The plot of "The Call" as a thriller hinges on the protagonist doing profoundly stupid things to initiate and prolong the conflict between herself and the victim-turned-antagonist. So much that suspension of disbelief fractures the closer the film gets to the end. The lack of rules established for its time travel do what most time travel films do: Throw ideas, like feeling past-tense pain, at the wall.

What started out as a cut-and-dry time travel narrative about two women connecting across time, and one of them dealing with an abusive and superstitious mother (whose abuses end up being justified by the story, ffs!), quickly devolves into run of the mill thriller with lot of shrieking and yelling women.

On top of that, the ending invokes a kid kicking a monopoly board and screaming, "You didn't win! You didn't win!" when they're caught cheating. By all means, end on a bad note. But make sure you've actually built a narrative that justifies that sour note, otherwise you risk exposing weak storytelling (which this ultimately is full of).

Performances are decent, and its entertaining enough that it kept me engaged. Overall? Nothing remarkable (especially in terms of time travel movies).