bodies would have NEVER made it to 2019 in these sleek samsung fridges. But as again, I’ll just treat it as it is: a movie.

But it reaches a point whereby YS makes it to 2019 in one piece. SY’s mum (1999) tries to call her husband with the time travelling phone. 2019 YS quickly warns her mum about the danger before the policeman is killed right in front of her.

SY’s mum manages to push YS off a staircase. Back to 2019, SY tries to find her mum and she’s alive, yay! Happy ending, roll credits.

The Real Ending…?

But that’s not it. Her mum disappears beside SY and a clip plays that shows 2019 YS telling 1999 YS to keep the phone with her no matter what. A clip of her regaining consciousness after falling off the staircase and then SY in an electric chair, suggesting that after all this, YS is alive and well.

So, you guys probably came here to hear my take on the ending. Here it is.

Initially, I thought the movie didn’t follow its own principles. I didn’t want any nonsense about her being crazy and all that because that makes this whole discussion very lame. Just like how you write an essay in high school ending with “And Jimmy woke up and was thankful it was just a dream”.

But then, upon review, you can see that there is a parallel timeline: one in 1999, one in 2019. What you see in 2019 is only visible once the change is made in 1999. So initially I questioned why in the world we cut back to a scene to YS (2019) warning YS (1999) about the police and SY’s mum coming. That kind of destroys the formula of the movie.

But you have to remember that what is seen in 2019 is only reflected when decisions are actually made: i.e. SY’s father didn’t die immediately in 2019 once YS decides to kill him. He only dies the MOMENT where YS physically kills him in 1999.

This means that the scene of 2019 YS calling 1999 YS is actually a flashback of what actually happened before YS is pushed off the staircase and this means that 1999 YS actually survived the fall, as evidenced by her regaining consciousness.

Of course this with the assumption that everything happens too - like SY’s mother taking the phone and receiving that call, etc. I’m basically trying to say that the phone was next to her based on the instruction from 2019 YS and it’s more about keeping the phone with her going forward (despite whatever she does with SY).

So ultimately what happens is that YS regains consciousness and decides to kill SY’s mum - hence the disappearance. SY is still seen walking because the decision hasn’t been taken as to what will happen to her yet. Ultimately, YS decides to keep her locked up (because obviously the young SY is already kidnapped by her).

I mean with so many people missing (including policemen) SURELY in reality you send a bigger police task force to investigate. Not like you just keep killing forever, regardless of whether you have information 20 years ahead but I guess it’s a movie, don’t overthink it.

Review

9/10. A bloody good movie if you ask me. Seems like it is not following their own principles of time travel at time but on reflection, it does. The music is great, the acting phenomenal with Jeon Jong-Seo’s (Young Sook) maniacal laughs and Park Shin Hye’s outstanding range (honestly loved her in this movie in comparison to some of her romantic dramas).

The cinematography and colour contrast when scenes change is great, the outfits stunning and reflective of changing the future. Honestly a REALLY good watch for me.

I feel like there is SO MUCH more symbolism in this movie that we’re going to be seeing on the interwebs soon. Something about gummy bears, something about that lotus root thing YS was eating, maybe even some bizarre theory about how one of their names is YS and the other is SY. I don’t know, but I’m almost certain that this is one of those movies that is filled with easter eggs.