Fuji reviews When A Stranger Calls

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Fuji Vice

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When A Stranger Calls



High school student Jill Johnson is traumatized over an evening of babysitting by a caller who repeatedly asks, "Have you checked the children?" After notifying the police, Jill is told that the calls are coming from inside the house. Jill barely manages to escape but the children are not as fortunate and are soon found brutally murdered. The killer, a man named Curt Duncan, is caught and sent to a mental institution. However, seven years later he escapes and soon sets his sights on Jill, who is now married with children of her own.



1979’s When A Stranger Calls has undoubtedly earned a place in the pantheon of great horror films merely for its opening sequence, which has not only inspired the film Scream but also become a go-to campfire ghost story. However, this sequence is just a part of what makes the film great, it’s also a tight little thriller and an excellent character study all wrapped up in one nice, neat package. While it takes a major chance in focusing the majority of its second act on the villain of the picture, it not only succeeds but also manages to make the film that much creepier. Once we get to know this villain, we’re not sympathetic to his plight, but we’re sure afraid of him, perhaps more than many others that have come before or after. The stark realism along with some excellent performances more than make When A Stranger Calls worth phoning home for, the unbridled terror is just the cherry on top of the tombstone.



"When a stranger calls...don't answer the motherf*cking phone!!!"

Written and directed by Fred Walton (April Fool’s Day), the film was originally intended to be a mere 20 minute short. However, once Walton saw the popularity of slasher films such as Halloween and Black Christmas, he soon expanded the film to a theatrical feature and hired Steve Feke (Poltergeist III) to help him flesh out the story. While it’s true the opening sequence is the best part of the film and the most well-known, the work that these two do in building the film into more than just a shock piece is quite solid. Rather than relying on the standard trope of a killer stalking multiple victims, they chose instead to focus on the killer attempting to adjust to a society that he was clearly not meant to be a part of. Of course once he comes to this realization he reverts to his old ways and goes after his original target, but in the meantime we’ve learned more than enough about this guy to know that he’s seriously bad news. While the pacing is not the best, Walton does manage to keep things moving along nicely and also throws up a pretty foreboding sense of doom throughout the proceedings.



"Definitely five beers short of a six-pack."

As the film is a character study at heart, it was important to find an actor capable of playing that character to the highest degree of believability. Enter Tony Beckley, a superb British actor who had found success playing character roles in films such as The Italian Job and Get Carter and television villains, most notably the quite insane Harrison Chase in the Doctor Who serial The Seeds of Doom. Unfortunately Beckley was stricken with cancer and was extremely ill during the filming of When A Stranger Calls, but that didn’t stop him from giving his career performance in the role. Quite simply put, Beckley IS this film, and his tortured yet demented performance as Curt Duncan is mesmerizing in every way. Sadly, Beckley would pass away before the film was officially released, but his legacy as an actor is firmly cemented with this role. Meanwhile, Hollywood legend Charles Durning shows up to lend some credibility to the picture and does a good job playing the standard detective character. Carol Kane (who was just about to break out in the television show Taxi) plays Jill, the harried victim, and also gives a convincing if somewhat paint by numbers performance. Finally, Colleen Dewhurst has a small but crucial role as another potential victim and does quite a lot with it in a short amount of time.



"He may not find what he's looking for, but Charles Durning sure as hell knows he rules."

While it does maintain a sense of coherency throughout, the film's focus does tend to waver, as Curt Duncan switches from the hunter to the hunted. This is most prevalent in a scene where he attempts to make small talk with a woman at a bar only to offend her and subsequently get the crap kicked out of him by another patron. The sight of the beaten and bloody Duncan does allow for some sympathy, although at the same time it's hard for the viewer not to remove themselves from the fact that this man brutally murdered two small children. While I've heard that Walton purposely attempted to split the audience in regards to their sympathy for Duncan, I personally do not see it that way. Rather I feel that he was simply trying to show people how pathetic this man was and how he was truly meant to be institutionalized for the rest of his life. Towards the end of the film, the character appears to be in such a bad state that I couldn't help but wish that he'd be put out of his misery, although those feelings could also have something to do with the fact that, again, he murdered two small children. Regardless of Walton’s supposed intentions, the fact remains that Duncan is evil personified, and while he certainly has moments of sympathy can any of them possibly hope to outweigh the heinous acts he has committed? This ability to make the viewer examine and question their beliefs in regards to this man helps to set When A Stranger Calls apart from many of its contemporaries and it remains a strong and scary wake up call to the dangers of mental instability. 7/10.



â€￾Coming up tomorrow…do NOT make this guy mad.â€￾
 

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Yeah it was a solid flick and it had a shitty remake.
 

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Yeah it was a solid flick and it had a shitty remake.
I've never seen the remake but I'm sure its nowhere near as good as this one. Hell, I'll bet its not even as good as the sequel to this one, "When A Stranger Calls Back".
 

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I caught literally the first few minutes of the remake on TV years ago and it was just complete garbage.
 

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I actually enjoyed the remake more than the original.

Blasphemy, I know but shit happens.
 

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I actually enjoyed the remake more than the original.
In reading the synopsis of the remake, it appears that they expanded the 20-minute opening of the original into a feature-length film. The problem I have with that is that they lose the entire character study that the original created, something that made it stand out amongst many other horror films of the time. Not saying the remake sucked, because I haven't seen it, but if its just a piece of the original then I can't see how it would be better.
 

The Viper

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In reading the synopsis of the remake, it appears that they expanded the 20-minute opening of the original into a feature-length film. The problem I have with that is that they lose the entire character study that the original created, something that made it stand out amongst many other horror films of the time. Not saying the remake sucked, because I haven't seen it, but if its just a piece of the original then I can't see how it would be better.

That's what I most liked about it. Before I saw the original, I thought the movie was gonna be taking place inside the house with the babysitter trying to survive. Might have gotten my hopes up a bit too much so that's pretty much my fault why I don't like it so much. But yeah, I saw the remake in theaters, packed theater and I think I was then only one who came out of there loving it.

My love for Camilla Belle helped too.
 

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That's what I most liked about it. Before I saw the original, I thought the movie was gonna be taking place inside the house with the babysitter trying to survive. Might have gotten my hopes up a bit too much so that's pretty much my fault why I don't like it so much. But yeah, I saw the remake in theaters, packed theater and I think I was then only one who came out of there loving it.
I'll probably check it out at some point this month. I'm at least interested in seeing how they manage to drag out the concept over a whole 90 minutes. The fact that I know its not a direct remake of the original will help, I won't have to worry about the character study not measuring up.
 

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The biggest problem with the remake was that they gave the biggest part of the movie away in the trailer.
 

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The biggest problem with the remake was that they gave the biggest part of the movie away in the trailer.
Whew, thanks Mitch, I was going to check the trailer out tonight but now I'll avoid it. DL'ing the remake right now.
 

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Whew, thanks Mitch, I was going to check the trailer out tonight but now I'll avoid it. DL'ing the remake right now.

I know you're really hard on a lot of movies that I like (that's a good reviewer for ya) but I'm totally looking forward to hearing what you think about it.

You might not like it, you might actually enjoy it for what it is now that I'm sure you're going into already knowing what you're gonna get.
 

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I know you're really hard on a lot of movies that I like (that's a good reviewer for ya) but I'm totally looking forward to hearing what you think about it.
Am I really that hard on movies you like? I mean, aside from Megan is Missing I don't recall really trashing anything else that you were a fan of, but then again I've reviewed a lot of movies so I've probably just forgotten. :lol:

As for the remake, its finished downloading and I'll probably watch it tonight. If I have time I'll bang out a review and post it tomorrow and also be sure to watch for the Curse of Chucky review tomorrow as well.
 

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This one was hands down better than the remake. I did enjoy the remake for what it was but it didn't hold anything to the original. Can't wait to see what you think of it and for curse of chucky as I have yet to see it.

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 4
 

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I know the focus may be little too much on the original vs remake here but I have to add that I've seen the remake but not the original.... not that I remember it at all. Interested to hear what you think about it.

Now, this review: Never seeing this film I had no idea there was more to it than the opening. I thought that was the whole thing based on the remake and how legendary the story has become. The character of Duncan sounds really interesting, I don't imagine anyone could truly feel sympathy for him after what he does in the beginning but the events that happen to him sound like it's just to make us aware that he's human which only adds to the terror. He's human, a normal guy that's just fucked up, this could really happen. This review has definitely made me certain that I have to watch it soon, thanks!

I know you mentioned it but how bad is the sequel to this? I only know of it because it stars Jill Schoelen who is usually great in these types of movies and I see that Kane and Durning returned so it can't be too bad, right?
 

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Castiel said:
I know the focus may be little too much on the original vs remake here but I have to add that I've seen the remake but not the original.... not that I remember it at all. Interested to hear what you think about it.
You won't have to wait too long, I just finished watching it and I'll have my thoughts banged out at some point tomorrow or later tonight.

Now, this review: Never seeing this film I had no idea there was more to it than the opening. I thought that was the whole thing based on the remake and how legendary the story has become. The character of Duncan sounds really interesting, I don't imagine anyone could truly feel sympathy for him after what he does in the beginning but the events that happen to him sound like it's just to make us aware that he's human which only adds to the terror. He's human, a normal guy that's just fucked up, this could really happen. This review has definitely made me certain that I have to watch it soon, thanks!
Awesome, glad you liked it. As far as the character goes, he is extremely interesting but with that unsettling feeling that he's killed kids always in the back of your mind. As I say, its virtually impossible to feel sympathy for him, but it does show you more of a side to him than just the "psycho crazy killer" one.

I know you mentioned it but how bad is the sequel to this? I only know of it because it stars Jill Schoelen who is usually great in these types of movies and I see that Kane and Durning returned so it can't be too bad, right?
I haven't seen it in a long time (actually saw it before the original) but I remember thinking it was alright for a made-for-television movie. I've just found a copy of it so I'll probably re-watch it again in the next day or two.