Don’t Hang Up is flying under the radar for the most part. I mean, did you even know this movie existed until right now? While it may seem like an elongated film that pays homage to the opening kill scene of Wes Craven’s Scream, Don’t Hang Up would have fared beautifully in the mid-to-late 2000’s when horror remakes and teen horror films were really popular. That is the reason why, I think, Don’t Hang Up isn’t receiving the warm welcome that it deserves. Its story-line has been done before and its cinematic style belongs to a generation that expired just a few years ago. Still, it ended up being better than I expected and it still had some solid moments that were worth the price of an On Demand rental. So, read my review of this title below and see if you think it might be worthy of the same treatment on your end.
Don’t Hang Up is written by Joe Johnson and directed by Alexis Wajsbrot and Damien Mace. Don’t Hang Up serves as the feature length directorial debut for both film-makers who previously worked as visual effects artists on Hollywood blockbusters including Cloverfield and Hannibal Rising. It stars Gregg Sulkin (“Faking It,” “Pretty Little Liars”), Garrett Clayton (“The Fosters,” Hairspray Live!), Bella Dayne (“Humans”), Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil: Apocalypse), Jack Brett Anderson, Edward Killingback, Philip Desmeules, Alex Dee and Jane Ryall. Sulkin and Clayton are on popular television shows and are easy on the eyes, so their inclusion as the lead actors directly relate back to this being a teen horror flick.
I was skeptical of this movie when I first started my reviewing. The big question was – how interesting could this be when it takes place in one house the entire time? I think the movie changed locations only three times, and one of those switches moved from inside the house and into the backyard, so it doesn’t count. Fortunately for the script-writer and whoever chooses to purchase Don’t Hang Up, the story stays alive on its own even while it’s cooped up in a cozy two story house. It was carried out like The Strangers, where the leads had know idea where the killer was coming from, and its use of technology like live-streaming and face-time gave it that extra air of cool that can be found in Unfriended. All of the technology points of the story were used to their full advantage, but I think the cat and mouse games in the house could have been used a little bit more. The suspense rises to a massive level – you’ll have to see why – and adding a different kind of suspense could have raised that bar a little higher.
Don’t Hang Up is unexpectedly bloody and has a bigger body count than a story such as this would usually allow. I’m glad these two all important barriers were broken considering the story-line, while fun, has been done before numerous times. The plot follows a duo of phone pranksters who post their cold-hearted pranks on YouTube so the world can gawk at the naive, scared women they hassle over the phone. After several successful videos, the boys’ night is ruined by a man known only as Mr. Lee who uses their own tactics against them. Only Mr. Lee is more depraved, vicious and calculated and he’s out to get the young men in more ways than one. What he puts them through is a long, scary night of violence and tough choices that they, and some of their friends, may not survive. If anything, the stationary plot and location allowed Gregg Sulkin and Garrett Clayton to showcase their acting chops in an emotionally gripping and realistic way. They’re able to carry the entire movie on their shoulders while dodging a masked killer, a night of unknowns and even each other.
I would say that Don’t Hang Up is a mix of teen horror and homages to many iconic and popular movies and remakes. It’s definitely got more than meets the eye, but I don’t think I’d watch it a second time. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Save this one for a rainy night or when you’re drinking with a group of friends. Final Score: 7 out of 10.
