X
- 1979
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 37 m
- 1979
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 37 m
Summary A psychopathic killer terrorizes a babysitter, then returns seven years later to menace her again.
Directed By: Fred Walton
Written By: Steve Feke, Fred Walton
- 1979
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 37 m
- 1979
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 37 m
When a Stranger Calls
58
6.1
Where to Watch
Summary A psychopathic killer terrorizes a babysitter, then returns seven years later to menace her again.
Directed By: Fred Walton
Written By: Steve Feke, Fred Walton
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
58
29% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
71% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
58
29% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
71% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
When a Stranger Calls manages to scare the stuffing out of the audience - the film is authentically terrifying - without pouring more than a demi-carafe of gore. [22 Oct 1979]
More than anything else, When a Stranger Calls resembles a good, old-fashioned grade B thriller.
Director Fred Walton sets the audience up early for a 20-minute reign of terror and gracefully shocks them out of their seats in a final blitz. But he packs the middle with drawn-out dialogue and mindless series of chases and escapes that do little more tan pad the feature film into feature length. [19 Oct 1979, p.31]
The first part of this film is an exceedingly taut little chiller that stands on its own, and in fact was once a short film entitled The Sitter. Director Fred Walton decided to expand the clever premise into a feature and, unfortunately, that is where the film begins to fall apart.
The gimmick behind When a Stranger Galls is a scary one, but it's been played for more than it's worth.
Fred Walton, who directed Stranger, seems more skillful at orchestrating creepy atmospherics than John Carpenter was in Halloween. At the same time, he's scarcely clever or stylish enough to make Stranger a thriller worth going out of your way for. [20 Oct 1979, p.F6]
This stab at the soft underbelly of American middle class paranoia looks increasingly contrived once the film loses direction in the daylight outside, and a realism intrudes that the film-makers just don't know how to handle.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 User Ratings
6.1
50% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
42% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
8% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 User Ratings
6.1
50% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
42% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
8% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
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