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Movies / On DVD / When a Stranger Calls
When a Stranger Calls

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When a Stranger Calls (2006)

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Reviews Counted: 85

Fresh: 8

Rotten:77

Average Rating: 3.3/10

Consensus: What's fitting punishment for running up the phone bill? Why have that person baby sit; that'll teach them. Or better yet, make that person through this poorly acted, fright-free remake of the 1979 movie of the same name. Camilla Belle is a looker, but she got nothing on Carol Kane, the actress who originally played the part, when it comes to range. The final straw is that the payoff isn't worth the tedium that comes before. Just hang up on this one.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for intense terror, violence and some language.

Runtime: 87 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Theatrical Release: Feb 3, 2006 Wide

Box Office: $47,860,214

Synopsis: A slick remake of the 1979 original, Simon West's WHEN A STRANGER CALLS is a contemporary update of a well-known suburban legend. When 16-year-old Jill (newcomer Camilla Belle in the part originally played by Carol Kane) exceeds her cell... A slick remake of the 1979 original, Simon West's WHEN A STRANGER CALLS is a contemporary update of a well-known suburban legend. When 16-year-old Jill (newcomer Camilla Belle in the part originally played by Carol Kane) exceeds her cell phone minutes, her parents force her to spend the night babysitting instead of attending a huge bonfire bash. As Jill's father drives her to Dr. Mandrakis's house for the evening, we are given the sense from the long drive, spooky music, and winding roads, that the home is literally at the end of the Earth. Perched over the edge of a steamy lake, the mansion-like structure is made entirely of dark wood and glass. With an arboretum built into its center, the palatial home feels both Zen-like and forbidding. With the children already asleep, Jill spends the first hour indulging in secret babysitter pleasures like snooping and trying on Mrs. Mandrakis's jewelry. Without a cell phone or car, and all her friends' phones out of range, Jill is particularly isolated--the perfect victim for a psychopath on the loose. As she begins to get calls from a heavy-breathing stranger, what at first seems like a prank slowly becomes a real threat, creating a panic-filled evening that's any babysitter's nightmare. Using modern-day luxuries like caller ID, security alarm systems, and motion-sensor lights to its advantage, the film plays with themes of technology and wealth, pondering how much protection they actually provide. Clearly targeted at a teenage audience, the PG-13-rated film contains relatively little violence (lacking some of the graphic scenes that most people remember the original by), and instead uses unfamiliar spaces and a sense of the unknown to keep audiences scared. [More]

Starring: Camilla Belle, Tommy Flanagan, Clark Gregg, Derek De Lint

Starring: Camilla Belle, Tommy Flanagan, Clark Gregg, Derek De Lint, David Denman, Madeleine Carroll, Steve Eastin, Lance Henriksen

Director: Simon West

Director: Simon West
Screenwriter: Jake Wade Wall
Producer: John Davis, Wyck Godfrey
Composer: Jim Dooley
Studio: Screen Gems

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Release:

May 16, 2006

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.40

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Surround Sound 5.1 - English
  • Subtitles - English, French - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Commentaries - 1. Director
  • 2. Screenwriters
  • Featurettes - 1. Deleted Scenes
  • 2. "The Making of WHEN A STRANGER CALLS"

Reviews for When a Stranger Calls

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/18/08
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
01/15/08
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Ratings Image

If you’ve seen either Black Christmas or Halloween, there’s nothing new here: the hyped-up score keeps telling us we ought to be scared, but the suspense feels mechanical and fake.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Nigel Floyd
Time Out
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
06/03/06
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
Ratings Image

...just as needless a remake as one might've expected.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
05/27/06
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Ratings Image

No plot, no originality, no stars -- and no reason for you to go and see this crap.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
05/27/06
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies
Ratings Image

You know a horror movie's in trouble when the fake scares outweigh the real ones.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
05/16/06
Matthew Leyland
BBC
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
05/13/06
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Ratings Image

I can't help feeling that this updating could have been a little more imaginative -- the only wrinkle on the basic plot is that it uses mobile phones.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
05/13/06
Robert Hanks
Independent
Ratings Image

While teen chillers tend to be exercises in extreme dullness, at least director Simon West tries to wring some suspense out of the scenes here.

Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | comment Comment
05/12/06
Harry Guerin
RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
Ratings Image

Having abstained from character development and stalling for something to do between calls, the movie dwells in the house’s dark corners, plugging plot holes with overzealous sound design.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
05/12/06
Jonathan Kiefer
Sacramento News & Review
Ratings Image

Loud, noisy, flashy but too rarely chilling.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/12/06
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Ratings Image

Atmospheric but generally disappointing thriller, despite a passably tense climax and an eye-catching performance by newcomer Camilla Belle.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
05/12/06
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image

This year's "I Know What You Did Last Summer"...You'll be totally immersed and near on the verge of drawing sweat

Full Review Source: Brag Magazine | comment Comment
04/12/06
Clint Morris
Brag Magazine
Ratings Image

god damn why in the world would they only remake the first 20 minutes?

Full Review Source: sbs.is | comment Comment
04/11/06
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is
Ratings Image

Não percebe que a premissa é insuficiente para sustentar 90 minutos de duração e, conseqüentemente, o resultado deixa muito a desejar com relação ao original.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
04/02/06
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image

…it did half the trick for me and for that…it receives half the marks.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
03/24/06
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
03/17/06
Sydney Morning Herald
Ratings Image

I'll be damned if I can find anything to like

Full Review Source: New Times | comment Comment
03/16/06
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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Latest News for When a Stranger Calls

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See More Topics...

Related Forums for When a Stranger Calls

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