When a Stranger Calls (www.the-usher.com)

"Who is this?"

Grounded by her parents, Jill Johnson (Belle) is forced to baby sit for their friends, Dr and Mrs Mandrakis. With the children already in bed, Jill is left alone in their beautiful and very big house and she thinks that she is in for a quiet night. That is until the telephone stars to ring. With no one answering on the other end, she thinks at first it is her friends who are at the high school party but when suddenly a voice on the other end, Jill realises that she might be in danger.

Hollywood's fascination with 1970s horror remakes continues but was 'When a Stranger Calls' a good choice for a revisit?

Based on the 1979 movie starring Carol Kane about a teenager tormented by phone calls while babysitting, this modern adaptation tries to do exactly the same but forgets the key ingredient, tension. The secluded location, the isolation and the fear of been alone that should have made the film and edge of your seat psychological thriller but instead we have a repetitive and predictable movie that does absolutely nothing to either scare or thrill you.

Running at eighty-seven minutes, the movie really starts when Jill Johnson starts her babysitting but from then on it is just a collection of noises in the houses, stormy weather and creepy shadows. This is nothing that we have seen before but this isn't the worst part of the already flimsy plot, it's the phone calls themselves that really let the movie down. At first they set the tone for the film but after four or five times of heavy breathing you just end up wishing they would get on with it.

When the stranger actually does make his move you will end up thinking that you have seen it all before. If you have watched the trailer for the movie then you have seen virtually all of the tension filled moments in just over two minutes. All of the major twists and turns are revealed in the trailer, making the finale almost redundant, as you know everything that is coming. Viewers complain that trailers reveal far too much anyway but the trailer for 'When a Stranger Calls' shows you everything.

The film is all about the performance of Camille Belle as Jill Johnson and she does her best with the predictable and lacklustre material. She has been lauded as the new Jamie Lee Curtis but while she may have the looks she certainly doesn't have the lungs to be the new scream queen.

'When a Stranger Calls' highlights everything that is wrong about Hollywood remakes. Instead of trawling the horror back catalogue, it is about time they invested in new writers before the genre murders itself in a more horrific than any crazy killer every could.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary with director Simon West and actress Camilla Belle
The director and his lead actress talk about remaking the 1979 movie. This chatty commentary reveals many secrets from behind the scenes, revealing how they set up sequences and creating the menace of the stranger. Camilla Belle talks about all of the training that she had to go through for the movie and the director discusses why he decided to get involved in a remake. This is a decent commentary track from two people who believe in the movie.

Commentary featuring writer Jake Wade Wall
The screenwriter for the remake of 'When a Stranger Calls' reveals how he approached the project and the changes he made from the 1979 original. He talks about what he took from the original film and how he changed a lot of the structure of the movie. The importance of the stranger and his connection to Jill is talked about, as well as the importance of the telephone conversations and the creepiness of the house. This commentary is pretty good but he doesn't comment on the problems with the movie.

Deleted Scenes (2.40 mins)
Two deleted scenes showing more of the Officer Burrows character and a montage of shots from the bonfire party.

The Making of When a Stranger Calls (18.06 mins)
Director Simon West, screenwriter Jake Wade Wall, producers Ken Lamberger and John Davis, executive producer Paddy Cullen, production designer Jon Gary Steel and stars Camilla Belle, Arthur Young, Madeline Carroll and Katie Cassidy take you behind the scenes of 'When a Stranger Calls'. They reveal why they decided to remake the 1979 movie and how they become involved. The group also reveal that this is a thriller and not a horror movie, with the house and telephone been integral characters in the movie.

Trailers
Previews of 'The Da Vinci Code', 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose', 'Monster House', 'Population/436' and 'Ultraviolet'

OVERALL

While the remake maybe awful, the DVD treatment from Sony is very good. With two commentary tracks and a decent making of… featurette, fans of the movie should be very pleased.

DVD

Scream

When a Stranger Calls (1979)

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2006