Private
Number
(2014/Arc Entertainment DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Film: C-
Remember
me?
The
plot elements to Private
Number
(2014) sounds a bit too familiar: weird phone calls, hallucinations,
murder, alcohol abuse, and the main character is a writer. While
moments of the film are intriguing, ultimately the scenes with the
hallucinations end up being the weakest point as tacky effects end up
affecting scares. Directed by LazRael Lison, the film stars Hal
Ozsan, Tom Sizemore, Judd Nelson, and Nicholle Tom - who was a
successful child actress that I was surprised to see in something
recent and who is surprisingly pretty good.
A
series of sinister phone calls haunt an ex-alcoholic writer as he
struggles to finish a novel. Efforts to trace the calls result in
dead ends, leaving the author with no choice but to solve the mystery
himself. As he pieces together scant information he discovers the
local police are hiding details about a horrific serial killer. In
his obsessive search for answers, he loses his grip on reality, and
spirals downward into a maelstrom of violence and terror. The
creepiest moment is when the phone is picked up and on the other end
is the voice of a woman saying 'remember me?'
Someone
really needs to write a good film for Judd Nelson and Tom Sizemore to
be in because these two guys end up shining brighter than anyone else
they share the screen with, especially in a film like this. Both
classically trained and always playing someone shady, these two
actors are both interesting in this film and probably the highlight
for me. The last act is a bit of a disappointment and with a
stronger lead actor, some more could have been explored with this
character. I just don't quite buy Hal Ozsan in most of the film.
Overall for an independent production, the film looks and sounds fine
but it just doesn't quite pack a big enough punch to make it into
homes beyond a rental.
Presented
in standard definition with a 1.78 X 1 anamorphic widescreen aspect
ratio and a lossy English 5.1 Dolby Digital track, the film looks
fine for DVD but could obviously benefit from a high definition
upgrade. Extras include a Making Of, Deleted Scenes, and a Trailer.
-
James Harland Lockhart V
www.facebook.com/jhl5films
