When a Stranger Calls

Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: The film critic was right-- the beginning was okay. It could have been scarier though. This is then followed by an incredibly boring hour-long section where a detective searches for the escaped killer. And the killer could at least be scary looking-- he's more like a sissy. The ending was pretty good at least. I would not recommend anyone wasting their money on this movie. What a let down!

Rating:
Summary: Classic!
Review: This movie is AWESOME! It's a total classic! Definately a hair raiser at the end. A must see for anyone who likes horror/suspense movies!!! You may also think twice before picking up your phone!!! =)

Rating:
Summary: this movie is a great late night masterpiece
Review: I first saw this movie when i was 11 years old. I was so scared after seeing this movie that i have never forgot the film. After 16 years of looking for a copy of this movie i am glad to see it for sale at amazon. com. Be sure to also check out when a stranger calls back,and you to can enjoy the spine tingling stories and classic background music.This is a must see for anyone who likes to stay up and watch a movie in the dark cause you will never get the images out of your mind from these two movies. You will tell your friends about it!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: when a stranger calls is awesome
Review: you'll hafta see this movie! i just saw the other night and thought it was so cool! its so much better than scream movies and it has a better plot! its not the scariest but if you're a babysitter........BEWARE!!Just Jokin! I'm 12 and I watch whatever scary movie that someone gives me and this was one of the best i've seeN! ~*GO GET IT NOW! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?GO TO THE MOVIE STORE NOW!*~

Rating:
Summary: good scare
Review: This movie may get a little thin in the middle, especially after the creepy way it begins, but by no means deserves to be compared to corny movies with screaming teens like those in the Scream and Last Summer movies. It takes a little too much time to get to an ending that is well worth the wait.

Rating:
Summary: HORROR AND SUSPENSE...AND ONE HECK OF A NAILBITER MOVIE!
Review: I am 14 so I am pretty much into the real scary and more recent movies like Scream 1 and 2 and The two Last Summer movies. But after seeing them, it's always nice to settle down the intensity with a movie like WHEN A STRANGER CALLS. I had trouble locating this video, so I ended up seeing the sequel WHEN A STRANGER CALLS BACK first. I thought it was very good. The first one is good also. Carol Kane portrays her role of Jill wonderful. All I can say is it is real suspenseful. Not too suspenseful, but just enough to get you biting your nails. THE STORY: Carol Kane portrays Jill, a babysitter who gets the terrifying phone call repeating the same message call after call: "have you checked the children?". Finally, the eerie experiences result in a terrifying sequence as the police discover the calls are coming from inside the house Jill is in. Then...seven years later after she has kids of her own...the caller returns only to cause an unbelievably conflicting story. You won't want to stop the VCR to go to the bathroom, cause you may be afraid to!! Haha just kidding! It is a good mystery movie, though.

Rating:
Summary: The scarest opening ever!
Review: The first 20 somethin minutes of the movie is so scary I can't describe it, and I mean it's scary up untill the veary last shoot of the first scene( my heart jumped out of my chest ), the movie is worth it for the first scene on it's own.
The movie sorta slows down for awhile after the oening scene some scary stuff hear and there but nothing even close to the opening( I think the writer was trying to make it suspenceful, but it was just stupid to me ).
The movie get interesting and scary again when we meat up with the girl from the opening scene and her family 7 years latter, then it slowly gets scary again, and it's scary up until the last shoot, I mean when I saw the last shoot I couldn't get the shoot out of my head and had a hard time sleeping.
Overall the movie is a classic, and a must see some slow parts hear and there but really scary, a must see( if you have the guts to see it ).

Rating:
Summary: Very scary without being gory
Review: "When A Stranger Calls" came out the year after the original "Halloween", and although it is not as widely acclaimed or known, it's just as scary, if not scarier, in a much more subtle manner.

The film starts off with Jill (Carol Kane), a young babysitter minding two small children for the evening, the children having already been put to bed for the night by the parents before they leave. She begins to receive anonymous, frightening phone calls with the caller ominously asking, "Have you checked the children?" and "Why haven't you checked the children?" then hanging up. Scared, she calls the police, who at first tell her to calm down, then instruct her to try to keep the caller on the line if he calls again, so the call can be traced. When she obliges and they trace the call, the real terror starts. I remember when I first saw this film, and my reaction to this revelation was unparalleled by any film I had seen at that time.

I am trying not to give away too much - if you haven't seen this film, be careful of other online reviews; I came across several that were real spoilers, and without any forewarning.

The first part of "When A Stranger Calls" is very fast-paced, then the middle part takes the audience seven years ahead; Jill is now a married mother. The film slows and becomes more of a psychological study; the criminal from the beginning sequence has escaped from the asylum. Along his wanderings he comes across Tracy (Colleen Dewhurst), a tough barfly he fixates upon. John Clifford (Charles Durning), who was the police detective investigating the original case, re-enters the scenario to try to track down the escaped madman, Curt Duncan (Tony Beckley).

This part of the movie is slower but much more interesting, in my opinion, and shows how scary a film can be without any real gore factor. Tony Beckley (in his last role) is very convincing as a murderous madman; his careful and understated portrayal make the character Curt Duncan even more terrifying. Colleen Dewhurst's performance as Tracy helps this part of the film move very well (she was always an extremely good actress) and she makes Tracy's toughness, vulnerability, and smarts very believable. Charles Durning as Detective Clifford is a typical part for him, and he handles it well, with his usual street-savvy tough-guy exterior aplomb.

The direction by Fred Walton, and the subtle, creepy soundtrack help push this film beyond the realm of being just another standard 1970's scream-inducing shock flick.

Rating:
Summary: When A Stranger Calls
Review: I rented this movie & Iwas a little disspointed in the movie!I love the first 15 minutes with Carol Kane,but after the babysitter incident it is like boring for like 30 minutes.But when it gets back to Carol Kane and stuff it's pretty good!I still like it!Rent it before you buy it!

Rating:
Summary: Best opening and ending
Review: I cant believe how good the opening of this movie was. I have been watching horror movies all my life and there was not one even close to this. This movie is one of the scariest of all time... Please please give it time though... the middle is sorta boring but watch the entire thing.. you will NOT be disappointed