Don't Answer the Phone! (1980)

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

When I saw the Crown International Pictures logo, I expected the worst. But to my surprise, DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE! wasn't bad. In fact, it's the best Crown International feature I've ever seen--though that isn't saying much for the studio that foisted THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN on us.It's the story of two police detectives tracking down a serial killer who can only ejaculate as he strangles a woman to death. The killer becomes obsessed with a radio talk-show psychologist, which leads to his downfall. Nicholas Worth, who played the killer, turned in a highly convincing portrayal of an unhinged man with severe PTSD--over both childhood trauma and combat in Vietnam. I also liked James Westmoreland as Detective Chris McCabe, the lead officer in the investigation, and Flo Gerrish as the beleaguered Dr. Lindsay Gale.By today's standards, DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE! is rife with sexism and misogyny. But this was 1980, and I try not to judge the past by latter-day standards.

This film might as well have been titled: "Show Me Your Tits And Then I Kill You", because that's the killer's plain modus operandi, time after time, with no exception. Lots of women bare their breasts in this film, and they all get strangled for it. The disturbed killer is a Vietnam veteran (how original) with severe mommy & daddy issues (even more original) and scarily portrayed by Nicolas Worth (the guy honestly comes across as cunning, unpredictable and plain nuts). Worth has developed a bit of a cult status as an actor himself, having starred in a couple of early Wes Craven films and even Sam Raimi's "Darkman" (1990). The title of "Don't Answer The Phone" is a bit of a head-scratcher, as hardly any phone rings in this film. There's a psychiatrist lady who has a radio show, and at one point Killer Worth calls her up and strangles a woman, live on the air. Perhaps that explains the movie title to some extend. In the end, "Don't Answer The Phone" is glorious trash, both demented & ridiculous. And well, you may add misogynistic to that as well. While watching it, I experienced flashbacks to other films widely ranging from Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" (1976) over William Lustig's "Maniac" (1980) to Abel Ferrara's "Bad Lieutenant" (1992). But "Don't Answer The Phone" by far can't compete with any of those. It's not exactly a good film, but it manages to keep the attention of the viewer. Aside from the naked women, the strangulations and Worth acting all crazy, there's an amusing homicide cop-duo very determined to capture this maniac. Their adventures alone, are worth it already. And some of the dialogue is grin-inducing (and I'm not even talking about what all Worth gets to utter). At one point the cops are looking for clues out on the streets. Upon interrogating a bum who might know something, one cop sarcastically answers: "The last time this guy gave us a tip, he told us that the Boston Strangler was Tony Curtis.". Way to go script writer! If you don't get this joke right away, then go to the movie page of "The Boston Strangler" (1968) and check out the cast.It's for little things like this that "Don't Answer The Phone" gains points all over the place. Just wait for that scene where the cop-duo enters a brothel to look for a suspect. In one room there's a coke-deal going on and the criminals get alerted in time. Panic ensues, cocaine starts flying all across the room and one bimbo who wants to get rid of the evidence doesn't know any better than to start snorting the whole amount of spilled coke on the desk. Then when the cops enter and catch her snorting, she goes "Wooowie!" with a big smile on her face while lashing out with a whip. Not much later, the two cops shoot the suspect. Both of them shoot numerous time. He's dead, so one cop sighs while saying something along the lines of "Now we're gonna be stuck all night doing paper work on this one". The other cop goes: "What do you mean, 'we'? I missed." I had no idea total exploitation trash could be this funny. Either way, it makes "Don't Answer The Phone" very much worth a watch.

Remember the deliberately cheesy slasher movie parody that comprises the first five minutes of Brian DePalma's "Blow Out?" The libidinous airheads, the wheezing psycho, the wretched synthesizer score? Well, "Don't Answer the Phone" is the real thing. Seriously. For all I know DePalma actually had this movie in mind when he made "Blow Out," which hit theaters less than a year afterward.As a movie, there's not much to recommend. The plot is by the numbers: sicko breaking into homes killing women, leaving clues with a talk show host, pursued by police so over-the-top retarded that they kill the only witness they have, so far, to the crimes. The script is abysmal. The lead characters are not remotely likable or realistic. The top cop is a guy so obnoxious, stone-faced, and stupid that you are actually rooting for the psycho to beat the hell out of him in the climax. The actor playing him, James Westmoreland, doesn't seem to get the joke --- it's one of the most wooden monotone performances I've ever seen. I've heard some say Flo Gerrish is redeemable in the shrink role...sorry, I've seen better hand-wringing in C-grade soaps.Then...there's the late Nicholas Worth who always manages to bring something extra to nearly every role he's in...which is usually always a beefy menacing henchmen for someone or other. He, too, bears with some of the triteness of the script: the religious "wacko" overtones, the mix of maniacal sobbing and raging. But he, unlike the rest of the clueless droolers he's sharing the screen with, actually strikes a nerve, particularly in the murder scenes.So what's different about these scenes, you may ask, from all the assault scenes you've seen before? Well, Worth just seems to really be embodying this role, to the point that it's uncomfortable to watch. He possesses this character's sadism to a point where you wonder how he could really separate fantasy from reality. He's a very good method actor. At the start of the picture, his most chilling bullying is verbal, but near the end of the film, in the murder of the two roommates, his hatred is palpable. And the end of the film, where he faces off with Gerrish, brings an energy and intensity with it that is frankly one of the most frightening displays of rage I've ever seen on film.It's Worth alone that saves this dismal little drive-in dud. He elevates this movie to a level of disturbing that it doesn't remotely have the right to earn.

In "Don't Answer the Phone" sleazy and fat photographer masked behind pantyhose rapes and strangles women in a various state of undress.The action takes place in the city of sin Hollywood.He lures some of his victims to his photography studio.In his spare time he enjoys lifting weights and calling in to a radio show hosted by Lindsay Gale.Sleazy and sordid serial killer movie with truly demented central performance of Nicholas Worth.The police procedural section of "Don't Answer the Phone" is deadly dull,but the stalking scenes are great and the misogyny is rampant.The film is not as gruesome as "Maniac","Don't Go in the House" or "Nightmare in a Damaged Brain",however if you like them sleazy and nasty you can't miss it.8 out of 10 because the rating should be higher.