In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Saturday 8 August 2015

When a Stranger Calls (2006)

Based on the 1979 film of the same name, this remake understandably removes the original's lengthy pursuit of the killer and cinches up the story into one stormy night. But in doing so, it minimizes the killer's personality to a simple homicidal maniac. In a play on "the calls are coming from inside the house", babysitter Jill is caught in a voyeuristic cat and canary game. Much of the film is made up of cliche sound design and underwhelming jump scares and ruses. (i.e. there's a sound... and it's the ice machine!) I really wanted to despise this one and while the story is mainly comprised of Jill traipsing around an unrealistic mansion looking for any signs of life, there are some decent scares in the final act. But like many other poorly produced horror remakes, the ending is a complete throw-away. Look for this one in the bargain bin.

2 motion-sensors out of 5

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