In his first pic since "Audition" that doesn't look as if it was put together during a spare weekend, Nipponese pulpmeister Takashi Miike mines the Asian psychothriller vein in "One Missed Call." Hitching a ride on the Japanese "Ring" and S. Korean "Phone," with refs to "Dark Water," film combines scares and chuckles with good production values, making this a quality pickup for Asian-oriented distribs with ancillary labels attached.

Takashi Miike's latest is a disappointing, second-rate Japanese horror film.

A mainstream J-horror flick that dutifully regurgitates the apparitions, aesthetic, and themes of its genre predecessors.