Review of Don't Hang Up (2016) by Rodney W — 28 Jan 2018

Strengths: I think the concept for the movie was strong. It made for some tense moments and the voice work of Parker Sawyers (Mr. Lee) was chilling. Almost like Kiefer Sutherland in Phone Booth, but not as good. The lack of a genuinely happy ending for our protagonist was a nice change of pace. Having the ending tie back into the prank call at the beginning was also a nice touch.

Weaknesses: The film is ripe with clichés. Almost everything seen in this movie feels like a trope we've seen in many other, better movies before it. The lead actors, Gregg Sulkin (Sam) and Garrett Clayton (Brady), give very lame performances. Everything they do feels forced. It's a shame, because I like Sulkin on Marvel's The Runaways. Even if their acting was strong, the characters were very unlikable. I know they were meant to pay for what they did in the past, but at no point did I feel sympathy for them. Add in Peyton (Bella Dayne), who was also unlikable, and there was no reason for me to care about them.

Overall: Full of expected clichés, Don't Hang Up doesn't break any new ground in the genre. There are some interesting moments, and a particularly good voice performance from the villain. I enjoyed the ending, but too much of this misses the mark to be worth recommending.