Synopsis
Far away from the site of a gruesome murder, a teenager named Jill Johnson arrives at a luxurious home for a baby-sitting job. With the children fast asleep, she settles in for what she expects to be an ordinary evening. Soon, the ringing of a phone and the frightening words of a sadistic caller turn Jill's routine experience into a night of terror.
Votre Filmothèque
Cast
- Camilla BelleJill Johnson
- Katie CassidyTiffany Madison
- Tommy FlanaganStranger
- Brian GeraghtyBobby
- Clark GreggBen Johnson
- Derek de LintDr. Mandrakis
- Kate Jennings GrantKelly Mandrakis
- Steve EastinDetective Hines
- Karina LogueTrack Coach
- Dianna AgronCheerleader
Recommandations
- 50
The Hollywood Reporter
Designed to capitalize on the title and premise of the original but offers little to those who fondly remember it. - 50
Variety
A modestly clever concept gets indifferent execution in When a Stranger Calls, another bigger-yet-blander remake of an allegedly "classic" '70s shocker. - 50
New York Daily News
After an hour of red herrings, in which Jill investigates creepy corridors or opens rattling closet doors with no results, the only real danger is that we'll become bored to death. For real thrills, rent the original, turn down the lights and scare yourself silly. - 50
Premiere
Ironically, for all of Stranger's faults, director Simon West has probably made a perfect date movie: just suspenseful enough to keep you arm-in-arm with your beau or belle; but silly enough that you'll both laugh about it afterwards. - 50
The New York Times
Jake Wade Wall's screenplay does deserve a word of praise. It has managed to incorporate the advent of cellphones, the *69 command and caller ID, which could have easily made the entire story impossible. - 50
ReelViews
The movie ends with a bizarre and unsatisfying denouement. The epilogue, which is designed either to set up a sequel or lampoon "Halloween 2," plays like a sour last note. I suppose someone thought it was clever, but it doesn't work. - 38
TV Guide Magazine
Rather than remake the entire original movie, Simon West and screenwriter Jake Wade Wall have taken only that now-classic first act and padded it out into a dull, filler-filled feature that's remarkably void of any new ideas. - 25
New York Post
Ineptly directed by Simon West, the scare-free When a Stranger Calls is the worst of the seminal horror movies from the late '70s and early '80s that have been getting the remake treatment lately.
