AN ACCLAIMED actor-writer-director, Ed Burns ("Confidence," "The Groomsmen") now stars in Warner Bros.’ new spine-tingling horror-thriller, "One Missed Call," as detective Jack Andrews whose sister dies after receiving a terrifying cell phone message of her own final fatal moment.

In real life, Burns comes from a family of NYPD officers. "My dad, my uncle, five of my cousins, and three of my best friends from childhood are cops. It’s a very familiar world to me," says Burns.

In the film, upon hearing the terrible news about his sister, Jack rushes to the morgue to identify her body and collect her belongings, and in doing so, finds a red hard candy inside the mouth of his sister’s corpse. None of it makes much sense until he overhears Beth (Shannyn Sossamon) describing the same experience about her dead friends to a skeptical police officer in the precinct. "Jack is the only guy at the station who will listen to Beth’s stories since her friends all died with a piece of red hard candy in their mouths," states Burns.

"Jack and Beth are the only ones who see a connection between the deaths," says producer Andrew Kosove. "As they start to connect the pieces, they’re drawn by their common desire to figure out what’s going on."

One of the things Burns says he responded to most in the screenplay was the connection between Beth and Jack, a complicated relationship that evolves throughout the course of the film. "The relationship that develops between Beth and Jack in the film is a classic, old-school Hollywood movie relationship."

"It’s a special part of the film," offers Sossamon. "To Beth, Jack is handsome and very much a gentleman. When they first meet, he genuinely tries to help her figure out why her friends are dying, with no ulterior motives. There is an attraction, but they’re guarded with each other because they’ve witnessed so much horror. The dynamic between them is very intense."

A filmmaker himself, Burns was excited to work with French director Eric Valette after he saw the latter’s acclaimed film, "Maléfique." He notes, "Having never done a horror film before as either an actor or director, I kept a close eye on the amount of coverage and the type of coverage Eric got to learn more about directing this type of movie. There’s an elegance and method to how he builds tension and suspense."

Valette, who had equal praise, notes, "Ed is very cool and laid-back, and very sharp. He is a great actor, and since he is also a director, he understands all of the directing shorthand and can appreciate the challenges a director faces on set. He is perfect for the role of Jack because he is very authentic and brings a lot of stability to the role with a hint of vulnerability."

Working with Burns for the first time, Sossamon remarks, "Ed and I got along really well and we were always on the same page. He is very good at what he does, and always made me laugh."

"One Missed Call" is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.