Horror Hotline... Big Head Monster (2001)

Simply A Masterpiece

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Version: Cantonese, with English subtitles (by SBS)Wow. Talk about a dull movie. I figured a Hong-Kong horror movie with a silly name like 'Horror Hotline... Big Head Monster' being shown on the SBS cult-movie time slot could not possibly be bad. All the other cult-horror movies shown SBS are generally pretty good. Maybe I expected too much, but 'Horror Hotline' is just a boring movie.The Horror Hotline is a radio show that discusses the supernatural. Several callers talk about a big-headed infant they've seen, and the Horror Hotline reporters decide to investigate this, when, naturally, everything starts getting spooky.I don't know why, but I just could not get into 'Horror Hotline'. It seems like it could be a great eerie horror film, but I just found it rather boring, and it left no lasting effect afterwards.'Horror Hotline' could be something that I'll try to watch some other time. I may even enjoy it if I'm given enough time between viewings. As it stands, I thought it was rather dull. I'd still recommend it to other horror fans though, maybe you'll get more out of this than I did - 4/10

Whilst not the scariest movie ever there are moments when even the most die-hard horror fan will be moved out of their seat.The movie moved at a steady pace and stuck to the well crafted story, as seems to be staple with these movies. And while 'Horror Hotline... Big Head Monster' might sound like more of a humorous, or that the translator might have had a late night before naming this one DO NOT let that dissuade you.The ending gave way to a very deja-vu Blair Witch feeling but not so much as to overpower the movie or even make it much more than a minute observation - If you can tear your mind away from the action.Truly a great movie in its genre up, even if far from the greatest - Up there with so many of the great Asian horror masterpieces.

Once again Asian horror has surpassed my expectations and is clearly the front runner for the genre at the current time. This film revolves around a radio station that receives calls regarding the supernatural. However one story about a big headed baby comes in and captures the attention of both the studio boss and a crew of reporters...I won't say anymore to avoid giving anything away.Asian horror is all based around the same concept which is to create a story (usually a ghost story) and build on this story for the majority of the movie until it reaches a very effective and frightening conclusion. This film in my opinion is possibly my favorite along with Dark Water, due to the way it involves the audience, has an ending that leaves open the entire film, creates tension and atmosphere through the use of jump zoom shots and a very spooky soundtrack. All in all this is a must if you can track it down!

The summary says it all. Any movie with Francis Ng in a large role (in this case, the leading role) can't be completely bad. This is the case with HORROR HOTLINE, which despite the silly title and even sillier ending, the rest of the movie is a terrific suspense/horror. Again, the only thing that goes against HORROR HOTLINE is its reliance on trying to ape THE BLAIR WITCH, but otherwise it's an effective and moody film.Francis Ng delivers a terrific starring turn as the host of a radio program while Josie Ho has one of her better outings as an American reporter whose crew is in Hong Kong doing a story on Chinese urban legend. But the only reason to watch this film is for Francis Ng subtle and yet chilling performance.Good stuff that may be ruined by a goofy title and being too similar to BLAIR WITCH.6 out of 10.