Genres

Visitors Review

MARIO GAUCI 2013-05-17 03:40:04

DIAL: HELP (Ruggero Deodato, 1988) *1/2

This is only the fourth effort I’ve watched from this director (whom Imet and found quite genial at the 2004 Venice Film Festival ItalianB-movie retrospective) and also, possibly, the worst. As was the casewith THE BRONX EXECUTIONER (1989), which preceded it, this is a primeexample from the tail end of the Euro-Cult era – prime because it showsthe depths to which the previously invigorating style had fallen bythis time! Here, in fact, we get a plot revolving around – I’m not kidding, folks– a killer phone! Pretty but bland Charlotte Lewis – in her third filmafter PIRATES (1986) and THE GOLDEN CHILD (1986) – is a model who,apparently, has just ended an affair; she keeps expecting her architectlover to call her back but, every time the phone rings, all she gets isstatic accompanied by voices from the beyond (or some such crap). Shebefriends a new tenant at her apartment block who, conveniently, knowsof an authority on paranormal activity (William Berger) – who,hilariously, explains that the negative energy which is unleashed, say,during family arguments can manifest itself via home appliances into adeadly force (I swear I ain’t making this up)! Among the highlights...er...lowpoints of the film are: the grumpybartender from whose dingy place the heroine calls a couple of times(it seems that the chain-of-events can only be broken by having Lewisgo through her paces again, EXTERMINATING ANGEL (1962)-style!), thesheer variety of preposterous-looking phones on display, the apparatusof the heroine’s photographer friend sneaking up on her before thekill, the sarcastic cop who greets Lewis on reporting the strangeoccurrences (“And what’s the toaster up to, I wonder?”), the would-berapist killed by a barrage of coins shooting out from a telephonebooth, and Berger’s own bloody demise (with the phone affecting thepacemaker he’s fitted with and causing the doctor’s heart to explode)! The film’s climax is rather confusing and, apparently, finally sees allthe ‘lost souls’ inhabiting a flock of doves and flying out the windowof the ‘possessed’ office (a lonelyhearts service!). For what it’sworth, the score – by ex-Goblin Claudio Simonetti no less – iseffective enough, despite the inclusion of dated heavy-metal numbers onthe soundtrack.

Crazy 2013-05-16 16:22:59

terrible!

What a sales gimmick! This is certainly not an erotic thriller. There isafraction of a second nipple flash at best, and this is while….being seducedby….her possessed TELEPHONE! She spends the entire movie running aroundscreaming and terrified by eerie sounds on possessed telephones around thecity. Through the stupid chaos of telephone cords attacking people, fishdying from telephone squeals, and quarters shot out of a pay phone killingaguy, this movie should have been placed in the low budget horror section.It doesn't earn the title thriller or erotic in the least! For a bettermovie with Charlotte Lewis see Bare Essentials instead.

docmav 2013-05-01 20:25:22

The phone line is dead

Whilst this is by no means a great film I found it intriguing. As afilm starring one of my favourite actresses (Charlotte Lewis) I havelong sought it on DVD and now I have watched it I am glad that I havemanaged to add it to my collection. The premise of the story is alovely young model who seems to be haunted and attacked through variousphones. Perhaps the idea is not well realised through the film but Iunderstood the plot and the final denouement was neatly executed. Couldeasily visualise this as an X-File and dare I say that Charlotte madefor a lovely Scully to broaden the parallel!! For Charlotte fans, likemyself, I would recommend it but as a casual viewer you might find itlacks the impact you might expect from other films in the genre.

Chesterfield_Invincible 2013-05-01 01:49:26

One of the Most Beautiful Women in Pictures in Recent Years, Wasted in This Trash

I admit, I was taken in by the provocative stills of Charlotte Lewisfrom this film, as well as a comment on the IMDb message board devotedto her, calling this picture a "great underrated film". And so I got,with great difficulty, my own copy of "Dial Help".What a waste.Nothing but a cheaply-made blood and gore movie with a ridiculouspremise which I'm not even going to repeat, with several telegraphedsequences (for instance, when we see Lewis lovingly feeding her fish,we know right away what's going to happen to them later). Not evenLewis, with her beautiful raven hair, large and luminous brown eyes,full and pouty lips, and stunning figure, can save this film. Lewisfans would be better off with "Bare Essentials", "Sketch Artist", oreven "Golden Child".

Michael A. Martinez 2013-04-26 16:37:13

Saddening

It is truly saddening to see a once-great director such as Deodatodelivering such a second-rate giallo such as this. This movie was soterrible it effectively put an end to his movie career. The box lies,thisis no "erotic thriller", hell during the film's 97 minute running time,Charlotte Lewis barely shows us one nipple! I thought it would pick uponceWilliam Burger showed up (in one of his last roles), but his character iskilled off rather abruptly and lamely. This movie fails in pretty muchevery way. Claudio Simonetti's music is little more than noise, and theplot made very little sense at all. For some reason, Lewis is terrorizedbyghosts which attack using phones. (?) By the end, the characters all seemtohave forgotten the previous 90 minutes of hell they went through, andcasually laugh as they sick the evil spirits on someone else, Lewis'sex-boyfriend. What?!? This movie did little for me besides anger me....and bore me half to death. For genuine 80's Deodato fun, watch THEBARBARIANS or THE ATLANTIS INTERCEPTORS, let this one rot on the videostoreshelf. Argento could make a better giallo than this!

davelawrence666 2013-04-26 03:26:19

I refuse to believe this was directed by the same man who created Cannibal Holocaust

This film is embarassing. All the way through, I was waiting for theDeodatotwist, or the cool disturbing symbolism, or even a hint of great Deodatocamerawork, but, sadly, I was still waiting when the end-credits began toroll.Definitely the lowest point in Ruggero's career. See House At the Edge ofthe Park instead, and steer clear of this cringe-making killer-telephonerubbish.

HumanoidOfFlesh 2013-04-19 15:25:36

A waste of time.

A stunningly beautiful Charlotte Lewis stars as a woman who isterrorized by a ghosts who torment her on the phone.Driven to the edgein terror Charlotte is forced to confront this chilling mystery inorder to save her sanity and her life.I can't believe that RuggeroDeodato,the director behind "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale","CannibalHolocaust" and "House on the Edge of the Park" directed this absurdpiece of trash.Admittedly the music by Goblin front man ClaudioSimonetti is pretty good,but the story is painfully stupid.The scriptby Franco Ferrini is ridiculous and it makes no sense,the acting is badand there is absolutely no suspense.The scene in which a prospectiverapist of Charlotte Lewis is killed by coins ejected from a subwaytelephone is more than laughable.Don't waste your time with this pieceof crap.There are far better Italian horror movies out there!

Coventry 2013-04-19 03:38:10

Have-been Horror Directors Hotline, how may we help you?

Ring! Ring! Have-been horror directors hotline, how may we help you?Um…yeah…Pronto! I mean hello, my name is Rugge… err, call me by myinitials R.D! Okay Mr. R.D, what seems to be the problem? Well thereviews on my latest movie "Dial: Help" were all negative and harshand, frankly, I myself feel like my career has seen better days aswell. Okay Mr. R.D, and why do you suppose that is? Well, I gained fameand a well-deserved cult status thanks to my controversial and shockingmovie about savage tribes of cannibals devouring a film crew andanother one about relentless thugs terrorizing wealthy people in ahouse at the edge of the park, for which I borrowed the idea from WesCraven, but "Dial: Help" revolves on … err… never mind! No no, Mr. R.D,go ahead and tell me what the film is about. Um, it's about aspiritually possessed phone line stalking a sexy model and killing thepeople surrounding her. Ah, I see. That premise does indeed sound alittle silly and not as petrifying as cannibals or rapists, but Isuppose there are deeper themes in your film, right? Oh yeah, sure… Um,what do you mean by that? Well, isn't the phone line symbolism foranother kind of terror? Or perhaps it's all just happening in the mindof your female heroine? Um, nope… It's just about a phone going berserkand murdering people with the cord, vibrations, electricity or evenordinary coins. Interesting, Mr. R.D, but how do you explain all thissupernatural stuff to the viewer at the end of the movie? You see, Ifigured the slowly unraveling phone-mystery plot wouldn't be thatimportant or relevant, so I just concentrated on processing allpossible phone-gimmicks I could think of. Phone gimmicks? What do youmean? You know, like wind blowing through the horn, mind-penetratingdial tones, and turn-tables catapulting into the air! Very original,Mr. R.D, but not exactly horrific and as an experienced director youmust know that, in the end, people expect a reasonable clarification ofall these events. Oh, but there is! It all has to do with negative andunreleased energy, if I remember correctly! It's all a bit fuzzy, Iadmit. Hmm… I see. Oh well, as they always say, a good motion picturerelies on more elements than just the story. Did you at least processsome of your regular trademarks into the film, so that your fans atleast recognize your style? I tried! Lord knows I tried, but themurders and bloodshed are simply not shocking anyone! That's a pityindeed, Mr. R.D, but what about sex? Everyone likes a good portion ofsleaze and nudity in their horror films and you said yourself the filmcentered on a sexy fashion model in peril! Yes, but … But what, Mr.R.D? Well, to tell you the truth, we kind of promoted "Dial: Help" asan erotic thriller with revealing shots of Charlotte Lewis on thecover, but in reality there's no sex in the film and Charlotte evenrefused to go topless. Mr. R.D! Now I'm really disappointed, that'sjust shamelessly ripping people off and lure them with false promises!I know, I know, and I'm ashamed, but I just wanted everybody to rent"Dial: Help" and love it! Well, to round up I can comfort you by sayingthat every major director is entitled to a few erroneous decisionswithout it affecting his/her career immediately, but be more cautiousnext time and do some research first, okay Mr. R.D? I will; thank you!You're welcome. Tell me, have you got any ideas for upcoming moviesalready? Yeah, as a matter a fact, I do! I was thinking about making aGiallo with a murderous washing machine! Doesn't that soundfascinating? Hello? Hello?

paxter 2013-03-25 07:19:25

Don't be folled by the cover

Don't be fooled by the plot out-line as it is described on the cover (atleast the Swedish version). The story on this seems rather interesting,withspeculative hints. Nothing can be further from the truth. This is theabsolute most sad movie experience I've ever had... It is plain and rightAWFUL and should not be sold or rented to anyone. If you still think theplot seems intriguing, reflect on this: telephones can move, run and killpeople as can also any other electric appliance. It can throw things atyou,haunt you and run after you. PLEASE DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE it is adisgracefor the horror genre...

The_Void 2013-03-24 21:24:27

Tedious and boring! What happened Mr Deodato?!

Well, I was hoping I'd heard wrong about this film as I'm a big fan ofRuggero Deodato and really didn't want to see him slip up; butunfortunately, this Giallo-styled supernatural load of nonsense is justas bad as I'd been lead to believe it would be - and that's prettyterrible! The plot doesn't work at all, as the film attempts to blendmurders and a supernatural theme through a telephone and it all feelsvery forced and silly. Furthermore, the plot doesn't make much sense atall, and you have to ask yourself "what's the point" numerous timesthroughout the movie. The plot focuses on a young woman living in anapartment block and being terrorised by a telephone. The best thingabout the movie is undoubtedly the presence of the beautiful Englishactress Charlotte Lewis, and unfortunately the good points pretty muchstop there. There are a handful of deaths scenes, some of which aregory; but all of which are incredibly stupid, the one that sees someoneget killed by coins sticks out especially in that respect. Overall, Ireally can't recommend this to anyone; non-Deodato fans are unlikely toimpressed, and Deodato fans are likely to find the film depressing.Avoid!