Cell Phone Terror: Urban Legends for the 21st Century

In the Entertainment Age, certain cinematic lines remain etched in our cultural consciousness, like petroglyphs of the mind. For horror movie buffs who also happen to be cell phone mavens, this one should be easily recognizable: “Hello, Sidney.” The cell phone practically plays the lead role in the blockbuster Scream franchise (along with Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette, not to mention Drew Barrymore’s excellent cameo).

Film Tele-Noir

Long before Scream, of course, the telephone was a Hollywood suspense staple, from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 classic Dial M for Murder on through When a Stranger Calls (“Have you checked the children?”). All of these films have something in common; they tap into humanity’s fear of the unknown. Sometimes our modern-day folklore, more commonly known as urban legends, gets the better of us.

Being Paranoid Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Out to Get You

Most cell phone urban legends are more disturbing than frightening, like the doctored videos purporting to show clusters of cell phones causing popcorn kernels to pop (due to their “microwave signals”). Some are meant to just irritate people – they’re going to publish a directory with all the cell phone numbers in it! Others are meant to instill paranoia, with criminals using their cell phones to copy your information from the ATM, or that guy you heard about who can unlock your car with his cell phone. Or the wife who loads spyware into her cheating husband’s… Oh, wait, that one’s actually true.

In the real world, cell phone technology has been utilized by insurgents in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, with the ability to send codes that remotely detonate explosive devices. That’s the kind of terror that truly poses a threat to innocent lives the world over, not some knife-wielding boogeyman with unlimited minutes. But if you’re settling in for a scary flick with at least three other friends with cell phones, hey, at least you can make popcorn.

Are you interested in dropping your cell phone contract and changing to a pay monthly phones?