"When a Stranger Calls"
Reviewed by Chris Cappola
Starring Camilla Belle, Tommy Flanagan, Tessa Thompson and Clark Gregg. Directed by Simon West. (2006, Screen Gems)

'When a Stranger Calls' is the latest revamping of a horror hit from the 70's. Unlike other remakes like 'The Amityville Horror' or 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', the original isn't too fondly remembered though some horror enthusiasts may dispute that suggestion. Since this remake is targeting a new audience, it doesn't rely strictly on replicating the original word for word but coming up with some ideas of its own.

The set-up remains the same from the original but after the first half hour; the film forgoes the blueprint and detours into its own direction. Camilla Belle is Jill, a high-schooler who is babysitting the children of a wealthy family in a secluded country-side house. Keeping in line with many thrillers today ('Hostage', 'The Glass House'), the family don't live in a typical house but some three-storey visual concoction that looks amazing but is so elaborate that it becomes confusing after sometime. After the parents depart, Camilla begins getting unwarranted prank calls from someone who begins playing a torturous cat-and-mouse game around the isolated property. Of course, anyone who has seen a horror film knows where the film is going and for the most part, it does a fairly good job of creating the mood is suspenseful and doesn't lose momentum though a lot of the film hinges on too many plot conveniences.

The script adapted by Jake Wade Wall and based on the 1979 pic relies too much on horror stereotypes, coincidences to help the plot move forward, convenient plot developments, predictability and ultimately the audience is left with a barrel of unanswered questions. The stalker must have psychic abilities to be able to determine exactly how their victim will think, move etc. A few examples: Jill is looking outside the window and discovers that at the guest house, the light has turned on at that precise moment prompting her to run over for help. It all is too convenient. Add in the former bimbo friend who unexpectedly pops by and falls prey to the stalker, the black cat that pops up whenever a false scare is required, the missing maid who for some reason couldn't baby-sit the children despite being at the house… it's everything that 'Scream' ridiculed back a decade ago but is still evident in many of these movies. The script too doesn't bother to explain much of itself and the ending is too abrupt and doesn't explain anything. Who was this stalker? What was his intention? Motivation? What happened to all of these characters that pop in and out? It leaves way too much unanswered.

It's a disappointing that 'When a Stranger Calls' is weakened by an obvious and uninspired script because it's very strongly directed, has some good production values and it's disposable and empty but fairly entertaining. Interestingly, the film is directed by Simon West who has given audiences such big-budget spectacles like 'Con Air', 'Tomb Raider' and 'The General's Daughter'. 'Stranger' is a smaller project and doesn't fit in with his past efforts but it has the exact same problem that plagued those films. The direction is sharp and stylish but the script is left as a secondary aspect to the film and that is the problem also with 'Stranger'. West knows how to move the camera, create great production pieces and knows his way around a production from a technical perspective but he needs to find a script that works as well as his production. Still, at times it's as if West is too good to be directing such a small horror pic but he sets the atmosphere and does a good job of keeping a tight horror pic with momentum that really never weakens. On the performance front, this is a solo project for relative newcomer Camilla Belle who is in every scene and it's a tough and ambitious role and for the most part, she tries hard but at times seems too inexperienced to be anchoring the whole film and struggles with some key scenes. The rest of the cast that have a couple of lines each don't register. The voice-over from the stranger who is played by a different actor is also well-known especially to horror and sci-fi fans and is something to be interested in detecting throughout the film.

'When a Stranger Calls' isn't remarkable or ambitious and has a lot of problematic aspects that could have been rectified if the director had bothered to check the script before filming it. But it is effective as a disposable horror scare, is very nicely directed and never is uninteresting though it may puzzle audiences to some of the clichéd actions of its character. Ultimately, it won't be as fondly remembered as the 1979 was to its audiences then but it's a decent, cheap scare.
out of 10
- Chris Cappola's Reviews

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