When a Stranger Calls (2006)

Let's be realistic.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I stumbled across this movie as new arrival on Netflix, I've never been a fan of these teen babysitting 'horror' movies, I find them rather dull and boring. Now I'm not sure if because I was so tired when watching that I found it to be enjoyable, or if I genuinely think it was good. The house it is set in is beautiful and I was mad at myself for being sucked into the jump scares. The main character to me wasn't very likable though and I was rooting for her death which unfortunately never came, and I would like to have seen more of the killer and there to have been more than a motive rather than he was just a psycho killer. The ending was garbage and again was upset the the main character didn't die. I started this review liking this movie but the more I go on the more upset I am that she didn't die, oh and the fact you don't get to see anyone else die, their bodies are just discovered. The more I think about it the more I don't think I liked this movie at all. There is a lot of heavy breathing and nothingness happening for a lot of the time, and the people you want to die just don't. Worth a watch though, even if its just to get annoyed about the survivors.

When coming out in theaters, When a Stranger Calls was a remake I was really anticipating, especially being a fan of the original at the time. Even though I enjoyed this film more back then, I couldn't help but feel disappointed after a second viewing. The writers were really trying hard to make this installment just as suspenseful as the first, but the monotonous scenes of safety alarms going off and pointless phone calls that aren't the killer dragged this movie horribly. Also, the killer really does not even say much of anything on the phone, so what's scary about phone calls if you don't hear vulgar language, threats or even a creepy voice. The viewers see no deaths and the film starts off with a very lousy plot. One thing I do admit, the casting of Camille Belle was a smash. She had solid character development and looked like a girl who you want to play this role. Overall, I still found myself consistently bored right up until the last couple of minutes of the movie.

When a Stranger Calls (2006): Dir: Simon West / Cast: Camilla Belle, Katie Cassidy, Brian Geraghty, Clark Gregg, Tessa Thompson: Horror film remake about fear that comes nowhere near close to the shocking effect of the original 1979 version where Carol Kane played the terrorized babysitter. Plot seems to stretch the effective first fifteen minutes of the original into the entire running time. A babysitter receives threatening calls and realizes that she may be being watched. Starts out fine with edge of your seat chills throughout but the third act bombs when the killer becomes nothing more than an object. He is a faceless villain whereas the original film it examines a frail individual with a tormented mind whom a detective struggles to bring down. None of that is present here because the goal of this farce is the lowest common denominator. Director Simon West who previously made the effective The General's Daughter as well as junk such as Con Air and Laura Croft: Tomb Raider focuses on the ominous features of the house, which is nice but the plot is greatly reduced to idiocy. Camilla Belle holds her own as the paranoid babysitter but he co-stars as as lively as blowup dolls. Katie Cassidy plays a school friend who drops by and dies. Brian Geraghty, Tessa Thompson and Clark Gregg are flat. Potential remake with a stranger with no motive other than to up the phone bill. Score: 3 ½ / 10

It's Fernhill, Colorado and the teens are having a big bonfire party. Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) is forced to babysit for the Mandrakis after exceeding her phone minutes. The Mandrakis live in a big house. There are two sleeping kids (Madeline Carroll, Arthur Young), and housekeeper Rosa at the house. Jill starts getting weird phone calls. She's angry at her boyfriend Bobby (Brian Geraghty) and friend Tiffany (Katie Cassidy) for kissing. Tiffany crashes her babysitting gig and then disappears. The calls keep coming and Jill calls the police.Camilla Belle is really pretty but rather bland as an actress. It doesn't help that the movie relies so heavily on her being alone. Quite frankly, nothing happens for most of the movie. They don't even introduce the kids until late in the movie. It doesn't take advantage of the girl alone scenario with better atmosphere. It never gets to a scary place. It's a lot of phone calls and missed connections. The whole movie feels like a missed connection. The final section is filled with action but it's too late.