Greatest Horror Movies

When A Killer Calls

2008-10-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

I thought since I reviewed both the original and the remake of When a Stranger Calls that I'd also review the made-for-DVD Asylum-produced knockoff, When A Killer Calls. (I also have When A Stranger Calls Back on the agenda, but I don't think it will arrive in time to get reviewed tomorrow.) As it turns out, When A Killer Calls was better than the 2006 remake of When A Stranger Calls, but it was nowhere near as good as the original When A Stranger Calls with Carol Kane.

The sets in When A Killer Calls don't look like the sets in the 2006 When A Stranger Calls; they look like real places in When a Killer Calls. The actors in When A Killer Calls don't look like the actors in the 2006 When A Stranger Calls; they look like real people in When a Killer Calls. The dialogue in When a Killer Calls doesn't sound like the dialogue in the 2006 When a Stranger Calls; it sounds like real conversation in When a Killer Calls. Most low budget movies suffer from their lack of funds, but in the case of a gritty thriller about a babysitter murderer, the film actually benefits from the more realistic sets, actors, and dialogue.

That being said, When A Killer Calls can't be considered a great or even a good film. The last 2/3 of the movie drags at an excruciating slow pace. The special effects weren't convincing at all. And the movie has no sense of tension or any kind of sense of dramatic pacing at all.

If you like B-movies, exploitation type violence, and brief nudity, then When A Killer Calls might be for you, It's unrated, but if it had a rating, it would certainly be rated R,

I don't recommend When A Killer Calls.

When a Stranger Calls 2006 - Camilla Belle

2008-10-28T05:08:00.000-07:00

As a followup to my previous post about the original When a Stranger Calls from 1976, I watched the remake. The 2006 version of When a Stranger Calls takes the first 20 minutes of the original and stretches that act into a full feature film. The second two acts are eliminated. This might have been a good idea, but it didn't work well as implemented.

It's hard to review the remake of When a Stranger Calls without comparing it to the original, so I won't even try. Here are some of the differences:

When a Stranger Calls 2006 tries to create tension, but fails.
The house where the babysitting goes on is bigger, fancier, and more elaborate than the house in the original When a Stranger Calls.
The actress who plays the babysitter in the 2006 remake of When a Stranger Calls (Camilla Belle) looks like a movie star, not a babysitter. Carol Kane was convincing as just a babysitter.

The original film was rated R, which made me laugh a little when I saw it, since there was nothing explicit in it. But the remake is only rated PG-13. I grew up when horror movies were always rated R, so making a PG-13 horror film seems a little silly.

The 2006 remake makes a couple of major changes to the plot, which I won't spoil here, but the changes do not improve the experience of watching the movie.

The biggest problem with the new, 2006 version of When a Stranger Calls is that it's just boring. There's no tension and no suspense, because the direction is just artless. Even the phone calls, which were creepy and scary in the original, leave you thinking "so what?" in this version.

I do not recommend seeing When a Stranger Calls 2006, unless you just really have absolutely nothing at all better to do.

Both versions of When a Stranger Calls are available to purchase at my horror bookstore in Wylie, TX, so if you're interested, come on by and pick up a copy.

Tomorror I'll review When a Killer Calls, and I'm looking for a copy of When a Stranger Calls Back, which is a made-for-tv sequel to the original Carol Kane movie. If I can find it, I'll review it here too.

When A Stranger Calls - 1979 - Carol Kane

2008-10-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

Last night my wife and I sat down to watch the original When A Stranger Calls from 1979, the one that starred Carol Kane. (When A Stranger Calls also starred Colleen Dewhurst and Charles Durning.) I loved When a Stranger Calls (my wife wasn't so enthusiastic.) I had seen the movie when I was a kid, maybe 11 or 12 at the time, and it scared the bejesus out of me.

Anyone who has seen Scream will experience some serious deja vu during the first 20 minutes of When a Stranger Calls. That's because the scene from Scream is intentionally reminiscent of the first act of When a Stranger Calls. The movie (When a Stranger Calls, not Scream) is comprised of three distinct acts, the first of which is a familiar tale: a babysitter gets repeated phone calls from someone creepy. He asks, "Have you checked the children?" Even though the DVD case spoils the resolution of the scene, and almost everyone familiar with horror movies knows what happens too, I won't spoil it here. Suffice it to say that if you can keep from being spoiled, the ending of scene one is one of the most effective moments in movie thriller history.

The second act of When a Stranger Calls details Charles Durning's pursuit of a madman, and it's a well-done series of scenes. To my 2008 eyes, it's unusual to see a leading man who is so portly, whose hair is thinning so much, who isn't your traditional leading man type. This is a good thing. I would love to see a horror film made today, or even an action movie, which starred someone like John Goodman or Jim Belushi. Sadly, in today's movies, anyone overweight or less-than-handsome is relegated to the "sidekick" role.

The third act of When a Stranger Calls brings the entire film full circle, but it ends with an abrupt climax. The "scary surprise" moment was brilliantly effective, and it even startled me, having not seen this movie in 25 years or so. A modern movie's climax goes on and on, and usually you think the bad guy is done several times before he's actually finished. Apparently when someone gets shot in a 1970's movie, it's okay for the movie to just end right there.

The entire When a Stranger Calls cast performs brilliantly. This wasn't Shakespeare, but it was an effective thriller. I saw another review of this movie where they discussed the second act as being a "slow burn", and they're right. This entire movie is a lot slower-paced and thoughtful than a modern horror movie, but it made for a nice change of pace.

I recommend the 1979 version of When a Stranger Calls (the one with Carol Kane as the babysitter) to anyone interested in horror or thrillers.

Greatest Horror Movies

2008-10-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

This blog isn't intended to only discuss the "greatest horror movies" ever made, although I hope to discuss the greatest horror movies ALONG WITH some really good horror movies and maybe even some really bad horror movies. In fact, don't be surprised if you see some of the "worst horror movies" ever made covered here too. ("Greatest Horror Movies" was one of the only horror movie related titles I could find still available on Blogger.)

The plan is for me to watch a horror movie every day and post about it here. Naturally I'm going to try to see some of the greatest horror movies ever made. I can give you an opinion right now about what are some of the greatest horror movies ever made. In no particular order, and this isn't meant to be a complete list, some of the greatest horror movies ever made include:

Night of the Living Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Halloween
The Birds
Psycho
The Thing
Rosemary's Baby

I'll probably disagree with a lot of horror movie fans, which is okay, since they'll be disagreeing with me also. For example, Delicatessen is highly-rated by some horror fans, but I thought it was nonsense, and not even good nonsense.

Who am I? My name is Randy Ray, and I own Eerie Books, an all-horror books and collectibles store located in historic downtown Wylie Texas. Owning a horror bookstore doesn't make me an expert on horror movies, but I love horror movies, and I like writing about horror movies, so here are my opinions, available for anyone who's interested in discussing horror movies to see and comment on.

Some of the horror movies I'm writing about here I'm seeing for the first time, but some of them I've seen before. I'll mention which of the two it is when I post, but only if I think it's relevant or helpful to my review of each movie.

If you have ideas and/or opinions about the greatest horror movies ever made, or about the worst horror movies ever made, leave a comment here or contact me and let me know. I'll watch and write about movies on request. Like I said, I plan to watch a horror movie every day and write about it here, so I'll need some ideas eventually.