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MOVIE REVIEWS
When A Stranger Calls
February 9, 2006
Pointless. Stupid. Bland. I am surprised to say these words do not describe the film, When A Stranger Calls directed by Simon West and with a screenplay by Jake Wade Wall. After hearing from several people how horrible this movie was, I walked into the theatres expecting to hate it, but I was pleasantly surprised. The film was well shot, acted, and well written. Based on the 1979 film of the same name, this version obviously had a much higher budget, and has been updated to fit the standards of 2006. It stars indie film vet Camilla Belle in her first big budgeter, and David Cassidy of the Partridge Family's daughter, Katie Cassidy as Belle's best friend.
Jill Johnson (Belle) has been grounded. She has gone over the minutes on her cell phone, and must repay her parents by babysitting, and if that wasn't bad enough, she has discovered that her boyfriend Bobby (Brian Geraghty) has been cheating on her with her best friend Tiffany (Cassidy). Tonight she has to babysit the Mandrakis children, whose father is a very wealthy doctor, so they live in an enormous house by a lake. It starts out as a quiet evening, and Jill couldn't feel more safe: the doors are locked, the children are already asleep, the live in maid, Rosa (Rosine Ace Hatem), is there to keep her company, and the fridge is full. Just as she's settled down and studying, the phone rings, and on the other end a horrible voice whispers, " Have you checked the children?" Unafraid, so sure that it is a prank caller, Jill tries to ignore the call and get on with the rest of the night. But when she starts hearing noises and can't find Rosa, and when this man continues to call her, asking the same question, Jill starts to become more and more afraid, leading her to the horrifying discovery that the man has been calling from inside the house. Now Jill must save the Mandrakis children, or run the risk of letting all three of them become the Stranger's newest victims.
Although certainly not award winning, When A Stranger Calls is still a very enjoyable film. Camilla Belle earns her scream queen status in the hapless role of the young babysitter, and brought a new degree of toughness for a teenage heroine in a horror movie. Jake Wade Wall's script, while a bit clichéd, still was able to work in enough suspense for an audience to enjoy, and he kept many of the classic line from the original, and was able to logically work around today's elements of Caller I.D. and cellular phones. My only qualm for the entire film was its wimpy PG-13, with a little bit more violence, this could have been an excellent horror film.
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