Rating: 
Summary: Fondly remembered. Maybe too fondly.
Review: When a Stranger Calls is fondly remembered for the opening sequence and not much else. When a psychopath starts calling a babysitter, she calls the police to trace the call. If you haven't already seen Scream or heard the urban legend, I won't spoil it for you. Years later the psycho is released from prison and a detective (Durning) is hired to find him and keep and eye on him. The psycho slips through the cracks of society, though, and has a hard time fitting in so he goes back to this old ways. This movie is like biting into a sandwich with two gourmet prepared slices of bread and finding that what you thought was crisp, fresh lettuce was in fact very old, green meat. The opening is intense. The girl is alone and duty demands she stay their and protect the children. When the twist is revealed it is horrifying (and fresh for the time). After that, everything falls apart. I don't care that Tony Beckley has a hard time fitting in. It takes up entirely too much of the movie. If the story had been Durning's attempts to track down Beckley with police methods (like Manhunter or Ed McBain) this would have been a top notch thriller. Instead we get the urban decay motif we've seen in Taxi Driver and other films. It picks back up again for the third act. The scene with the dark closet, like the opener, is pretty scary. Get this if you don't already own a widescreen version of the film or if you've never seen the opening. The opening is awesome, the ending is very good, and everything in between is deadly boring. Recommended for the slices of gourmet bread at the beginning and end.
Rating: 
Summary: 23 year old thriller that still thrills
Review: I remember seeing this movie when I was 11 years old and couldn't remember the name of the show. I typed the famous words "Have you checked the children" from the movie in the search engine and bingo!! After finding out it was on glorious dvd, I just had to get it. The first 22 minutes of the movie was the most scariest when I was little and has stuck with me to this day. I am not going to go into detail about the movie, but it is great in the beginning, slow moving in the middle, and excellent in the end.
I also purchased the sequel with this one and has an excellent ending as well with our two original star characters.
Not at all gory, but the other elements like suspense and thrills make up for it. Check out the sequel. Both are a worthy purchases on Amazon!!
Rating: 
Summary: frighteningly haunting
Review: I first saw this movie with a group of friends when we were babysitting a group of children. This movie made us check the children every two minutes. The movie is so creepy because it plays with something that seems like it could happen. This film is a true psychological terror, that plays on using slow parts to build the supense of other parts. A great film, but never wacth it while babysitting.
Rating:
Summary: An Exciting Thriller
Review: I just received my copy of this movie today and I am very impressed. This movie came out years before my time but it was still very engrossing and chilling. The beginning is very mysterious and keeps u thinking... The middle of the film is the best IMO. It gets you into the characters, and unlike other horror/suspense films it lets you know the killer... It's very mysterious and the 70's city atmosphere and where anything can happen adds to the mystery. The ending is very cool, and while not as chilling as other horror films, it's shocking and at points scary... I don't consider this film a classic horror film like "Dawn Of The Dead, "Texas Chainsaw Masacre" or "The Exorcist" but unlike it's peers, it gives a level of suspense that the other films lack. The others lead right into the carnage and horror while this film takes u on a journey thru the life of the "killer" and is very satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: great piece of filmmaking
Review: Truly exceptional thriller, artfully done and very, very suspenseful and intriguing. I can see this film dozens of times and still appreciate it. I disagree with the reviewers who say that only the first 20 minutes and the last 20 are good. I think that it is all top quality. Perhaps the level of suspense is so high in the beginning that some people may think the rest is not as good, but it's simply the development and fleshing out of the story. The cast is great all around, especially the killer. A must see for quality horror buffs.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: This is one of the best thrillers I've ever seen. Its realistic to the core. Something which film makers seem to have forgotten now. Terrifying from the beggining till its chilling end.
Rating:
Summary: When a Stranger Calls
Review: I read all the reviews of this film, on this site, before actually buying it, so I knew what to expect, and most of the time, when to expect it! As every other reviewer says, the first 20 minutes are exceptional, and the last 20 minutes not too far behind. The problem is the bit in the middle, which provides neither direction, nor suspense. I'm not saying this film should have been full of murder from start to finish, but it lacks that little something that I don't think I've seen anywhere other than Black Christmas which, for me anyway, is the "daddy" of all "he's in the house" films. This is in my top ten scary movies, and is worth buying for the 40 minutes referred to alone. I just worry that, on those dark winter nights, when I love watching these films so much, the gap between the first and last 20 minutes is so bereft of anything interesting or suspenseful, I may well fall asleep!
Rating:
Summary: A Scary Classic
Review: The first ten minutes or so of this movie is some of the most terrifying ten minutes captured on film. This movie gave me nightmares for years!. Babysitter Carol Kane watches two children when a madman keeps calling her and harassing her. We find out the psycho is actually calling from upstairs!. He has killed the children. The rest of the movie doesn't hold the suspense or tension like in the beginning. It all comes back together in the end which is good. Charles Durning plays a cop investigating the case. A sequel was made for T.V. years later that reunited Kane and Durning. This is an exceptionally well made suspense thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Flm of Ultimate Terror & Suspense
Review: "When A Stranger Calls" reaches a zenith of chilling suspense and terror where no other movie has succeeded in creating on the screen. When it first came out in theatres, the television promotions were more than effective. Instead of showing a rash of scenes from the movie, it used hidden cameras in theatres to capture the reaction of the audience to certain scenes of WHEN A STRANGER CALLS. The result: Terrifying and Chilling! People actually jumped out of their seats! This movie is based on a true story about a diligent cop (effectively played by Charles Durning) who brings down one of the most heinous criminals in American history--a psycotic murderer who eventually terrorizes a young baby sitter--(a fantastic portrayal by Carol Kane). The first 20 minutes of the movie will freeze you to your seat. [THE SCENE THEN RETURNS 7 YEARS LATER]bringing back Durning as a retired cop--now private investigator and Kane as a young married woman with two children of her. At this point, the movie slows down a bit to allow you to catch your breath and get more incite into the characters, then commences a continual staircase of suspense, ultimately finalizing in some of the most chilling suspense scenes ever filmed. I won't say anymore because I don't believe in saying too much to spoil what happens. I WILL say this: If you want to witness the zenith of chilling suspense and terror, watch this movie alone, at night and with no interruptions. If you've never seen it and you want to brave my suggestion, you'll find this film a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: When A Stranger Calls
Review: The movie is a classic, and a good one at that. I thought the acting was good, the plot was excellent, and the directing for the killer's shadows to appear out of the light from the door being opened was stunning and scary.
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