End Call is about a group of teenage girls who manage to get the phone number of the Devil. According to the urban legend, if you call He'll grant your wishes, but your life will be shortened by the length of the call. So just hang up! But the Devil is tricky, and stays on the line, racking up the charges on your phone bill up to $15,000.00! So you may get your wish, but you'll have to pay for it. And also, since it's the Devil, rather than shorten your life by a few minutes he just makes you miserable and then kills you.
It's a rather far-fetched premise, but I think even the most outlandish concept can work if it's treated with either (1) respect and intelligence, or (2) humor and wit. Or if you just mask the craziness with a lot of crazy style/eye-popping visuals/etc. Unfortunately, End Call doesn't have any of those traits. The Devil isn't really a character here (I was hoping for a guy painted red sitting at a switchboard), just a shadowy, voiceless presence on the other end of the phone line. There are also a few other issues here. (1) It's a Japanese horror film, so it's possible that some things are lost in translation, and (2) it's about a group of teenage girls, so it skews younger anyways. It's got an awfully 'soapy' vibe for a horror film.
