The Story of Don't Hang Up
Don't Hang Up is a 2025 horror film that takes the found-footage concept into the streaming age. Rather than relying on security cameras or handheld devices, director Alex Herron frames the entire narrative through a FaceTime video call—a claustrophobic, intimate format that should theoretically amplify dread but instead becomes a limiting factor. The film centers on characters trapped in a house where something very wrong is happening, and the only way we experience it is through the pixelated confines of a smartphone screen. It's a clever premise, at least on paper. The execution, however, reveals the tension between ambition and restraint that plagues many genre experiments.
Behind the Making of Don't Hang Up
Don't Hang Up emerges from a genuinely international production, bringing together talent from Sweden, Denmark, the United States, and Norway—a rare collaborative effort in the horror space. Director Alex Herron helms the project, working with a cast that includes Claire McPartland and Brett Curtis in lead roles, supported by Siri Black Ndiaye, Jueun Kang, Eugenia Forteza, Ashley Rose Nicholas, and Carle Atwater. The film runs 91 minutes, a runtime that test-screening audiences apparently found excessive for what's essentially a single-location thriller. The international pedigree suggests ambition beyond the typical low-budget found-footage playbook, yet the film's current IMDb rating of 4.4 out of 10 indicates that critical and audience reception has been mixed at best. Movie OTT tracks these kinds of international genre releases as they make their way to streaming platforms, often finding that regional horror films gain unexpected second lives through digital distribution.
What Makes Don't Hang Up Stand Out (and Fall Short)
What's striking about Don't Hang Up is how it commits to its gimmick without fully earning it. The FaceTime framing device isn't just a stylistic choice—it's the film's entire visual vocabulary, which means every scare, every revelation, every moment of character development must fit within that constraint. That's ambitious. That's also exhausting. One early test screening attendee noted the film relies heavily on cheap effects and jump scares—the horror equivalent of a drummer hitting the cymbal every time you're supposed to feel something. The thing nobody mentions is that when you're watching a 91-minute film through a single digital window, even competent scares start to feel repetitive around the 60-minute mark. The performances, particularly from McPartland and Curtis, can't quite overcome the format's inherent limitations. They're doing the work—showing fear, confusion, desperation—but the medium keeps them at arm's length, literally and figuratively. It's not that the film is incompetent; it's that it's fighting itself the entire time, trapped by the very concept that should have liberated it.
Where to Stream Don't Hang Up Online
Don't Hang Up is currently available to stream on Prime Video, where it sits alongside countless other horror experiments, some successful and many not. If you're curious about the film's FaceTime-POV approach, you won't need a subscription hunt—it's right there in the Prime Video horror section. Movie OTT maintains real-time tracking of where films like this land across streaming services, so you can check the "Where to Watch" widget at the top of this page for the most current availability and any platform changes. Prime Video's algorithm may or may not recommend it to you, depending on your viewing history, but it's there if you're the type who likes to see horror experiments, even the ones that don't quite stick the landing.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who directed Don't Hang Up and what's his background?
Alex Herron directed Don't Hang Up, bringing together an international crew from Sweden, Denmark, the United States, and Norway. The film marks an ambitious attempt to innovate within the found-footage horror subgenre using a modern, smartphone-based perspective.
Q: Is Don't Hang Up based on a true story?
No, Don't Hang Up is an original fictional horror concept designed around the FaceTime video-call format. The story exists purely as a genre exercise exploring how digital communication can heighten isolation and dread.
Q: How long is Don't Hang Up?
The film runs 91 minutes. Test-screening feedback suggested that audiences found the runtime excessive given the single-location, single-perspective format, though your mileage may vary depending on how much the FaceTime gimmick works for you.
Q: Where can I watch Don't Hang Up?
Don't Hang Up is currently streaming on Prime Video. Check the "Where to Watch" widget on this page for real-time availability across other platforms, or visit Movie OTT's streaming tracker for updates.
Q: What's the IMDb rating for Don't Hang Up?
Don't Hang Up currently holds a 4.4 out of 10 rating on IMDb, reflecting mixed critical and audience reception since its 2025 release.
Final Thoughts on Don't Hang Up
Don't Hang Up is the kind of film that deserves credit for trying something different—the FaceTime perspective is genuinely novel, and the international production values suggest real resources behind the concept. But ambition alone doesn't make a horror film work. The film stretches its central gimmick too thin, relying on jump scares and cheap effects when it should be mining psychological terror from the format itself. If you're a completist who watches every horror experiment that crosses your screen, or if you're specifically interested in how streaming-age communication shapes modern fear, it's worth the 91 minutes on Prime Video. For everyone else, there's probably a better use of your time.