Movie Review: When A Stranger Calls (1979)

Genre: Suspense Horror  

Director: Fred Walton  

Starring: Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Colleen Dewhurst  

Running Time: 97 minutes  

Synopsis: While babysitting for the Mandrakis family, teenager Jill (Carol Kane) receives a series of menacing phone calls from a mysterious man asking her if she has "checked the children". The evening ends badly, but Jill survives. Seven years later the assailant Curt Duncan (Tony Beckley) escapes an asylum and proceeds to stalk the lonely Tracy (Colleen Dewhurst), pursued by retired detective John Clifford (Charles Durning). 

What Works Well: The opening 20 minutes feature a simple but effective premise: incessant phone calls with one question terrorizing a babysitter in a large and mostly dark house. Carol Kane capably carries this unsettling sequence, interacting with nothing but the phone as she gradually comes to terms with the danger closing in. Director Fred Walton's smooth camera work and interesting perspectives heighten the suspense.

What Does Not Work As Well: Unfortunately, the rest of the movie falls well short. Kane drops out of the middle 50 minutes, as the focus shifts to Curt Duncan (fatefully almost sympathetic) antagonizing Tracy (a context-free woman-in-danger), with private investigator Clifford puffing behind, exerting plenty of effort with little to show for it. The climax abruptly shifts gears with another clunk as Kane reappears to almost save the day, but the damage caused by the choppy structure and large plot gaps is non-recoverable.

Key Quote:

Curt Duncan: Have you checked the children?

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