''Hellphone'' is a 2007 French
comedy horror
Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary genre, literary, television genre, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three ty ...
film co-written and directed by
James Huth
James Huth (born 29 August 1947 in Sutton, Greater London) is an English-born French film director, screenwriter and producer, mostly known for his collaborations with actor Jean Dujardin
Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French ...
and starring
Jean-Baptiste Maunier
Jean-Baptiste Maunier (, born 22 December 1990) is a French actor and singer. He is best known for his role in the 2004 French film ''Les Choristes''.
Early life
Jean-Baptiste Maunier was born to Thierry Maunier, a cameraman, and Muriel Maunier. ...
,
Jean Dujardin
Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. He first came to prominence with the cult TV series ...
and
Édouard Collin
Édouard Collin (born 28 February 1987) is a French actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as fi ...
.
Plot
The film begins with Sid Soupir admiring the girl of his dreams, Angie. His friend, Pierre (also called Tiger), encourages him to talk to her. Sid agrees but decides to impress Angie with his skateboarding moves first. At first he succeeds in getting Angie's attention, but then he crashes into a vegetable cart. Angie's two friends, Margot and Clemence, laugh while Angie pulls Sid to his feet. Sid offers to make plans with Angie as Angie's sort-of boyfriend, Virgile, and his friends watch from a distance. Angie agrees and offers to get Sid's cellphone number but Sid replies he does not have a cellphone at all. Tiger butts in, making up a lie that Sid had to cancel his cellphone plan because a crazy Russian ex-girlfriend was stalking him. Unimpressed, Angie's friends lead her away.
Back home, Sid asks his mother if he can have his birthday money in advance. She is only able to spare €30 and Sid resolves to ask money from his boss, Mr. Fritz, at the fast food restaurant where he works.
At his job, Sid asks his boss for his paycheck in advance but the boss refuses. Seeing as €30 will be the only money he is able to raise, Sid goes to a dinky shop run by Patrick Vo. After some haggling, Sid gets a cellphone, a sleek red phone with two protruding horns at the top. The phone comes to life in his hands, which astonishes the shopkeeper who has been trying to turn it on ever since he got it. He tries to take the phone back so he can sell it for more money, but Sid runs away.
At school, Sid shows off his phone to Tiger, who is amazed by it. Meanwhile, Clemence brags to her friends about her successful audition. Sid gathers up his courage to ask Angie for her number but Clemence and Margot laugh at his new cellphone and lead Angie away.
In science class, Sid and Pierre are teased by Virgile and his friends. As the lesson continues, the Hellphone dials Margot's number and tells her to set Clemence's hair on fire with the Bunsen burner (Clemence landed the role Margot auditioned for). Hypnotized, Margot obeys. She is sent to the principal's office where she tries to explain her actions. Unimpressed, the principal lets her go without a clear punishment.
After school, Sid and Tiger visit their favorite skate shop but are disappointed to find out the ownership has changed. They leave without buying anything and the next day, at home before school, Sid practices on what to say to Angie. To his embarrassment, the phone calls Angie. Sid manages to small talk with her and when he hangs up, he is surprised to see Margot on his recently made calls list.
In math class, Margot texts Clemence her apologies but Clemence refuses to forgive her. During the teacher's lecture, Sid fills in Tiger on his phone's weird doings. Annoyed with their talking, the Mr. Mazeau, the teacher, flicks a piece of chalk at Sid's head and demands for him to answer a particularly difficult question. Sid looks at his phone helplessly and to his amazement, the phone provides the correct answer. However, the teacher believes Sid cheated with his cellphone's calculator and confiscates it, throwing it out of the classroom window.
As soon as class lets out, Sid and Tiger rescue the phone, relieved it isn't damaged. As they ponder how the phone knew the correct answer, Sid and Pierre see Angie and her friends being walked to their next class by Virgile and his entourage.
Later that night, Mr. Mazeau is working in his classroom when he receives a mysterious phone call. We then cut to Sid waking up on his birthday and the phone wishes him a happy birthday in the form of a hologram. Sid goes to pick up Pierre for school and tells him about it. Pierre get worried and insists that Sid throw away the phone but Sid refuses. Pierre takes the phone and asks it for help in getting rid of their detention. It calls the school secretary who believes that Sid and Pierre are, in fact, the principal. They take advantage and not only get rid of their detention, but install the McDonald's menu for their school lunch. With the phone, the boys go on a spree. Meanwhile, at school, the school janitor finds Mr. Mazeau on the ground, with his mouth stuffed with pieces of chalk.
At a strip club, Tiger asks to borrow the phone so he can get his divorced parents back together. Sid refuses, believing that the phone chose him for a reason. However, he relents but the phone refuses to work for Tiger, causing him to comment that the phone appears to be in love with Sid.
Becoming increasingly dependent on the phone's powers, Sid uses it to get a date with Angie, forcing Virgile's father to give him a racing car, asking Mr. Fritz for time off (killing him in the process) and obtaining a nice suit. However, when Virgile assaults Sid for the theft, the phone kills one of his friends. Following this, Sid and Angie are arrested, but the commissar, after a call, lets them go. Fearing the worst, Sid tries to get rid of the phone, by losing or destroying it, but with little success. The phone then states that Sid is its beloved master, and anyone in its path will die, Angie being the next target.
Teaming up, Angie, Sid, Tiger, Virgile and others attempt to destroy the phone together, but even Angie's mother hydraulic press only temporarily disables it. After being chased by hypnotized people and losing most friends (the phone drives them to suicide with ease), Sid, Angie and Tiger decide to freeze the phone in liquid nitrogen. A crowd of possessed students forcefully bring Tiger to listen to the call as he holds the nitrogen ready, promising him power if he kills Sid instead, but he still drops the phone inside the tank, revealing that his earplugs made him immune to the phone's call.
In the end, the three surviving protagonists throw the frozen phone overboard on a ship as Sid and Angie kiss.
Cast
*
Jean-Baptiste Maunier
Jean-Baptiste Maunier (, born 22 December 1990) is a French actor and singer. He is best known for his role in the 2004 French film ''Les Choristes''.
Early life
Jean-Baptiste Maunier was born to Thierry Maunier, a cameraman, and Muriel Maunier. ...
as Sid
*
Jennifer Decker
Jennifer Decker (born 28 December 1982) is a French actress. She is best known for the role of Lucienne in the 2006 American film ''Flyboys (film), Flyboys''.
Life and career
Jennifer began her theatrical career at an early age. At 18 she wa ...
as Angie
*
Benjamin Jungers as Pierre
*
Vladimir Consigny as Virgile
*
Édouard Collin
Édouard Collin (born 28 February 1987) is a French actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as fi ...
as Franklin
*
Baptiste Caillaud as David
*
Anaïs Demoustier
Anaïs Demoustier (; born Anaïs Aude Marie Michèle Demoustier; 29 September 1987) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films since 2000.
Personal life
During the filming of ''Marguerite & Julien'', Demoustier began dating ...
as Clémence
*
Judith Chemla
Judith Chemla (; born 5 July 1985) is a French actress.
Life and career
In 2012, Chemla appeared in '' Camille Rewinds'', for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 38th César Awards.
On 10 April 2020, during the coronavi ...
as Margot
*
Quentin Grosset as Félix
*
Géraldine Martineau
Géraldine Martineau is a French actress, originally from Nantes, France. She started acting when she was 8 years old. At the age of 17, she was accepted into the Cours Florent and started a course in the Classe Libre (a free 2-year acting cours ...
as Charlotte
*
Clotilde Mollet
Clotilde Mollet is a French actress.
Theatre
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
French film actresses
20th-century French actresses
21st-century French actresses
Actresses from Paris
Living people
French stage actresses
Fr ...
as Madame Soupir
*
Gilles Gaston-Dreyfus as M. Tamalet
*
Christian Hecq
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ (title), Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive ...
as Fritz
*
Bruno Salomone
Bruno Salomone (born 13 July 1970) is a French actor and comedian.
Theater
Dubbing
He gave his voice to the following movies in their French versions.
Filmography
References
External links
*
French comedians
1970 births
People ...
as Hervé Temmam
*
Gilles Privat as M. Fouque
*
Silvie Laguna as Mme. Ronssin
*
Cyril Gueï
Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varian ...
as M. Mazeau
*
Nicolas Briançon
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
People Given name
* Nicolas (given name)
Mononym
* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
as Commandant Crochet
*
Cordula Reyer as Mme. D'Harcourt
*
Sandrine Dumas
Sandrine Dumas (born 28 April 1963) is a French film and stage actress and director.
Dumas was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. She has appeared in Miloš Forman's '' Valmont'', and Krzysztof Kieślowski's ''The Double Life of Véronique'', among ...
as Mme. Jolimont
*
Martin Pautard as Julien
*
Jean Dujardin
Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. He first came to prominence with the cult TV series ...
as Le warrior de la cave
*
Gérard-James Smurthwaite as M. Jolimont
*
Sacha Prijovic as Le guide des réfectoires
*
Ali Karamoko as Le policier gradé
*
Sidney Wernicke as Le policier 'Fritz' #1
*
Lannick Gautry
Lannick Gautry (born 3 March 1976) is a French actor.
Theater
Filmography
External links
*
1976 births
Living people
People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye
French male film actors
French male stage actors
French male television ac ...
as Le policier 'Fritz' #2
*
Juliette Degenne
Juliette is a feminine personal name of French origin. It is a diminutive of Julie.
Notable people
*Juliette (Canadian singer) (1926-2017), full name Juliette Augustina Sysak Cavazzi, Canadian singer and TV personality of the 1950s-1970s. known ...
as Hellphone
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was scored by
Bruno Coulais
Bruno Coulais (born 13 January 1954) is a French composer, most widely known for his music on film soundtracks.
Life and career
Coulais was born in Paris; his father, Farth Coulais, is from Vendée, and his mother, Bernsy Coulais, was born in ...
and featured songs from The Elderberries.
References
External links
*
Hellphone - AlloCine
{{James Huth
2007 films
2007 horror films
French teen films
2000s French-language films
2007 comedy horror films
French comedy horror films
2000s teen horror films
Films directed by James Huth
2007 comedy films
2000s French films
Films about artificial intelligence
Films about mobile phones