MOBILE phones are the bane of the modern world, chirruping annoyingly in the middle of films and transforming mild-mannered teenagers into frenzied text fiends.

One such handheld device takes a starring role in David R Ellis' edge-of-seat thriller, an unabashed slice of B-movie schlock that shines thanks to the combined efforts of a top-notch cast.

High school science teacher Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger) sees her husband Craig (Richard Burgi) off to work, then walks her son Ricky to the school bus.

She returns home shortly before five unknown assailants, led by the villainous Ethan (Jason Statham), break in and take her hostage, spiriting her away to a remote house.

Jessica is locked in the attic where she patches together a shattered telephone and secretly places calls to unknown numbers in a last ditch effort to save herself and her loved ones.

Based on a story by Larry Cohen (who also wrote Phone Booth), Cellular is surprisingly suspenseful and entertaining hokum that makes the most of its premise.

The film readily acknowledges its contrivances and cliches, and embraces them, propelling the characters on a white-knuckle ride of energetic set-pieces and shoot-outs, ably directed by Ellis.

See it at UCI, ABC