When a Stranger Calls (1979)
Who knows what kind of maniac is on the other end of the phone, or even worse...where the call is coming from? When a Stranger Calls (1979) is a horror movie that begins with the famously suspenseful prologue about high school babysitter, Jill Johnson (Carol Kane), being prodded and tormented by a series of phone calls from a psycho killer named Curt Duncan (Tony Beckley). Seven years later, after the horrible events of that night, erstwhile police investigator turned private eye, John Clifford (Charles Durning) is hired to track down Duncan, who has since escaped from a mental institution, and deliver retribution to him for his gruesome past.
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The chilling and powerful opening chapter of When a Stranger Calls inhabits a special place for horror movie aficionados. Similar to other memorable horror films like Psycho, the first twenty minutes are a sort of feint. While it sets the stage for Clifford's hunt for Duncan, this is arguably the most suspenseful and intense part of the film. When a Stranger Calls is essentially adapted from a classic spooky story often referred to as the tale of "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs"; this is where the classic shocker of a line "the call is coming from inside the house" comes from. Director Fred Walton uses this early climax of fear and terror to unsettle the audience for the rest of the film--it is a strategy which is effective to varying degrees. This preamble was so effective, that although Carol Kane occupies less time in the movie than her co-stars, Charles Durning and Tony Beckley, most recollections of the film--and home media cover art--highlights her clutching the telephone in abject terror. Her performance as the mousy teenager who unravels while being watched and subtly threatened by the unhinged stranger on phone is a powerful one, and is emblematic of the unease infused into the film. Jill is more convincing than many of the other supporting characters, making her the most viable surrogate for the audience. She is the kind of girl who awkwardly talks about boys on the phone with her friend while she does her homework. After Duncan begins to unnerve her with his repeat phone calls, she sneaks a bottle of whiskey from her employer's wet bar, and dribbles a few drops at first into an old fashioned glass; when she becomes more freaked out later, she pours more to drink to try to settle her nerves. Her fear is reasonable for any teenage girl who has done babysitting--being alone in a strange house, unsure how to defend herself if attacked by some lunatic. The sound of the ringing phone becomes the psychological equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard, an escalating portent of doom, with each ring digging the pit in her stomach deeper and deeper, as Duncan keeps asking her if she's "checked on the children".
After the seven year flash forward, Clifford is commissioned by the still bereaved Dr. Mandrakis (Carmen Argenziano) to find Duncan, insinuating that he should kill the escaped killer out of vengeance--and Clifford is eager to comply. It becomes evident in his dogged pursuit across a pre-gentrified New York City that Duncan's gruesome killing traumatized Clifford, haunting him for all of these years. He tells the ambivalent psychiatrist Dr. Monk (Rachel Roberts) that he spent a year building a case to put Duncan away for good, and finds it appalling that he was able to escape at all. To him, this gross mishandling of justice must be rectified, even if it means murdering the escapee. Clifford comes across as kind and amiable, but he is convinced that the ends justify the means when dealing with Duncan's evil. The first time we see Duncan in full view is when he is awkwardly trying to approach a taciturn barfly named Tracy Fuller (Colleen Dewhurst). He comes across as pitiable more than menacing, but he is too earnest; he is subsequently beaten up and humiliated by another patron more interested in bullying him than protecting Tracy's personal space. Duncan is portrayed as creepy and pushy, but this is played in a way that suggests that it might be unintentional. He is also depicted as being pathetic and even--odd as it sounds--sympathetic. After getting beaten up at the bar, he spends his time begging for change on the street, wearing the same liquor-soaked, filthy clothes he escaped in--crestfallen and dejected. By making Clifford zealous in his crusade to avenge Duncan's victims--describing their killings to Tracy in grisly detail to coerce her into helping him trap Duncan--he appears more dangerous than his prey. In spite of whatever sympathy we might be tempted to feel for Duncan, the truth remains that this ex-merchant seaman is a vicious murderer of children, and he exists like a plague of evil--like a dog with rabies or a monster lurking in the closet. There is a scene where Clifford sneaks into a YMCA, looking to kill Duncan while he sleeps, and Duncan sneaks out a back exit. When Clifford goes through the door, he sees Duncan's shadow across a plank of wood--a gaunt, expressionistic shadow that recalls the menacing vampire from Nosferatu. Like the vampire, Duncan possesses a thin, bony face with an uneasy, nervous mien, and has an obsession with blood. Coincidentally, Clifford's plan to slay Duncan is to essentially "stake" him with an elongated lock pick needle. The final act of When a Stranger Calls bookends the film with the same kind of terrors and jumps which made the beginning of the film so suspenseful. The familiar motifs elevate the tension by revisiting that seven-year old trauma, planting the seed of fear in the audience that, just maybe, they should their closets before they go to bed.
Recommended for: Fans of a scary suspense film, whose iconic opening act has become so memorable, that it inspired the opening of Wes Craven's own self-aware horror movie, Scream. When a Stranger Calls wouldn't be quite the same today with caller ID and so on, but this doesn't detract from the classic thrills that come from the basic premise of the film...drawing from classic tales to chill your bones by flashlight or around a flickering campfire...waiting for someone to sneak up behind you and yell, "Boo"!
After the seven year flash forward, Clifford is commissioned by the still bereaved Dr. Mandrakis (Carmen Argenziano) to find Duncan, insinuating that he should kill the escaped killer out of vengeance--and Clifford is eager to comply. It becomes evident in his dogged pursuit across a pre-gentrified New York City that Duncan's gruesome killing traumatized Clifford, haunting him for all of these years. He tells the ambivalent psychiatrist Dr. Monk (Rachel Roberts) that he spent a year building a case to put Duncan away for good, and finds it appalling that he was able to escape at all. To him, this gross mishandling of justice must be rectified, even if it means murdering the escapee. Clifford comes across as kind and amiable, but he is convinced that the ends justify the means when dealing with Duncan's evil. The first time we see Duncan in full view is when he is awkwardly trying to approach a taciturn barfly named Tracy Fuller (Colleen Dewhurst). He comes across as pitiable more than menacing, but he is too earnest; he is subsequently beaten up and humiliated by another patron more interested in bullying him than protecting Tracy's personal space. Duncan is portrayed as creepy and pushy, but this is played in a way that suggests that it might be unintentional. He is also depicted as being pathetic and even--odd as it sounds--sympathetic. After getting beaten up at the bar, he spends his time begging for change on the street, wearing the same liquor-soaked, filthy clothes he escaped in--crestfallen and dejected. By making Clifford zealous in his crusade to avenge Duncan's victims--describing their killings to Tracy in grisly detail to coerce her into helping him trap Duncan--he appears more dangerous than his prey. In spite of whatever sympathy we might be tempted to feel for Duncan, the truth remains that this ex-merchant seaman is a vicious murderer of children, and he exists like a plague of evil--like a dog with rabies or a monster lurking in the closet. There is a scene where Clifford sneaks into a YMCA, looking to kill Duncan while he sleeps, and Duncan sneaks out a back exit. When Clifford goes through the door, he sees Duncan's shadow across a plank of wood--a gaunt, expressionistic shadow that recalls the menacing vampire from Nosferatu. Like the vampire, Duncan possesses a thin, bony face with an uneasy, nervous mien, and has an obsession with blood. Coincidentally, Clifford's plan to slay Duncan is to essentially "stake" him with an elongated lock pick needle. The final act of When a Stranger Calls bookends the film with the same kind of terrors and jumps which made the beginning of the film so suspenseful. The familiar motifs elevate the tension by revisiting that seven-year old trauma, planting the seed of fear in the audience that, just maybe, they should their closets before they go to bed.
Recommended for: Fans of a scary suspense film, whose iconic opening act has become so memorable, that it inspired the opening of Wes Craven's own self-aware horror movie, Scream. When a Stranger Calls wouldn't be quite the same today with caller ID and so on, but this doesn't detract from the classic thrills that come from the basic premise of the film...drawing from classic tales to chill your bones by flashlight or around a flickering campfire...waiting for someone to sneak up behind you and yell, "Boo"!