When a Stranger Calls

2006

Action / Horror / Thriller

40
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 44% · 91 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 44% · 250K ratings
IMDb Rating 5.1/10 10 51428 51.4K

loss of loved one babysitter killer strange person call

Plot summary

Far away from the site of a gruesome murder, a teenager named Jill Johnson arrives at a luxurious home for a baby-sitting job. With the children fast asleep, she settles in for what she expects to be an ordinary evening. Soon, the ringing of a phone and the frightening words of a sadistic caller turn Jill's routine experience into a night of terror.

Director

Simon West Photo
Simon West

Top cast

Tessa Thompson Photo
Tessa Thompson as Scarlet
Katie Cassidy Photo
Katie Cassidy as Tiffany
Derek de Lint Photo
Derek de Lint as Dr. Mandrakis
Camilla Belle Photo
Camilla Belle as Jill Johnson
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
798.46 MB
1280*534
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 26 min
Seeds 2
1.6 GB
1920*800
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 26 min
Seeds 15

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by helencmm 6 / 10

A little bit better than mediocre.

A suspenseful thriller that does not keep you still until 20-25 minutes in the film. At first, I think that it was building tension. But the "action" was not that intense until the last 15 minutes I guess.I want to mention that I watched this film about 5 times, of whom the first time was when I was a lot younger than now.Back then, I really liked the film. It was intense for my then standards and creepy as well, because I could imagine how scary could be If I would live a similar situation. It really touched my naïve psychology.Now, being a little bit older, and of course watching it for the fifth time, I can tell for sure that it's a little bit boring. This argument is not fair, because since I've watched it so many times, I knew every detail of the film, so definitely it wouldn't surprise me.I also want to mention that this is a remake of a 1970s film that I've not watched yet, so obviously I can not compare these two films.(+) Pros*Very beautiful photography and directing.*The house was big, isolated and lost in the mist. Absolutely perfect for these type of films, although it can be some times a little bit cliché.*The protagonist was not perfect, but cute.*The reveal 20 minutes before the ending, at least the first time I watched this, was very cool and scary as well and since I haven't been watching horror films back then, it wasn't predictable to me at least.Note: By today's standards, and with all the horror films that keep releasing one after another, maybe for a person that has not watched the film, can be again predictable. I'm not sure anyways.*Although it's a remake and its plot isn't original (there is no parthenogenesis in art), I personally like these type of films. When it has to do with a stalker that suffer from psychological problems, and harrasses a girl. Very typical plot, but still, I'm into it.*I like that this story actually, with the babysitter, is an urban legend, and it is portrayed pretty good.*I liked the scene in the greenhouse. Maybe the second most intense scene in the whole film.*I personally liked the fact that there wasn't so much talking. I mean, of course there is talking, but I enjoyed more the silent scenes. It gave an alternative creepy tone.(-) Cons*I would prefer to not see the face of the killer.*I think that the part with protagonist's friend was a little bit unnecessary. I know that there was a background, but the conclusion was not important I think. I feel that they just wanted to put something extra. This is not neccessarily bad, but I was kinda thinking of it. I do not consider it bad, technically.*In the beginning the flow of the plot was very slow, and I had in my mind that "It builds tension". In reality, the tension would come and go.*There were a lot of jump scares that made on purpose. They were very cliché. The one with fire, the one with music, the one with mannequin... they were very basic jump scares, that they felt that they had to put them into the film, so it could be labelled "horror" by force. Basically, there wasn't creativity...*Conclusion*To be honest, it's not a bad film, and I feel that it is very misunderstood. I think that my rating and my review are basically of my thoughts now. Good or not, I've watched it a lot of times, like I cited, so there wasn't surprise to me. If I would watch today the film for the first time, it could get a 7/10. I personally recommend it, because it's one of my childhood horror films since I'm millenial.
Reviewed by cgvsluis 5 / 10

I love this house, like love it. It is almost it's own character in this film.

This is a decent teen horror film that does a good job building suspense. It would be great for a teen scary movie sleep over. What has it on my horror movie playlist however is the house. I absolutely fell in love with the house in this babysitter being terrorized by a stranger in the phone flick. The house is spectacular and I actually dream about it...it's suspended staircase, the inner courtyard with birds...it's location private but near the water. Yes, it is all about the house and it keeps it on my list. Otherwise this is kind of a slow build suspense film.
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