In The Call, two titans of James Wan-shepherded horror — Tobin Bell (Saw) and Lin Shaye (Insidious)— come together to torture the hell out of some teenagers. Together, they are the Cranstons, a married couple with a bit of a local reputation of being creepy (and in the case of Shaye, literally a witch). When a group of teens, including our more sensitive newbie hero Chester Rushing, prank the Cranstons aggressively, the Cranstons suffer a tragic fate. And to get their revenge, they make these teens spend just one minute on the phone. On the other end? A litany of …

Other critics and I lamented 2019's The Lion King for its rictus-faced animals. For all the attention paid to the realism in every blade of grass and every strand of hair, the animals could not emote. Chris Sanders' adaptation of The Call of the Wild goes too far in the opposite direction with animals, particularly the lead, that constantly seem like they're mugging for the camera. Dogs are pretty expressive animals. They're good at letting you know what you're thinking. And yet The Call of the Wild always pushes so far that eventually you wonder …