When a Stranger Calls |  | Director: Fred Walton
Actors: Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Colleen Dewhurst, Tony Beckley, Ron O'Neal
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
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Rating:  113 reviews
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 99
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5 x 0.6
MPN: D06551D
ISBN: 0767868358
UPC: 004339606551
EAN: 9780767868358
Theatrical Release Date: October 26, 1979
Release Date: October 9, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 113
 Have you checked the children? October 10, 2009
William Dorfer
Considering I've been reviewing a lot of the old-school horror classics, I figure I'll give this one a spin. "When A Stranger Calls" is an intriguing late '70s horror film, taking some influence from "Halloween", which came out a year before. Comparatively, this movie is a lot less known, almost a sleeper film, which is one of the reasons I find it so enjoyable. I appreciate movies that have aged to perfection without getting major mainstream exposure, while still standing the test of time. And as you guessed, "When A Stranger Calls" stands the test of time.I'm also grateful for Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments countdown, because had it not been for that, it probably would've taken me longer to find this sleeper masterpiece.
One thing that makes this movie so interesting is the style of it. The first half-hour is like a Hitchcock-influenced slasher film, whereas the middle half-hour is a well thought-out and brilliantly developed police story, before going back to slasher horror in the last half hour. This sort of progression throughout the movie, along with the blending of two different genres of movies, makes for an interesting twist, and quite a unique work of art.
The tension in the first 30 minutes is both incredibly realistic, and nauseatingly intense. I can't think of any concept more plausible than a creepy stranger calling your house and asking to check on the children you're babysitting...over and over, nonetheless! Something that seems so likely to happen makes for some real scares, and a great way to start off the movie.
Within the next 30 minutes, a police story is developed, where the cops pursue the escaped murderer. Although this kind of shifts the focus away from the Hitchcock-influenced slasher elements of the movie, this part of the movie is thoroughly entertaining and interesting. In this half-hour, we also get a look at the maniac, showing what a crazy individual he is, taking us into the psychological aspect of every slasher film.
The last third of the movie takes us back to the edge-of-your-seat slasher-film tension. I don't want to give much more away because I don't want to ruin the movie, but let's just say that this part of the film is where the main characters vows not to let history repeat itself, alongside the recurrence of the killer. The ending is one that'll make your heart pound until it's in your throat!
In short, "When A Stranger Calls" is a timeless and terrifying sleeper of a classic, and proves that even 30 years after its release, nothing in horror is so unnerving as real life. A highly recommended movie! Thanks for the time, and peace.
 Whem A Stranger Calls April 18, 2009
Clifford Goodland
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have not received this item yet.Would you please check it out for me. Thank you.
 "Have you checked the children?" March 31, 2009
M. Ryan Fairbanks (Cleveland, Ohio)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When a Stranger Calls is a noteworthy 70's horror flick that is often overlooked by the horror community at large. Perhaps it simply got buried underneath the avalanche of horror movies that would soon come in the late 70's and throughout the 80's, but for reasons that will quickly become apparent upon viewing, it should not be forgotten.
I'm sure that I'm merely echoing the sentiments of others when I say that the first twenty minutes are the best part of the entire movie, and arguably the only real purpose of bothering to watch this movie at all. It's a simplistic story of a young baby sitter who receives numerous unidentified phone calls warning her to "check the children" she is sitting. What she first shrugs off as a prank quickly escalates into sheer terror as the caller persists and she finds herself alone in the dark, unfamiliar house fending off an unseen intruder. This is one of the best horror/suspense segments I have ever seen. Anybody who has ever been home alone at night time and has let their imagination run away with them after hearing some strange noise or from the darkness itself will easily identify with the scene. It's suspense at it's finest.
Unfortunately after this memorable and very effective opening, the movie dive bombs into the bland borefest that it largely is. Seven years later, the killer, Duncan, from the opening incident has escaped from the mental ward, and the detective that originally put him away vows to hunt him down and do it again. Furthermore, he decides that this time it's personal and in an act of vigilantism he sets out to kill Duncan before he kills again. I suppose this was intended to be some sort of commentary making us realize that the hunter has become the hunted so to speak and that we should now feel sorry for Duncan. It fails. Even looking past the fact that the man is a child killer, he is a hapless annoying bum who I personally couldn't wait to see get picked off. The conclusion attempts to reprise the horror of the opening scene with the previous babysitter now in the mother role. Things do perk up, but never to the extent of the beginning.
Overall an above average horror/suspense outing with an opening scene that will stick with you. But "the best horror movie ever made"?! C'mon people, get real. Nonetheless horror fanatics should consider When a Stranger Calls essential viewing.
good ole suspense March 14, 2009
Francisco P. Neto (Brazil)
A real masterpiece of suspense, even 30 years later! While the remake is still very good, I was surprised to feel even more electrified by the original version. Definitely a classic!!!
Some Details I Haven't Seen Mentioned February 14, 2009
Lulu (The Rat's Mouth, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I thought I'd mention some things that bothered me about When a Stranger Calls that I haven't yet seen mentioned.
*The killer murdered two children with his bare hands - literally tore them apart. While the babysitter downstairs (doing homework, not watching TV or listening to music), doesn't hear a single thing? Come on.
*After the first act, the action jumps forward 7 years. But Jill (Carol Kane) was a teenager in high school and now she's a wife and mother of two kids who appear to be around 5 and 6. Possible? Yes. Likely? No.
*There are numerous feeble attempts to inject some sort of social commentary into the deadly dull middle section of the film. But they never actually commit to any particular point of view!
-The ex-cop (Charles Durning) rails at the injustice that the killer was judged insane and sent to a mental institution - apparently because whenever psychopathic killers are sent to mental institutions, the security is lax and they are allowed to escape. Huh? I mean, how often does that happen in real life? Mark David Chapman and John Hinckley are still under lock and key at their respective mental institutions.
-The administrator of the mental institution is presented to us as cold and callous when she casually admits that the killer was subjected to shock treatment 38 times. But wait a minute...I thought the point was that mental institutions are cushy and lax; now they're making the point that they are unnecessarily cruel? I'm confused.
-The ex-cop's friend who is still on the force tells him that he doesn't approve of the fact that he's turned into a vigilante who plans to find the escaped killer and murder him. But he also helps him to find the guy. So vigilantism is wrong...except when it isn't.
*A certain musical cue that is heard several times was apparently lifted to be used as the THX "the audience is listening" sound cue. Not a fault of the original filmmakers, but this makes it hard to sit through now without giggling.
*How does the killer keep getting into people's locked upstairs rooms? I thought he was a merchant marine, not a locksmith.
The bottom line? Neat opening act. It should've been a short film. The rest is a weak follow-up.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 113
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