Tough call: Movies with memorable menacing phone scenes

We start here because “Scream” starts here. It’s one of the most-famous set pieces in horror history. Drew Barrymore is chilling at home when the phone rings. She’s asked a simple question, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” From that point on, a franchise was born in one scene.

Even by 2002, a movie based around a phone booth was heading toward passé. In fact, “Phone Booth” offers up the conceit that Colin Farrell’s slick, unethical publicist is using a phone booth to avoid his wife finding out about an affair he’s having. Farrell picks up the phone, and unfortunately for him a sniper with a grudge is on the other end of the line.

Classic horror huckster William Castle directed “I Saw What You Did,” and in classic Castle style said in a trailer that theaters would have seat belts installed to prevent moviegoers from being scared out of their seats. In classic Castle style, the entire spectacle was just a marketing ploy and it didn’t happen in even a single theater to live the gimmick. Coming to us from the lesser days of Joan Crawford’s career, the movie is about the perils of pranks. Two teenage girls like to prank people by calling them up and saying, “I saw what you did, and I know who you are.” Unfortunately, doing that raises the risk that you will call up a guy who just murdered his wife.

“When a Stranger Calls” is a cult classic that inspired “Scream” and even earned a remake in the 2000s. Although, it only deserves so much credit. Its acclaimed opening section is, after all, entirely indebted to a long-standing urban legend. You likely know the one: the one about a babysitter, a menacing caller, and the revelation of where that call is coming from.

“Black Christmas” has been remade not once, but twice. It helped set the template for the slasher genre even before “Halloween” came out. Also, it was directed by Bob Clark, who has a very normal filmography that also includes “Porky’s,” “A Christmas Story,” and “Baby Geniuses.” A classic Christmas horror film, truly a lot of horror tropes are codified here. A sorority being terrorized, menacing phone calls, and so on.

Now, unless you like exploitation horror movies, ones that are pretty gross at that, you shouldn’t necessarily watch “Don’t Answer the Phone!.” A movie about a killer pornographer is not exactly trafficking in high-brow fare, and it was made on the cheap. However, how could we not include the movie simply titled “Don’t Answer the Phone!?” Plus, it was one of the “video nasty” movies that the UK government banned and confiscated under the Obscene Publications Act.

“Jexi” is sort of a more-comedic take on “Her,” and is also an A.I. riff on the well-worn trope of the obsessed admirer. The titular Jexi is a self-aware Siri, and it becomes emotionally attached to Adam Devine as the owner of the phone. You know, it’s also kind of like “The Cable Guy” for the cord-cutter generation.

These days, most people don’t bother picking up when somebody calls if they don’t recognize the number. That would not have served you well in “One Missed Call.” This Japanese horror film came to us from Takashi Miike, an…interesting director. Polarizing is perhaps the best word. “One Missed Call” also got an American remake in 2008, and it is generally considered the worst of the J-horror remakes.

Just two years after “Phone Booth” we got “Cellular.” It stars, among others, a pre-fame Chris Evans and an on-the-rise Jason Statham. These days, if you tell us Statham is in a mindless thriller, we’re intrigued. Unfortunately, the Statham formula wasn’t fully honed yet. Also, Kim Basinger is technically the focal point. She plays a woman who gets kidnapped, but gets one call off, though said call only creates further chaos due to some twists and turns.

This is a 2016 movie starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, two guys who are, shall we say, not known for being picky about their roles. Also, it’s based on a largely-forgotten Stephen King novel, which is never a good sign. It’s kind of like a zombie movie but cell phones are responsible? In essence, it feels like King thought to himself, “A lot of people have cell phones these days,” he churned out a novel in, like, a week spinning off of that. Then he got a bunch of money and they made a cheap movie based on it. You know, business as usual.

Writer-director James Huth is not a household name, but he got to calling a movie “Hellphone” before anybody else, and that makes him a genius in our books. You may not have heard of this movie because it’s a French horror-comedy, but you have probably heard of one of its actors. That would be Jean Dujardin, who would go on to win an Oscar for “The Artist.”

If you’re a “Comedy Bang! Bang!” fan reading this, well, we won’t elaborate on the joke from that show, but we can share this moment together. Gillian Jacobs, late of “Community,” moved into the “mom in a horror movie” portion of her career with “Come Play.” A monster named, um, Larry, is able to maneuver through cell phones and other smart devices to try and get to Jacobs’ son Oliver, a non-verbal autistic boy who thinks Larry may just want to be his friend.

If you are a radio DJ and a woman calls in all the time to request the same song, and you find out that she came to the bar you were at because she knew you’d be there, maybe don’t go home with her for a one-night stand. Even if you're Clint Eastwood and used to coming out ahead in such matters in your movies. It turns out the “Misty” fan may also be pretty obsessed with you, and not afraid to get violent.

This is a made-for-TV movie, but we decided to include it anyway. It’s not so much because of the plot, which is about a woman who starts receiving phone calls from Michael, her nephew that died(?) 15 years ago. No, it’s the cast. Elizabeth Ashley, no slouch, plays the woman in question, but she is joined by Ben Gazzara and Michael Douglas in the cast. Yes, that Michael Douglas. He was in this 1972 made-for-TV movie.

Okay, this time we will go with the American version of the J-horror story, because it was quite successful here in the United States. “The Ring” is the movie that led to a litany of J-horror adaptations in its wake. You likely know one thing about this film, even if you haven’t seen it. There’s a spooky VHS tape. You watch it. You get a phone call. That phone call lets you know you have seven days to live.

In essence, most of the tropes of American slashers are found in John Carpenter’s “Halloween.” None of them, other than the silent killer in a mask, is present through it all. There are, however, a couple menacing, scary phone calls. When Michael is on the other end of the line, he may not say much, but he’ll still freak you out.

It’s hard enough to be a widowed mother on a first date. The next thing you know you start getting all these threatening messages and weird, violent memes. Traditionally, you don’t want any mysterious memes being sent to you during a date. This leaves the woman to try and figure out what’s going on. Who’s messaging her? Is her date involved? “Drop” is the latest addition to this style of horror movie, and it’s proven perfectly adequate at keeping horror hounds entertained.