Terry's Reviews
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When A
Stranger Calls Sony Pictures Home Entertainment – 2006 Written by Jake Wade Wall Directed by Simon West Starring |
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| Somewhat unnecessary
and definitely not as effective as the original 1979 film, the remake for WHEN A STRANGER
CALLS does bring 87 minutes of slick photography, a subdued creepy score, impressive
production design and a couple of good looking actresses. "Have You Checked the children" moniker is brought back to life for the current generation with somewhat mixed results. The larger, fancier look and feel of the film might work against this movie because you are drawn more into that part of the filmmaking instead of getting intimate with the characters and visually focused into a game of cat and mouse. Camilla Belle, who plays the babysitter Jill Johnson, is certainly pleasant to look at for 87 minutes and she does her best to keep our interest. Some of the other cast is less believable and don’t leave as much of an impression with their performances. The design of the giant house where Jill baby-sits is an impressive piece of architecture and technical production design. Though I believe the immensity of the place actually works against the overall film, I guess you can’t completely blame the filmmakers because the movie virtually spends its running time within this structure. I guess the filmmakers thought going the bigger is better route would work to make the main location more interesting. Special features include Deleted Scenes, a Commentary with director and cast and a second one with the writer. "The Making Of When A Stranger Calls" was worth viewing, though I would have preferred to have this feature being on the original movie’s DVD because of that movie deserved it more. It won’t hurt you to see this movie one night when you need something to watch. The visual attractiveness and the truly excellent score by composer James Dooley will definitely make it worth your while. |
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