‘First Time Caller’ Review: A Unique Look At Armageddon
Meredith Jill Brown
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Abe Goldfarb, where have you been?!?! Or where have I been since this is the first, I’m seeing of you? If Talk Radio had a sequel, Abe would easily take over the Eric Bogosian spot as the shock jock of today’s America and right-winged pied piper. Goldfarb tackles such a role in the new thriller, First Time Caller.
Brent Ziff (Goldfarb) is the hottest new internet host of his hit series, “Brent Free”. Through countless followers and outraged fans constantly dialing in to combat his choice topics, nothing (and I mean NOTHING) is off the table. From politics to pride and religion to relationships, Ziff has an opinion on it all and isn’t shy to share.
Ziff’s number one pet peeve is boredom. If you bore him, you are done. Bring a subject of interest to the online party or leave as he likes to stir up his audience through the most forbidden issues. While The Nutcracker score plays whimsically against the background of on-air arguments and arrogance, this particular evening will prove to be anything but normal. Or boring.
Leo “Shorty” Short is a long-time fan, but a first-time caller. He expresses his admiration for the newly rich talk show entertainer while interrupting with sudden painful groans that seem to infer severe constipation. As Brent’s taunts turn to sudden curiosity based on a video he’s instructed to watch (Shorty explains that a natural disaster is about to take place during a live concert feed), Ziff reluctantly pulls up the video and realizes he has just entered a world of some psychic energy that is unexplained. And pretty damn scary!
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Following the terrifying video, alerts and calls pour in while Shorty rationalizes the origin of this foreshadowing ability. Breathing, in tandem with nature, becomes an organic “feeling” which IS compared to relieving one’s bowels. However, such an ability came in conjunction with a paradigm shift in the Earth’s core structure. Basically, the world as we know it is in a global crisis, and an apocalyptic outcome is inevitable via force majeure.
First Time Caller is a brilliantly simplistic film. One man, one caller, and intense cerebral hemorrhaging hover over the room. The fear is unrelenting as Ziff scrambles to understand the substance behind the frenzied catastrophes appearing in all media outlets which will eventually leave him in sheltered darkness. The question is, will he remain alone, or will he go forth in union with the madness that just crashed into his safe little life?
Having no expectations before screening First Time Caller, it was mind-numbing and relentless when listening to the heartbreaking events unfold in almost real-time. It’s quite alarming to watch foul-mouthed Ziff (obviously a Howard Stern influence) become speechless when faced with the pure terror of an actual Armageddon. “Foreknowledge of the end of the world” is the WORST superpower ever!
Or, maybe not?
First Time Caller is out now on VOD.
Summary
‘First Time Caller’ is tense, smart, and shocking.
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