"Don't Hang Up" (2017)

An evening of drunken prank calls becomes a nightmare for a pair of teenagers when a mysterious stranger turns their own game against them – with deadly consequences.

I think this movie might have set a record: literally the moment I saw the main characters, I immediately despised them! I hated their habitual prank calls just for online popularity, and I hated them all the more for being so loud and rambunctious. So at first, I was fully supporting the stranger when he started punishing Brady: he deserved it. I drew the line at the kidnapped parents, though – which also made me think, "Well, Brady, now your antics have put innocent lives in danger! I hope you're proud of yourself!"

I had slightly more sympathy for Sam because he seemed to have much more of a conscience, plus he was smart enough to spot the clue that gave the game away.

I'll give the movie some credit for trying to buck the trend of horror characters acting stupidly. Our heroes try to do the sensible things almost immediately, but they're prevented from either calling the police or leaving the house. But the things the villain pulls get to the point of absurdity; you start to wonder, how exactly did he hijack the cell phone signal, and how does he have that much control over the house's power?

Overall, it's just another disposable horror flick. It tries to be smarter than the genre's average, but that also ends up being its undoing.

My rating: 45%