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!_Anchor05_! Drama like we’ve never seen (or, rather, heard) before:Calls is an experimental miniseries, in the form of an audio drama. There is no one on screen — in fact, there are no cameras at all. The mystery thriller is told through a series of interconnected phone calls chronicling the story of a group of strangers whose lives fall apart as they crash head-first into an apocalyptic event.
It’s a star-studded sensory experience that begins at the end, but not of the world — of a relationship. Tim (Nicholas Braun) and Sara (Karen Gillan) catch up awkwardly on the phone before we understand what’s going on. Tim has moved to LA, and despite saying she would join him in six months, Sara is still in New York. Just as Tim is about to tell Sara something important, she spots something (or someone) in her backyard and hangs up.
Cue in the suspense… As he waits for Sara to call him back, Tim calls Camila (Lily Collins), with whom he has moved on from his East Coast girlfriend. As he hashes his relationship out with Camila, Sara is growing more terrified by the minute before calling 911. Soon, Tim and Camila face unsettling figures of their own, and things only get more complicated and terrifying from here.
Our only companion is a backdrop of abstract art and subtitles, leaving the rest to our imagination. How is it different from a narrative podcast or a radio show? It’s not, really, but the strong stable of writers presents the story with more complexity and finesse than a low-budget alternative.
Finding a way to play to the strengths of your medium isn’t particularly easy, and Fede Álvarez does a fantastic job of making the right choices. Perhaps watching Nicholas Braun, Karen Gillan, Lily Collins, Rosario Dawson, Nick Jonas, Pedro Pascal, and the other notable actors lending their voices here act this out in a live-action adaptation would distract from the story. Perhaps our imagination can come up with something more terrifying than CGI ever could.
WHERE TO WATCH- Tune into Calls on AppleTV+.
