When a Stranger Calls (1979)

Director:

Fred Walton

Writers:

Steve Feke (writer)
Fred Walton (writer)

Release Date:

26 October 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

...Fear is the Message!

Plot:

A psychopathic killer terrorizes a babysitter, then returns seven years later to menace her again.

Plot Keywords:

Spit In The Face | Babysitting | Phone Terror | Urban Legend | Maniac

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Charles Durning	...	John Clifford
Carol Kane	...	Jill Johnson
Colleen Dewhurst	...	Tracy
Tony Beckley	...	Curt Duncan
Ron O'Neal	...	Lt. Charlie Garber
Steven Anderson	...	Stephen Lockart
Rachel Roberts	...	Dr. Monk
Rutanya Alda	...	Mrs. Mandrakis
Carmen Argenziano	...	Dr. Mandrakis
Sara Damman	...	Bianca Lockart
Richard Bail	...	Stevie Lockart
William Boyett	...	Sgt. Sacker
Kirsten Larkin	...	Nancy
Carol O'Neal	...	Mrs. Garber
Ed Wright	...	Retired man

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Number 28 on Bravo Channel's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the final scene, Jill goes to her bedroom closet to see if Curt Duncan is in there. She is about to open the door with her left hand. In the next shot, she opens it with her right hand.

Quotes:

Jill Johnson: [after Curt calls her at the restaurant] Curt Duncan! He's back! He has my BABIES!

Movie Connections:

References Black Christmas (1974)

Soundtrack:

HUELGA EN GENERAL

Surprisingly Solid Thriller

A surprisingly sold thriller, with performances and production values well above the generic slasher standards that the title implies. The story is actually a little odd, with the tightly directed and genuinely scary 'There's somebody in the house' teen slasher scenario actually acting as bookends to a more conventional police thriller in which cop Durning hunts down the killer. While many find this middle story a little too dull, and guilty of slowing down the incredible suspense created by the opening scenes, I for one found it fascinating, in no small part to the performances of Colleen Dewhurst and Tony Beckley.

Together, the two character actors, known more for their award winning theatre work than movies, provide thoughtful and rounded characters with genuine subtlety and depth. Dewhurst's Tracy, a lonely middle-aged drunk, makes for a refreshingly original object of the killers obsession, while the entire movie is almost stolen by an outstanding performance by Brit Tony Beckley. His Curt Duncan is one of the few believable studies in violent psychosis to be found in the horror genre. This isn't a serial killer in a mask, with gimmicky tools of destruction, silently stalking teenagers. THIS serial killer is a socially dysfunctional nobody who drifts in and out of city doorways and homeless shelters, as clueless as the audience as to why he feels compelled to kill.

Shot on location in the seedy streets, bars, hotels and shelters of Downtown Los Angeles, 'When A Stranger Calls' possesses an air of refreshing authenticity in a genre awash with stylized theatrics and unbelievable stretches of fantasy. A good film, that delivers way above expectations.