When a Stranger Calls

Starring:Charles Durning, Carol Kane, Colleen Dewhurst, Tony Beckley, Ron O'Neal, Steven Anderson (II), Rachel Roberts, Rutanya Alda, Carmen Argenziano, Sara Damman, Richard Bail, William Boyett, Kirsten Larkin, Carol O'Neal, Ed Wright, Louise Wright, Joseph Reale, Heetu, Michael Champion, Dennis McMullen
Director: Fred Walton (II)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The smartest thing about the remake of When a Stranger Calls is that it strips the original 1979 version to its bare essentials as a primal exercise in stormy-night terror. While taking the original film's suspenseful first act and expanding it into an 87-minute cat-and-mouse game, screenwriter Jake Wade Wall adds a few clever updates involving cellphones and home-security services, as well as the maze-like menace of a lavish modern home that serves as the setting for mayhem when cute teenager Jill (Camilla Belle, in the role originated by Carol Kane) takes on a babysitting job that she may live to regret. Someone is stalking her in the big, expensive glass palace that her employers call home (a splendid set designed by Jon Gary Steele), and that creepy voice on the phone (belonging to Lance Henriksen, master of doom-laden threat) should've been her first clue to grab the pair of terrified kids she's supposed to be protecting and leave the house ASAP. But no, the script, the overwrought score, and the uninspired direction of Simon West (Con-Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) insist that poor Jill be put through a Halloween-like night from hell, complete with a black cat as an omen of nasty things to come. Kudos to Wall and West for attempting to generate horror through suggestion (by keeping the homicidal stalker mostly off-screen), but let's face it: the original film is hardly a classic (its TV-movie sequel, When a Stranger Calls Back, is considerably better), and the remake takes too long to yield minimal rewards. Maybe Jill should've just unplugged the phone. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Sets a mood and delivers thrills the whole family can enjoy..........2007-06-26

What keeps me coming back to this remake is the sheer fact that it succeeds in so much while doing so little. It's hard these days to find a good thrill without all the excess blood, sex and language but here the same thrill is achieved with a stripped bare premise. It's dark, it's tense, it's claustrophobic and most importantly it's entertaining. Thankfully Camilla Belle is a good actress despite her youth and beauty and so watching her and pretty much only her for almost an hour and a half is doable and enjoyable even. She's convincing in her role as distressed damsel and while the script, like most of this genre, insists on making her repeat stupid mistakes to prolong her agony in the end she plays it smart and realistic.

It can be difficult to absorb an audience when your plot revolves around a few short hours, but here the time seems well spent. Nothing seems drug out nor compressed and boggled. Simon West does a great job of creating a mood with lighting and sound and not to mention that house which is enough to scare the bravest of souls. The movie starts slowly, setting that said mood, and then it gradually starts to build speed, and once the first body is dropped this train is loosed from its tracks and sent spiraling down at breakneck speed.

So, the premise is one that I'm sure everyone is familiar with, but here's the rundown. Jill has just had an outing with her boyfriend who just so happened to kiss her best friend. Because of this issue they've been spending quite a bit of time on the phone and thus her phone bill is outrageous causing her parents to take away her phone and her car and force her to baby-sit in order to pay off the bill. That's why she finds herself being stalked by a crazed killer at the Mandrakis residence with no way of leaving.

The film may not be perfect but what film is? It's tense and scary and proves that you don't need all the adult elements to make an interesting thriller. It meets its purpose and I've recommended it to all my friends and family and they love it as well. Well worth the time and money and will prove to be a great way to spend the night on the couch with some popcorn and a loved one. Now I have not seen the original and so I can't comment on the two in comparison but I can say that standing alone as a teen thriller `When a Stranger Calls' delivers the goods.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz............2007-06-26

Boring, by the numbers horror flick. You get to watch the world's stupidest teenager wander around a dimly lit house slowly opening door after door. You would figure someone who could afford a house that big could also afford better lighting. To pass the time between opening doors, she spends half the movie calling her equally stupid friends and leaving messages to people who are predictably not home. Call me crazy, but a slow tedious film like this just annoys me more than scares me. Don't waste your time.

Not that scary........2007-06-19

Believe me. I saw this movie when I was 12. (I am now 14) I also saw this movie recently. Both times I found it very disapointing. It really isn't that scary. I has an awesome plot, though. But, like I said, not really that scary.

When a Stranger calls revew.......2007-06-12

"When a Stranger Calls"

"We've traced the call it's coming from inside the house." Dead silence. Just think, someone watching you without you or anybody else even knowing. That's exactly what happened to Jill Johnson when a babysitting job went out of hand. This was more than just earning money for going over 800 minutes on her cell phone, this was dead torture. Jill was a normal high school girl with all the boyfriend issues and what not. After having a huge fight with her boyfriend and him costing her all of her minutes, her parents told her that she had to make her own money and she thought that babysitting would be the perfect job. The fridge was stocked and the TV was there with all the billions of channels. It was perfect, and to top it all of, the kids were dead asleep. But all of this ended when the perfect babysitting job went haywire. The phone rings, "Have you checked the children?"
This was a horror movie out of hand. This PG-13 movie was my kind of movie. This movie kept me on the edge of my seat and begging for more. The first time I watched this movie was at midnight and when it was over, the phone rang, I nearly had a heart attack! But from now on, I guess you can say that im not babysitting for a while.
This is not a move for babysitters, and if you are one, and you watch this movie, you will never want to baby-sit ever again. I also wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone under the age of 12 for terror and violence.

Christina Rich

Terrible.......2007-04-30

The first one wasnt that great but this one is way worse. It makes the first one look like a classic. It has a little bit of a different plot than the original. This was stupid. This gets worst movie of the year.

Average customer rating:

The BEST scary movie
Still Crazy After All These Years
dreadful and boring movie
Dated Terror Still Holds Up
Great old-time classic

When a Stranger Calls
Starring: Charles Durning , Carol Kane , Colleen Dewhurst , Tony Beckley , and Ron O'Neal
Director: Fred Walton (II)
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005NRN7
Release Date: 2001-10-09

Amazon.com

Released a year after John Carpenter's 1978 Halloween, this thriller by longtime actor-turned-director Fred Walton has held a strong following of its own. In an exemplary piece of suspense, the film begins with a babysitter (Carol Kane) fielding threatening phone calls while on the job. She soon finds that a pair of children in her charge have been murdered in their beds; she is nearly killed herself by the homicidal maniac before police arrive. As with Halloween, the action jumps some years ahead, when Kane's character is herself a wife and mother--and the monster escapes from a mental institution to re-create his original carnage in the heroine's own home. Between these exciting bookends, the film loses its way and becomes dissatisfying and obscure. But Walton compensates by engineering a couple of great horror moments worth savoring. Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

The BEST scary movie .......2007-06-12

There are only two movies in which I have ejected myself out of my seat in terror while screaming -they are Wait Until Dark with Audrey Hepburn and the original When A Stranger Calls. Just thinking about it creeps me out and I only saw it once... 28 years ago! I remember telling a friend about the babysitting scene while taking a stroll through some trees and freaking us both out! The neat part about this thriller is that there wasn't a speck of blood, no gore--simply the conceptual implication. It is a fantastic psychological thriller through and through. Carol Kane and Charles Durning were perfectly cast for their roles.

Still Crazy After All These Years.......2007-06-12

When a Stranger Calls, made one year after John Carpenter's Halloween, continues the slasher, babysitter storyline; however this movie is different in that the killer and potential victim are both given character development. This is much more satisfying than having a killer who just kills people without any kind of explanation given to the audience why he's crazy. No, we're not made aware of the killer's motivation into madness, but at least we're allowed to know him.

When a Stranger Calls was originally created to be a sequel to the seventies movie Black Christmas; but that idea was scrapped. Some people still consider ...Stranger...as a sequel, but aren't there certain rules about what constitutes a sequel? If the killer, victim and setting is all different from the original film, can it still be a sequel? I don't believe so.

Some hate the middle part of the movie; and accuse it of being boring. I personally feel that the middle part had perfect continuity with the beginning and ending and was just as suspenseful. A killer stalks and gets caught, where else can the plot go?

Bottom Line: a very good and suspenseful movie with no sex, not much bad language, and a limited amount of blood: that might sound boring to the average horror fan, but it's really not.

dreadful and boring movie.......2007-01-02

The only good part of the movie was when the female protagonist gets a phone call that the killer is inside house which was in the beginning of the movie. The rest was really boring. Don't get me wrong, i don't mind a slow paced movie which were prominent in the 1970's and 1980's but this movie was so dreadful. This movie isn't origianl in terms of the horror subgenre of a slasher/killer calls by phone type of movie. Black Christmas 1974 was the original slasher flick/killer calls by phone type of movie. When a Stranger Calls flat out copied the scene from Black Christmas. In Black Christmas 1974, A sorority sister gets a really creepy and scary calls in the house. The police then trace the call and says that the killer is upstairs in the house. Of course Psycho was the first American modern horror and the 2nd is Black Christmas.

Dated Terror Still Holds Up.......2006-12-17

After seeing the new (2005) When A Stranger Calls , while quite good , it simply time zoned me to the original in the 70's . The current effort is based only on the originals first 25 minutes . Terrifying ones too , as I recall . Of course it's dated in 30 years , but it thrilled young and old in my clan . It still remains very edgy and haunting , and the chase / twist at the end still sends chills . The new one doesn't even go there . For the few bucks it demands to buy it , it's a keeper that won't disappoint . I still can't look at Charles Durning the same way , even after three decades !!

Great old-time classic.......2006-11-03

WOW! What a great old time favorite. I saw it many years ago and enjoyed it tremendously. Seeing it again gave me the same chills of yesteryear.

Average customer rating:

Scary Scary Scary !
One of the greatest suspense thrillers of all time
"It's dark...can't see...no phone..."
A SUPERIOR SEQUEL!!!
Creepy & Better Than The Original

When a Stranger Calls Back
Starring: Carol Kane , Charles Durning , Jill Schoelen , Gene Lythgow , and Rebecca Mullen
Director: Fred Walton (II)
Manufacturer: Good Times Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305137382
Release Date: 2001-05-15

Customer Reviews:

Scary Scary Scary !.......2007-02-23

I agree with the other posts here , this is a superior made for TV what a surprise and to have Carol Kane back is just fantastic !

This idea of a young girl alone in the house the phone is dead and then theres a knock on the door , and the voice behind the door wants to use the phone and then it starts to send chills thus the movie goes into a rollercaster throughout .

Buy it or rent it I promise you you wont be disapointed .

One of the greatest suspense thrillers of all time.......2006-09-24

I use to watch this when I was young and the beginning use to scare the bezeesis outta me. Recently I saw it on ebay, and saw that it's an out of print dvd so i bought it, and watched it which I hadnt in years, i use to watch it alot when I was young, but to me (when i was only a kid) it was scary certain parts of the film then the rest was boring, which this movie is anything but, just not for kids. It's actually scarier now for me because as an adult I can really appreciate how frightening this film is because it's realistic, and realistic movies are the scariest ones. The acting is oscar worthy, Carol Kane is great once again after being the victim in WHEN A STRANGER CALLS. I think this film is brilliant, especially the original idea of the killer/stalker having a talent that he uses to his advantage, being a ventriliguist and having other skills like slipping in and out of a house without being seen, his mind games, his sadistic games that he enjoys so much, the power that he feels over his victim, poor julia, stalked by this maniac and the police just laugh at her. Another thing, this actor who we never really see, has the sexiest voice I've ever heard, which is probably one of the main reasons he got the part, it's his voice that makes it scary but erotic at the same time, when he keeps saying their name, JILL...........JILL. COME ON OUT JULIA. At first he sounded innocent and normal when he tells julia of his car breaking down, and I love the events that followed, the writing on the paper being erased, the note missing, the door unlocked in the back. Everything was planned, although he did intend to kill her because the doctor and wife come home and interuptted his "act" or he knew they were coming home at 11:30pm and wanted to stalk her in the future and finish what he started. He obviously got off on people's suffering. Very good film. We never really find out but you know he killed the kids. Especially when he told the landlord that kids had died and he wanted to find the mother, almost like a confession. Very creepy, suspenseful film. There are no flaws, perfect movie as far as I'm concerned, perfect suspense, and the movie lets you decide and figure everything out.

"It's dark...can't see...no phone...".......2006-07-30

This superior made-for-TV movie opens with high school student Julia (Jill Schoelen) babysitting two children. A knock at the door is the beginning of a night of unspeakable terror and murder. Five years later, Julia is now a college student, still scarred by that night. Someone, it seems, has been breaking into her apartment and trying to scare her. The police think she's making it up, but college crisis counselor Jill (Carol Kane) believes her, and tries to find out who is after her, aided by her friend (Charles Durning). Soon, Jill becomes the stalker's new target.

This movie is going to terrify you; I guarantee it, especially if you were once a teenage girl who babysat alone. I've seen the movie several times over the years, and I still have to mute the sound and close my eyes when the tension is too much. Credit for this thriller's success goes to director Fred Walton who also wrote the script. You feel like you ARE Julia, all alone and scared senseless, and the creepiness never lets up. Schoelen is convincing as the hapless teen and quirky Carol Kane is always fun to watch. The movie delivers genuine thrills and you won't easily forget it. Highly recommended.

A SUPERIOR SEQUEL!!!.......2006-07-18

This sequel to When A Stranger Calls (1979) is a fantastic film with more suspense than the original!! It features fantastic performances from both Carol Kane and Jill Schoelen as well!!
Featuring a surprise ending that must be see to be believed!!

Creepy & Better Than The Original.......2006-05-04

I liked this sequel better than the original, right off the bat. I will always remember this film for the first 20-25 minutes which really scared me the first time I saw it. It gave me the creeps, and always will if I don't watch it too often.

After that, the movie settles down, and the excitement leaves, but it still keeps you interested, picking back up again at the end with another suspense scene.

This is a "scare" movie - a sequel - that works although there are a few noticeable holes in the storyline. I liked the camera-work in here with the closeups of the door lock or the phone, the slowness of camera movement here and there to build suspense, etc. The ending, in which the killer blends into a wall, is very neat.

The main actors are interesting to watch and a big plus , for those concerned about this, is the lack of profanity, especially surprising with Charles Durning in the film. The "R" rating had to be for a couple of topless waitress scenes.

Jill Schoelen gets third billing and she's the star of the movie. Carol Kane, the star of the first film: When A Stranger Calls, helps out on this case, too, and it's nice to see her again.

Average customer rating:

The BEST scary movie
Still Crazy After All These Years
dreadful and boring movie
Dated Terror Still Holds Up
Great old-time classic

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ASIN: B000E1ZBIG
Release Date: 2006-01-31

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

The BEST scary movie .......2007-06-12

Still Crazy After All These Years.......2007-06-12

dreadful and boring movie.......2007-01-02

Dated Terror Still Holds Up.......2006-12-17

Great old-time classic.......2006-11-03

WOW! What a great old time favorite. I saw it many years ago and enjoyed it tremendously. Seeing it again gave me the same chills of yesteryear.

When a Stranger Calls (UMD Mini for PSP)

Average customer rating:

Great Movie
Yawn

When a Stranger Calls (UMD Mini for PSP)
Starring: Camilla Belle , and Tessa Thompson
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: UMD for PSP

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Accessories:

Sony PSP PlayGear Amp
Sony PSP Comfort Grips Black
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Sony PSP Travel Case

ASIN: B000F2C7B8
Release Date: 2006-05-16

Customer Reviews:

Great Movie.......2007-03-18

I am tired of people coming on here and giving 1 star to everything. They are mad at the world. Great movie and will watch it again and again

Yawn.......2007-02-23

I refused to see the theatrical release of this when I first heard of it .

Because I knew there would be no way you can top a creepy idea like the original with Carol Kane .

Now the origninal was a masterpiece in horror with the idea that someone is in the house calling the victim of course now days we have cell phones and caller ID and this simply cant happen .

My suggestion is to rent first before you waste your money in owning this silly film .

Average customer rating:

The BEST scary movie
Still Crazy After All These Years
dreadful and boring movie
Dated Terror Still Holds Up
Great old-time classic

When a Stranger Calls [Region 2]
Starring: Charles Durning , Carol Kane , Colleen Dewhurst , Tony Beckley , and Ron O'Neal
Director: Fred Walton (II)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00004T11L

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Customer Reviews:

The BEST scary movie .......2007-06-12

Still Crazy After All These Years.......2007-06-12

dreadful and boring movie.......2007-01-02

Dated Terror Still Holds Up.......2006-12-17

Great old-time classic.......2006-11-03

WOW! What a great old time favorite. I saw it many years ago and enjoyed it tremendously. Seeing it again gave me the same chills of yesteryear.

Average customer rating:

Sets a mood and delivers thrills the whole family can enjoy...
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
Not that scary.
When a Stranger calls revew
Terrible

When a Stranger Calls
Starring: Camilla Belle , Tommy Flanagan , Tessa Thompson , Katie Cassidy , and Brian Geraghty
Director: Simon West
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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