There are some things I know I’ll never do.  I’ll never be a secretary, because I can’t multitask worth beans.  I won’t be a waitress because my dexterity is, shall we say, less than admirable.  I’ll never jump out of a plane because hello; perfectly good plane!  And now, after The Call, I know I’ll never be a 911 operator.  I couldn’t take the strain.  Not even if the gorgeous guy from V (Morris Chestnut) was the cop making sure I was alright.  He’s there for Halle Berry’s Jordan Turner, but in this film it’s the ladies that are doin’ it for themselves.  Chills, thrills, brutal violence and women’s empowerment?  Yes please!

Jordan Turner is a damn good 911 operator.  Til that one day when she gets a phone call from a terrified teenage girl named Leah, telling Jordan that there’s a man trying to break in.  Jordan helps Leah, but before too long something goes wrong.  Jordan tries to put that behind her, but when another girl is kidnapped (Abigail Breslin, all grown up from her role in Little Miss Sunshine) Jordan is pulled into a race with a psychotic killer.  Casey, the young kidnapping victim, has a cell phone and gets aid and comfort from Jordan.  But for how long?

Director Brad Anderson (Session 9) does brilliant work here, amping up the tension in just the right amount and at exactly the right time.  With it’s use of slasher-movie constructs in a first-person police procedural, The Call is a thriller that feels like a horror film.  Anderson uses extreme close-up shots to draw audience members into the character’s feelings of isolation and fear.  As a bonus, these shots keep us guessing at what will be coming at us next.  As the kidnapper, Michael Eklund (Alcatraz) is the creepiest of villains; the cute guy that just happens to be completely unhinged.  Like Ted Bundy in real life, Eklund’s Michael Foster is a functioning psycho, one that can pass undetected by most folks thanks to his ability to smile and get along.  But of course as the film progresses Foster gets more and more crazypants, and Eklund develops the character nicely.

Set direction is fantastic, especially in creating the LAPD’s 911 call center, “The Hive”.  It’s a place most of us will never see, and it’s got the look of a Customer Service Rep department on high alert.  Anderson also uses sweeping wide shots to nice effect, from the opening credits where we get a dazzing birds-eye view of LA at night, to the helicopter manhunt for Foster.  With The Call, WWE Studios is definitely primed to come out as a serious contender in the movie production game.

Now, with all films that echo horror movies, you’re gonna see a lot of the usual boilerplate items.  Stupid folks with good intentions?  Got ‘em.  Police that can’t seem to find anything?  Right here.  Cameos by folks you swear you know from someplace else ( like José Zúñiga, Michael Imperioli, and Justina Machado). Absolutely.  The lack of cell phone service at Important Moments…. You get the picture.  There are also shout-outs to films like Sleeping With The Enemy, the Saw series and even a touch of Silence of the Lambs in the Jordan/Forest repartee.  Is The Call predictable in it’s use of genre cliches?  Yes.  But the terror conveyed by Breslin and Berry is palpable.  The Call managed to keep me invested, and by the sharp breaths and occasional backseat driver commentary from the rest of the audience, I wasn’t the only one caught up in this story.

The ending had people in the theater sharply divided, and I’m sure the discussion will continue.  I for one loved it.  It may be a strange departure for particular characters, but it’s a satisfying one.  911 operators are told to “never promise anything”, because you can never be sure what will happen.  But I can promise you that if you’re in the mood for a thriller, The Call will give you what you’re looking for.