My Review of When A Stranger Calls (2006)

 

Written by Jake Wade Wall

Directed by Simon West

Jill: "You really scared me, if that's what you wanted. Is that what you wanted?"

The Stranger: "No."

Jill: "What do you want?"

The Stranger: "Your blood all over me."

I reviewed the original, then the sequel and now, it's time to look at the remake. The 2000s were a wild time for horror remakes and reboots. Often a mixed bag and this certainly fell into that category.

The movie opened up with the death of three children and their babysitter, Stacey (Lillie West) and it was a way to set the tone for this remake. Then we cut to the main event itself.

Yes, you've got a teenage Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) hired by Dr Mandrakis (Derek de Lint) and his wife (Kate Jennings Grant) to look after their children. Yes, we've been here before but it's a remake, so there's a few differences.

As the kids were sleeping, Jill's rebellious friend, Tiffany (Katie Cassidy) came to visit, do some binge drinking and the topic of sharing boyfriends creeped into the conversation. Then there was the Stranger (Tommy Flanagan/Lance Henriksen) themselves.

I'll admit that this movie did try to take some interesting turns. Jill initially believed that the oldest Mandrakis kid was playing a prank and then she believed that the maid, Rosa (Rosine Ace Hatem) was messing with her. Of course, it wasn't poor Rosa and soon, the bodies did start to pile up as the Stranger went to town on tormenting Jill.

If the first two movies had time jumps and lagging middle acts, then this one might have had the latter but it was definitely keeping within a specific timeline. I'll admit the back and forth between Jill and the Stranger had it moments. Due to the bigger house, there was a bit variety with the set piece before the Stranger ended up getting caught.

- Some other actors who popped up in this movie included Clark Gregg, Tessa Thompson and Dianna Agron to name a few. 

- A sequel, When A Stranger Returns was supposed to happen but hasn't materialised to this day.

- Standout music: Joe Faraci's Lock It.

- Chronology: 2006, Colorado for the majority of the movie. The opening scene however took place 125 miles elsewhere.

Personally, I thought this version of When A Stranger Calls was just okay. Not as good as the original, mostly on a par with it's sequel and had some decent scare moments. Essentially, it passes the time.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of When A Stranger Calls Back (1993)

 

Written And Directed by Fred Walton

William Landis: "I am not the reflection of anything. I am not an illusion. I am the truth. I'm invisible. Unknowable. You people are the real illusionists. You people are the real illusionists!"

There are some films that really don't require a sequel. In fact, you could argue the majority of horror movies themselves should've been one and done affairs but here's one that really didn't need a second outing. However it got one.

It's a sequel that also started off the same one the first movie did too. This time, the babysitter's named Julia Jenz (Jill Schoelen), who was hired to look after the children of Dr. Schifrin (Kevin McNulty) and his wife (Cheryl Wilson). So far, so familiar.

Then we had Julia going through what her predecessor went through. Creepy calls from a stranger pretending to have a broke down car before it eventually transpired that the children were kidnapped and never found again. This naturally had a knock on effect on Julia.

Once again, the movie did a time jump but kept the focus on Julia, who was attending college but also being stalked. This also put Julia into the cross hairs of Jill Johnson (Carol Kane) and Detective John Clifford (Charles Durning). The former had also become a counsellor at Julia's college and saw a kindred spirit in the traumatised woman.

The rest of the movie upped Julia's paranoia, had Jill work through some of her own issues while giving Clifford his heroic moment. The stalker this time around also happened to be a Ventriloquist (Gene Lythgow) with a penchant for black body makeup. I'll admit that made for a striking visual in some scenes.

While I get that the movie was trying to make this stalker more enigmatic, I think some backstory might have helped a little with his terror campaign against both Julia and Jill. However, he did receive a much deserved comeuppance by the end of this one with the movie having two Final Girls.

- Julia Jenz and Jill Johnson. Both the same alliterative name types there.

- There was no mention of Jill's husband and children in this movie at all. Why was that?

- There's a dedication to Tony Beckley at the end of this movie.

- Chronology: A five year time jump took place before halfway into the movie.

When A Stranger Calls Back isn't a bad sequel. It's even quite unsettling in some parts. It just basically reheats the same story with a slightly less compelling antagonist and secondary protagonist. Not terrible, but certainly not exciting.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of When A Stranger Calls (1979)

 

Written by Steve Feke And Fred Walton

Directed by Fred Walton

The Stranger (to Jill): "Have you checked on the children?"

Ah yes, a babysitting horror film based on an urban legend. It's legacy included a sequel and a remake. It's also had it's influence felt in later horror movies to boot. 

Like the best horror films, it's premise was simple. You had Dr Mandrakis (Carmen Argenziano) and his wife (Rutanya Alda) hire babysitter Jill Johnson (Carol Kane) to look after their kids while they went out for dinner. A simple job for Jill that badly very fast.

It went badly down to the fact that Jill kept receiving creepy phone calls from a mysterious stranger (Tony Beckley) telling her to check the children. Jill should've listened to him because it later turned out that the children had been killed by English seaman, Curt Duncan aka the Stranger.

Then the movie jumped and flipped focus. A grieving Mandrakis hired detective John Clifford (Charles Durning) track down the recently released Duncan. Duncan himself had become homeless and developed a fixation on a woman named Tracy (Coleen Dewhurst).

It did appear that Tracy was going to be another victim of Dun an and she very nearly became one had Clifford not intervened. I'll admit this part of the movie somewhat lagged in proceedings but fortunately the last few minutes shifted the focus back on Jill.

An older version of Jill, who was married to Stephen (Steven Anderson) and had two kids. Jill once again had Duncan threaten the lives of children, only this time her children. The movie did however end on a different outcome for Duncan than what happened when he first tormented Jill.

- The movie's an expanded version of the 1977 short movie, The Sitter.

- Tony Buckley who played the title villain sadly passed after production of the film had wrapped.

- Standout music: Billy Preston's Space Race.

- Chronology: There's a seven year time jump within the movie. The movie's set in Los Angeles.

When A Stranger Calls for the most part, I'd recommend as a horrid film. It's middle act however would be a lagging point but the start and end are near perfect with great performances from Carol Kane and Tony Beckley respectively.

Rating: 7 out of 10