The past few years have been a great time for horror fans, as a renaissance in the genre has led to many high quality new projects. October is typically a great month for the genre, as Halloween-themed projects come to theaters and help moviegoers celebrate the holiday. While Halloween Kills has been delayed a year, movies like The Craft: Legacy and The Call are helping to keep the horror train going through spooky season. The latter project features some genre favorites, including Insidious' Lin Shaye and Saw icon Tobin Bell. I recently had the chance to speak with both actors, and Bell explained exactly what keeps him interested in horror.
Horror movies are a unique genre, which often features familiar faces appearing in franchises, become scream queens in the process. Tobin Bell has his place in horror history thanks to his tenure playing Jigsaw in the Saw movies, ultimately appearing in eight installments of the bloody property. Fans will be thrilled to see that he's back terrifying audiences for Timothy Woodward Jr.'s The Call as Edward Cranston. When speaking about this new release, Bell told me why he returned to the horror, saying:
To be honest with you I had never done any horror. Saw was the first horror movie I’d ever done. Now I’ve met thousands of horror fans. The horror genre appeals to me today because of horror fans, who are amazingly dedicated people when compared to romantic comedy fans or historical drama or period pieces. Horror fans are a unique bunch. My only attraction to the horror genre is to those people who love it so much.
Tobin Bell might be known for striking fear into the hearts of moviegoers, but this type of love for horror fans actually warms the heart. His chilling tenure as John Kramer lasted for over ten years, and that time has bonded the actor with the community that was supporting the franchise. And it's because of that give and take that we get more horror performances from Bell in projects like The Call.
In The Call, Tobin Bell plays businessman Edward Cranston, who is married to Lin Shaye's Edith. The two have a conflict with a group of teenage pranksters, and plenty of scares follow suit. The trailer for the movie even featured Bell uttering a greeting similar to Jigsaw's tapes from Saw. You can check out the trailer for The Call below.
Tobin Bell and Lin Shaye are both horror legends, so seeing them paired and terrorizing teenagers in a new movie is sure to excite hardcore fans of the genre. The Call trailer shows Bell's character looks thoroughly human, while Shaye's Edith gets to go full monster. There's some unsettling imagery, and clearly the movie's content is in good hands with that pair of actors.
Tobin Bell has a number of film projects coming down the pipeline after The Call, but surprisingly it doesn't look like he has a role in the upcoming Saw spinoff Spiral. The Chris Rock-led horror movie would be the first one without Bell's John Kramer, but luckily there's another movie out which will allow the actor to terrify moviegoers. Enter The Call, just in time for the Halloween season.
The Call is in theaters and drive-ins now. Be sure to check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.
