| Dial:Help (1988) 94 min |
| aka Ragno Gelido Love Threat Minaccia D'Amore |
| It's not surprising that Ruggero Deodato's Dial:Help gets a lot of mixed reviews from fans of the directors work. The film is nonsensical, silly, and at times, quite baffling! Regardless, Deodato still seems rather fond of it in a recent interview (contained in Fab Press's excellent book - Cannibal Holocaust and the Savage Cinema of Ruggero Deodato) and I have to admit that I am too. I'll be the first to admit that all the above accusations are quite true, but in the end all that remained was a slick fun film. No one involved is silly enough to be taking such an awkward concept seriously, the fun performances combined with Deodato's surprisingly glossy direction make this a light but superbly entertaining film. |
| The story involvess a young woman named Jenny, who seems to be having a difficult time getting a hold of her estranged boyfriend via the telephone. After she mistakenly dials a wrong number, she apparently taps into a murderous force that falls in love with her (I honestly can't blame the phone, as Charlotte Lewis looks absolutely stunning here). Jenny is then stalked at just about every turn by horrific events all centered around the telephone. While the film does hold together cohesively, mainly because of Deodato's strong story telling capabilities, it is admittadly emphasizing the individual setpeices. Luckily, the episodic adventures are all highly entertaining. Never before have I seen a phone wreak such havoc on the unsuspecting victims! Highlights include coins shooting out of a payphone and lodging into a man's skull, phonecords wrapping around people's necks, an aquarium full of dead fish, and I shouldn't forget those excellent stalking shots (from the telephone's POV, of course!). There's a few other doosies that I wouldn't want to ruin for you here. |
| So in case I didn't stress this fact enough, or you didn't gather it from the above plot synopsis - this movie is under no circumstances to be taken seriously. In the right state of mind I think most Eurohorror fans should have a good time with this. Most will scoff ('A killer telephone?! Now I've seen everything!') but that's not who this movie is designed for. I see this movie as being made for horror fans who are looking for a light late night treat to possibly share with some open minded friends. I see this as a good group film as most scenes should be successful in getting the desired laughs. |
| Aside from the unlikely plot, there is still a lot to appreciate here. First and foremost of which is Charlotte Lewis. She garners more sympathy than one would expect in such a plot and looks damn good while doing so. Contrary to popular belief though, she does remain clothed for most of the movie. While she is stranded in some skimpy negligee for a portion of the end of the film, people who are only looking for skin here will nevertheless be disappointed. Nude or not though, Lewis looks very good and does well with the character (and manages to say some pretty unusual lines with a straight face). Though Lewis clearly stands out from the rest, the supporting cast does a fine job too. William Berger has a small but interesting part towards the middle. Deodato does his usual cameo right in the begining song as some happy guy chatting on a payphone! Speaking of songs, Claudio Simoneti once again collaborates with Deodato (they previously worked together on Bodycount, Cut and Run, and would later team up one last time for The Washing Machine). Simoneti is probably my favorite film composer, and he definitely doesn't disappoint here. The music is terribly dated to the 80s, but I happen to be a real big fan of that sound. I've read complaints about the opening song. While I'll concede that it is a bit hokey I'll always be the first to say that it brings a smile to my face and fits the film well. The film has such an 80s look (note the huge cordless phones!) that it wouldn't seem right any other way. |
| As much as I do like the film, I will say that it was marketed terribly. I've read complaints on the internet about the lack of nudity. Normally I would be the first to write that person off as a moron and move on, but that doesn't apply to this case. It seems to be classified as an 'erotic thriller' and the box only shows Lewis in various states of undress (also, that nipple shot that seems to be everywhere I look is the only one in the movie). I approached the movie as a fan of Deodato, but blatently fucking with people's expectations is a terrible idea. The movie doesn't stand a chance if people are only watching it as a skin fiick. I wouldn't even blame the people for this either. The box screams late night Showtime soft porn. They probably think Lewis's character is on the run from some abusive spouse (seeing as that's a story that we need to hear again, right Michael Apted?). I can't imagine people have any idea what to make of it when the sadistic telephone claims its first victim! Anyway, my point is, is that under the right circumstances I think this could be a very entertaining film. |
| The Prism video is out of print but is probably still kicking around the thriller section of some old video stores. EMS put out a pretty nice region 2 PAL DVD. So if you have the capabilities to play it, Luminous has the DVD for a pretty low price. The trailers included are pretty funny as they include mostly American films that have been domestically available for quite a while (like The Dentist 2). The widescreen transfer is pretty nice, not animorphic. The sound is pretty clear the whole way through. The menus are pretty fun, featuring a female finger dialing the evil phone. The interviews mentioned on the site are probably pretty interesting...the only problem is that they're in Italian text only. All in all though, for $14.99 this is a very good disc to own. |
| I give this one 3 1/2 vigilante payphones out of 5! |
| review by Joe Canistro 05/19/2002 |
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