Fede Alvarez’s fresh thriller ‘Calls’ a victim of Covid

Director Fede Alvarez is the toast of Hollywood after his Alien sequel Romulus turned into a rousing box office success last week.

But back in 2021, he helmed every episode of the inventive Apple TV+ thriller Calls.

With a plethora of streaming options trying to capitalize on the house-arrested audiences of a pandemic, this one was simply buried.

I didn’t even know it existed before scanning Alvarez’s filmography prior to viewing Alien: Romulus.

The series is more of an audio-only serial with visualizations of phone calls amidst an apocalyptic event.

The visual component is quite hypnotic at times and never bland, but it is the voice acting from an astounding array of stars - a who’s who of television and movies - that sells the drama.

Each 15-minute episode features some novel sci-fi concepts and intense drama that is scarier for those with a disturbed imagination.

If you count yourself as a fan of Fede, answer the call on this thriller.

All nine episodes currently streaming on Apple TV+.