Don’t Hang Up (2016)

Directed by: Damien Macé, Alexis Wajsbrot | 83 minutes | horror, thriller | Actors: Gregg Sulkin, Garrett Clayton, Bella Dayne, Sienna Guillory, Edward Killingback, Jack Brett Anderson, Robert Goodman, Michael Bodie, Philip Desmeules, Parker Sawyers, Alex Dee, Jane Ryall, Connie Wilkins, Chris Wilson, Chantal Eder, Bob Egerton

As long as cheaply made movies like ‘Saw’ and ‘Paranormal Activity’ are making a lot of money, clones of these low budget blockbusters will appear. The low-cost ‘Don’t Hang Up’ is a good example of this. This horror thriller hopes to benefit from both the hype surrounding torture porn and found footage films. Is this a cool copy or a hopeless clone?

‘Don’t Hang Up’ revolves around Brady, Sam and Mosley. These guys think they are a lot and like to let the world know. In their vlogs, they prank people via fake phone calls and put these humiliating conversations online. The victims cannot be seen, but they can be heard. If the trio themselves are called at some point, the roles are reversed. The teens are forced to play all kinds of cruel games and it’s clear that the voice on the other end of the line isn’t going to just stop. Hanging up the phone is tantamount to suicide.

Directing duo Damien Macé and Alexis Wajsbrot did not have a large budget available and that is immediately clear. The acting of the three boys is laughably bad. It’s almost impossible to sympathize with this trio, because these guys are so self-centered and stupid it gets painful. Perhaps that was the intention of the directors, but the fact is that these antipathetic characters get on your nerves so much that you hope for a quick and painful death. In addition to the not too strong cast, the cheap-looking camera work also stands out. ‘Don’t Hang Up’ sometimes looks like a found footage film made with an iPad. The fact that it’s about vloggers certainly plays a part in that, but with a bigger budget this production would have looked more attractive and enjoyable.

Despite the poor gameplay and the brackish appearance, this film manages to stick. This is partly due to the compact playing time of 83 minutes. ‘Don’t Hang Up’ has momentum. In addition, the mean main characters are dealt with in a bloody way and that feels satisfying, because you know what they have on their plate. Furthermore, the role of the mysterious caller is very nicely fulfilled. His voice doesn’t sound very threatening, but his compelling tone makes up for a lot. Because the motives of this person are not easily revealed, there is still something to guess. Who could that be? The ending doesn’t disappoint in that regard. The genre fan can best give this film a chance, because it is a decent mid-range.