Review of The Call (2013) by Jocey D — 01 Nov 2015

A Los Angeles Police Department veteran 9-1-1 operator, Jordan Turner (Berry), receives a call one night from a teenage girl, Leah Templeton (Evie Thompson), fearing for her life as a man breaks into her home. Jordan calmly advises her to conceal herself upstairs, but when the call is disconnected, Jordan calls Leah back, a decision that later costs Leah her life, as the ringing phone gives her location away to the intruder. Jordan attempts to dissuade him from going further over the phone. He responds "It's already done" and hangs up, leaving her distraught. The next day, Jordan sees a television report confirming that Leah has been murdered. Emotionally affected by the incident, Jordan tells her boyfriend, Officer Paul Phillips (Morris Chestnut), that she can no longer handle field calls.

Six months later, she is working as a trainer for 9-1-1 operators. Simultaneously, teenager Casey Welson (Breslin) is kidnapped from a mall parking garage after parting with her friend, Autumn, and forced into the trunk of a car. Casey had taken Autumn's disposable phone, and uses it to call 9-1-1. A rookie operator (Jenna Lamia) receives the call but is unable to handle it, prompting Jordan to take over, though Casey's use of a disposable phone means that her exact GPS location cannot be found. While the kidnapper drives, Jordan guides Casey through knocking out a tail light and signaling people in nearby cars. One woman who sees Casey waving her arm out of the trunk of the car calls 9-1-1, allowing the police to narrow their search. When Casey tells Jordan that there are cans of paint in the trunk, Jordan has Casey pour the paint out of the taillight hole, attracting the attention of another motorist, Alan Denado (Michael Imperioli) but the kidnapper knocks him out with a shovel, assuming him to be dead and stuffs Alan in the trunk with Casey. He reawakens in the trunk and begins screaming uncontrollably, which causes the kidnapper to stab him. He stops at a gas station where Casey gets an idea to crawl out of the trunk and scream at an active worker for help. The worker attempts to bust the door open, but the kidnapper sprays hm with gasoline and throws a lighter at him.