Halloween (1978)
Though Halloween doesn’t revolve around phone calls, phones play a big part in the storyline. A girl is murdered by Myers after she receives a phone call. From her boyfriend asking her to pick him up. Myers also strangles a girl with a phone cord. Remember how phones used to have cables?
When a Stranger Calls (1979, remade in 2006)
This classic psychological thriller is all about creepy phone calls. A babysitter receives late-night phone calls from a stranger who asks her about the sleeping children she’s watching. After several calls, she finally calls the police, who tell her they can track the caller’s location if she can keep him on the phone. They follow his location only to discover that he’s calling from inside the house.
976 – Evil (1988)
In this movie, the bad guy doesn’t call you; you call him. 976-Evils is a premium fortune-telling phone line. It’s meant to be creepy, hence the EVIL in the number that turns out to be a direct line to Hell. Oops! To make things even more complicated, once our protagonist discovers the true nature of the phone line, he decides to use it to get revenge on his enemies. Obviously, this ends well not.
Scream (1996)
Scream is one of those movies that worked better when phones were in our houses instead of our pockets. In one scene, Drew Barrymore receives a flirtatious-slash-creepy phone call during which the caller asks her name because he wants to know who he’s looking at.
Phone (2002)
This Korean horror flick is about a cursed cell phone number. That’s right, a phone number. The main character changes the phone number after receiving threatening but not scary or threatening phone calls, only to discover that the new number is cursed. The previous owners of the number either disappeared or died mysteriously. And you thought getting other people’s bill collection calls were annoying!
The Ring (2002)
The Ring is about a cursed videotape, not a phone. Still, the legend in the film includes a phone ringing when you’re finished watching the tape. You have 7 days until you’re brutally murdered by a creepy water-logged girl.
Pulse (2006)
Pulse is a science-fiction horror film about a computer virus that connects the world of the living to the world of the dead. While it doesn’t directly involve phones, it does involve the Internet. These days we spend much of our phone time on the Internet. So if you lived in a world of pulse, your phone would be a liability.
One Missed Call (2008)
In One Missed Call, people receive phone calls from their future selves that reveal the exact day and time of their death. Interestingly, all of them promptly die to keep the storyline chugging along. Nobody receives a call that says they’re going to die 58 years from now or anything like that. As it turns out, an evil, tormented ghost child is responsible for the calls.
End Call (2008)
End Call is a Japanese horror film with a story similar to 976-EVIL. In End Call, there’s a unique phone number that dials up the devil, who will then grant you any wish you want. The catch is the time the phone call lasts is deducted from your life. It was costly. A girl sells herself into prostitution to pay her phone bill. And, of course, the devil grants your wish in the worst way possible; eventually, everyone who calls the number dies. Doesn’t seem worth it.
Unfriended (2014)
Unfriended is more about social networks than phones. See appearances from YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Chatroulette. This horror movie is about a group of friends who are terrorized online by an anonymous person. Who turns out to be the vindictive ghost of a cyberbullied teen. Who committed suicide earlier in the film.
Cell (2016)
The cell was released in 2016, and it’s worth watching. It’s based on a novel by Stephen King; it stars Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack. The premise: A mysterious signal broadcast over a cellular network turns people into evil, violent beings.
