When A Stranger Calls

BEWARE: Spoilers ahead!

Have you ever received any calls where the anonymous caller is puffing heavily into the receiver (he must have had a 100m run to the nearest telephone)? Well, this is the main problem that is discussed in the movie ‘When A Stranger Calls’. The remake of this 1979 movie is helmed by director, Simon West (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider).

In this movie, a high school student, Jill Johnson (played by Camilla Belle of ‘The Ballad of Jack and Rose’ fame), was grounded by her parents right at the time when her school was having a bonfire celebration. Yeah, I know most of you think that sucks a lot but that is what parents do (well, at least what American parents do).]

So, Jill took up a baby-sitting job at the Mandrakis’ residence where she looks after two of the Mandrakis’ children. The Mandakis’ gorgeous villa is situated at some rural hilly area and the place to the nearest civilisation takes about 20 minutes drive. After Mr. and Mrs. Mandrakis left for their dinner reservations, Jill was left with the two children and a maid and a beautiful house to explore (note that when I said that the villa is beautiful, I really meant it). However, things take a sinister turn when Jill receives calls from an anonymous caller who wants to know her name and then later wants her dead. The police later notify her that the calls had been traced and it is coming from inside the house itself…

This movie can drag for quite long. Unnecessary dagging that is. I mean how long should the viewers put up with endless scenes of Jill walking around the house and keep on receiving endless phone calls? Heck, the phone rang at least more than 20 times in this movie! This can get really frustrating all through out the movie (that’s right the phone kept ringing none stop until the end of the movie).

There were only a few notable parts in this movie. For instance, when the anonymous caller finally appeared and Jill fight her way out the house alive while protecting the two children. However, this part only lasts for about 25 minutes at the end of the show. The rest of the time was about the cat-and-mouse hunt that was played by the stranger. Oh yeah, there were also the clever concept of the automatic-switch for all the lights in the house and the guess house thing. There was also this really creepy conversation between the stranger and Jill:

  Jill Johnson: [On phone] You really scared me, if that’s what you wanted. Is that what you wanted!?
Stranger: No.
Jill Johnson: What do you want?
Stranger: Your blood all over me.

The acting wasn’t really bad, but it would have better if Belle could put up a greater performance. It would even be better if she was something like Michelle Rodriguez. I was expecting something like that but then again, looks can be deceiving.

All in all, there were some suspenseful moments in the movie. But you can count this moment with one of your hands. It wouldn’t be such a bad movie if you don’t mind the endless phone calls and Jill walking around the house scenes. If you’ve really got time to kill, then go ahead and watch this movie with a couple of friends. The girls might just actually scream and the guys bite their nails when the stranger chased after Jill.

Ratings: C+