Julian-Film The atmosphere was resonant and intriguing in the introduction, with the vibrant atmosphere of the fair injecting some much needed originality into the film. However from this point I found the film dull and uninspiring due to a flat story line, poor script, bland and repetitive cinematography and amateurish acting. The tension was incredibly forced seemingly inspired by the 'aspiring director's handbook for crappy tension' which used all the cliché tricks such as stumbling for keys meant to create suspense, but I kinda found it laughable instead – this was repeated for most the movie. The plot build up seemed to lead nowhere leaving me disappointed at the not so climactic climax. Even though the movie was only 90 minutes it seemed to drag on and on because of the nothingness story. However, the chosen locations are to be praised as they invoke a feeling of hopelessness and isolation mirrored by the character.I wouldn't really recommend it, unless you are really scraping the bottom of the barrel for horror films. I guess it's a pretty good comedy if you like screaming cliché at the top of your lungs like I do.

bethkelly-40155 I stumbled across this movie as new arrival on Netflix, I've never been a fan of these teen babysitting 'horror' movies, I find them rather dull and boring. Now I'm not sure if because I was so tired when watching that I found it to be enjoyable, or if I genuinely think it was good. The house it is set in is beautiful and I was mad at myself for being sucked into the jump scares. The main character to me wasn't very likable though and I was rooting for her death which unfortunately never came, and I would like to have seen more of the killer and there to have been more than a motive rather than he was just a psycho killer. The ending was garbage and again was upset the the main character didn't die. I started this review liking this movie but the more I go on the more upset I am that she didn't die, oh and the fact you don't get to see anyone else die, their bodies are just discovered. The more I think about it the more I don't think I liked this movie at all. There is a lot of heavy breathing and nothingness happening for a lot of the time, and the people you want to die just don't. Worth a watch though, even if its just to get annoyed about the survivors.

Leofwine_draca Now, I'm all for a good slasher flick, and I don't even mind the modern day ones that flooded the market since the success of Wes Craven's SCREAM in 1996, even though a lot of them are poor. Okay, so I usually wait until they show up on television rather than spend money to see them, but I'm the first person willing to give a film a chance despite negative reviews and the like. I was the perfect demographic for this film: I'm young, I haven't seen the original '70s movie on which this film is based, and I'm easily pleased when it comes to horror. Sadly, I was in for a shock: this is one of the all-time worst movies I've ever sat through, on a par with the similarly execrable BOOGEYMAN.For starters, WHEN A STRANGER CALLS has NO story, no plot line. A girl spends a night babysitting, gets a few phone calls, then is chased by an unknown killer. The end. There's no set up, no characterisation – other than a few grating teen stereotypes – no motivation. Is that supposed to make the killer more frightening? It doesn't. You just end up not caring. One of the many problems with this film is British director Simon West, whose only other credit of note is the action flick CON AIR, about a million times better than this. West is the master of over-direction. His creepy music starts almost straight away, even when nothing remotely frightening or suspenseful is happening. Girl goes for a car ride – creepy music. Girl is given babysitting job – creepy music. Girl visits the john – creepy music. Okay, so I made the last one up, but you get the idea.The film is jam packed with false scares to pad out the running time. It's in essence a one-room drama, with a few minor embellishments, so straight away you know that a professional is required to make things work. Heck, PHONE BOOTH is one of my favourites from the last few years. This movie is just boredom, boredom, boredom. Every false scare and cliché is present, from the jumping cat scene to characters suddenly appearing out of nowhere. The lighting is poor and the film has no suspense or atmosphere; a dull-witted script only serves to sink things further. Camilla Belle plays, badly, one of the most unappealing 'scream queen' characters I've ever witnessed, one of those ones you're praying will end up dead. The killer, played by Scot Tommy Flanagan, is supposed to be scary because his face is scarred. That's the only characterisation he gets – a scarred face and Michael Myers-type stance. The killer's telephone voice, played by Lance Henriksen (!) only has about two lines. Towards the end, the whole phone call thing is so overdone (really, the lead gets at least twenty or thirty calls) that I was shouting in anger each time they did it. In all, there's absolutely no point in watching this appalling movie unless you're looking for a cure for insomnia.

DogFilmCritic First time i saw it i really liked it felt it was well done, it has they key elements of a psychological-thriller.Suspense, tension, raising of stakes for the protagonist,as the story progresses the tension in the character rises you clearly see it when Jill enters the house everything is OK but as night falls she gets constantly taunted by the stranger as he calls her playing mind games on her, making her more uncomfortable in her surroundings as she starts to feel more insecure, besides the kids she is watching over she is alone in the house and paranoia starts rising,to me in this movie it works perfectly its focused in her reactions towards being alone and vulnerable and more important we are interested in what is going to happen, to me is one of those films that one sees more enjoyable when home alone.Camilla Belle gives a believable performance as she has to carry out most of the story by herself,i was very impressed by her acting in this film.