The human mind creates dreams, inspires people to create wondrous works of art, make great advances in technology, and find creative ways to solve the unsolvable. But it is also capable of creating terror and paralyzing people with nightmarish possibilities. Alfred HitchcockFor one thing, he knew how to use this reality to persuade moviegoers to create their own images of what he left invisible in his films. Take out the infamous shower scene Psycho. Not a single act of graphic violence is shown on screen, but with a deft mix of music, sounds and quick image cuts, it remains one of the most terrifying moments in Hollywood history, with the majority of the horror generated by the moviegoers themselves as the scene plays out. Many other films have followed Hitchcock’s example, but they all have something in common. There is still a visual element, a trail of breadcrumbs that leads the mind where the filmmaker wants it to go. Apple TV+s Callshowever, is unique in that the visual elements are largely non-existent, save for some abstract patterns, and relies heavily on sound. And the effect is creepy.

“Calls” paint a picture

Led by Fede Alvarezthe man who revived it Foreigner franchise with this summer Alien: Romulus, Calls is based on the French series of the same name Timothee Hochet. Hailed as one of Apple TV+’s best, the groundbreaking series tells nine short stories, each lasting 13 to 20 minutes, through a series of phone conversations. Each episode plays out like a radio show/podcast, starting with a seemingly normal phone call that quickly turns into something much darker and supernaturalwhich all seem to have nothing to do with each other, but all converge towards an end that connects them. The closest comparable is perhaps Orson Welles‘ War of the Worlds famous radio show, mixed with Black mirrorbut there isn’t really anything comparable that does it justice.

Calls forces the audience to listen while painting a picture of what is happening, cleverly interweaving detailed descriptions with mounting fear and panic. A woman calls 911 because someone is trying to break into the house, and her panic increases as she realizes that the intruder looks nothing like a human, describing horrifying details like his long, long arms. A man who has been arguing with his wife calls back from the car but is taken aback when she says he has been gone for six months, even though it only seems like minutes to him and every call he makes or receives after that , takes longer to expire at the other end. A pilot has a heartbreaking phone call with his young daughter, believing he could fall to his death at any moment. It’s a confusing, eerie mix of the explainable and the unbelievable, and it all plays out in a horrible nightmare in your head.

In “Calls” you can hear but not see the stars

And if the voices you hear in these conversations sound familiar, that’s because they are. Calls has an exemplary array of talent, including Pedro Pascalcurrently starring in the hit film Gladiator II, Emily in Paris‘ LilyCollins, Guardians of the Galaxy‘S Karen GillanAnd Aaron Taylor Johnsonthe titular lead of Sony’s upcoming Spider-Man spinoff, Kraven the Hunter. That’s an impressive list, especially for a TV series where the actors don’t appear at all but give their roles the same emotional depth as their more prominent visual roles.

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This commitment to the characters, the nuances and tones in their voice that reveal their emotions, the intangible elements that top talent bring and that play a role in the creation Calls so effective. But it goes even deeper than that. What really does Calls so frightening is its simplicity. Viewers enter the series with their own unique triggers and phobias, distorting their mental images into something far worse than what could possibly be shown, like an audiobook from hell. So here’s a tip for watching Calls (and you should too): It doesn’t matter whether the lights in the house are on or off; it plays in your brain. Sweet dreams.

Calls is available to stream on Apple TV+ in the US.

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A groundbreaking series unfolds entirely through phone calls, voicemails and abstract images, revealing a mysterious and disturbing sequence of events affecting multiple people. Each episode explores the experiences of various characters as they confront eerie and often catastrophic phenomena, leading to a horrifying realization of interconnected fates.

Release date

March 19, 2021

Seasons

1