The festival guide calls Horror Hotline one of the scariest films to come out of Hong Kong in recent years and they're not that far off. Along the lines of The Ring, Horror Hotline ditches the usual comedic elements of conventional Asian horror for true scares, and for the most part it works.

During a radio call in show in which people exchange ghost stories, one particular story seems to have everyone on edge. A caller named Chris relays the story about a Big Headed Baby Monster, and the phone lines start lighting up. It seems that Chris isn't the only one who has experienced the horror of the big head baby. An American TV crew happens to be taping the show, and they decide to take it upon themselves to get to the bottom of the Big Head Baby story. Add to the mix a dying Iranian school teacher (does he hold the key?), another poor guy who was driven inane from his experience with the Big Head, and a faceless ghostly woman who seems to slip into frame now and then. Horror Hotline is an effectively creepy tale with some truly chilling set pieces.

Now for the bad news (of course it all sounds too good to be true). Unfortunately, the ending is a bit of a disappointment. Under normal circumstances a drop off of an ending can really hamper the enjoyment of a film for me. In the case of Horror Hotline, the film itself is so strong, that I'm willing to be forgiving of the lackluster ending. I understand that the DVD release has an alternate ending (supposedly better than the theatrical ending), if anyone has seen this, please email me and tell me what it was, I'm very curious.

I can see all the Blair Witch comparisons coming right now. Yes there is a camera crew and yes there are some scenes at the end of them running while shooting. However, aside from these minor similarities the two films really share very little in common.

Horror Hotline has a lot to offer, and is sure to entertain up until the last few frames. With some effectively creepy moments, Horror Hotline once again proves that we are not too jaded to be frightened by a well executed horror story.

Thumbs up.