On S List of Movie Reviews
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When a Stranger Calls (1979)
Rate:
4
Viewed:
5/24
5/24:
When a Stranger Calls has mastered the concept of "suspense" but nothing else.
It's off to a good start for twenty minutes by establishing a believable urban legend: the babysitter is called in for a job
but is asked by the parents not to check on the kids upstairs only to find out they've been killed when the cops appear at the end.
Then, the middle comes and is so slow-paced that it makes for a tough sitting. Thankfully, the momentum returns to speed
things up for the final twenty minutes by retouching base with the original babysitter to finish on a high note.
Charles Durning gives a fair performance while Carol Kane is fine enough. Ron O'Neal was, once upon a time, Super Fly. However,
the killer isn't interesting and happens to be a common guy who's cracked in the head, probably ever since birth. As for the actor
playing him, Tony Beckley never did another film and would die the following year, possibly from AIDS.
Going back to the first act, it alone could've been submitted to win an Oscar for the Short Film category. In fact, it's the
original product entitled The Sitter, which later served as an inspiration for the opening scene of
Scream, that got expanded to a feature film after it was picked up for proper theatrical
release. Hence, I can see why the middle ultimately felt out of place.
All in all, When a Stranger Calls has several worthwhile merits but is pretty much bested by
Black Christmas and Halloween.