Telefon

Even after watching this film twenty times, it's still an inventive, clever, and suspenseful thriller where Joel Schumacher, constrained by budget and shooting days, lets the entire weight of the plot be carried by the polished dialogue of the Farrell-Sutherland pair. For this, the biggest thanks go to Larry Cohen, who did have some mistakes and logical question marks in the script, but the witty social criticism together with the escalation of the plot reliably carries the film for the entire 70-minute runtime. (28.02.2009)

KIEFER RULES! The main star in this inventive thriller for me is not the great Colin Farrell, but the absolutely perfect voice performance of Keifer Shuterland. I wouldn’t want to see this film dubbed. And I also wonder how the video distributors will handle it when converting it to VHS format. Schumacher divides the screen into several windows in which we see the plot running simultaneously from different locations. It's nothing new, but I like this method often used in the 1960s. (24.08.2003)

How much does each of us hide? How much do we pretend in front of others and what will we do when we are exposed? What if his threats are not empty and the revealed secret won't be the end of it? How quickly are we able to reassess our highest priorities when it comes to life, not just for ourselves, but also for those closest to us? Maybe I shouldn't have taken that pizza after all... Colin Farrell's perfect performance and the brilliant voice acting of the sniper in a film, which at the time had absolutely no competition. Even many subsequent screenings cannot change the fact that Schumacher and Cohen then surpassed themselves forever. (22.12.2005)

I’m grateful to Telecom/Télefonica O2 for getting rid of the telephone boxes from my neighborhood. I’m such a dummy that I also might pick up a forlorn call. Just that I’m in no way such a hot shot like Farrell. I’d be a darn piece of cake for “that guy". And for this movie is a piece of cake too because everything works as it should and practically all came out unprecedentedly well. Especially the atmosphere. Something that would be hard to find in a regular Prague phone booth. (19.01.2007)

Yeah, when the phone rings in the booth nearby again, I can't even imagine going to pick it up... or can I? Joel Schumacher's film meets all the criteria of an "intelligent" thriller. Minimalist design, great acting (especially the rebirth of narcissist Farella is a delicacy!), interesting work with images (the twisting of shots increases the tension and gradient), decent music and especially a solidly written screenplay which, with a minimum of resources, escalates the absurdity and horror of the situation in which the hostage of the voice on the phone finds himself. I could probably do without tacky and theatrical ending. All in all, it's not a movie that I get overly excited about, but I certainly recommend watching it on movie night for sure... (03.07.2004)