Review of When a Stranger Calls (2006) by Lindsay Elizabeth M — 07 Mar 2010

"What do you want?".

"Your blood all over me.".

Decidedly disappointing.

The movie looked promising, but as the events rolled on in a slow, monologuos fashion, I got bored with the storyline easily. Camilla Belle plays Jill Johnson, a high school student who's part of the track team and whose boyfriend, Bobby (Brian Geraghty), seems to be cheating on her (at least she thinks he is) since she caught him snogging her best friend Tiffany (Katie Cassidy; Supernatural addicts recognize her as the demon who gets possessed by Lilith in a shocking turn of events near the end of season 3). The night during the bonfire party for the football team, she goes to a babysitting gig at the Mandrakises, who live in a secluded lakeside house. I won't go into more details, since the movie made me bored; even the supposed thrills were just slow and dragging. Belle tries her best to build up the suspense, but her skills fall short. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, because I don't want to subject them to the same torture I went through. Despite the fact that the killer was in fact portrayed by an actor who starred in Braveheart and Gladiator (Tommy Flanagan), his big reveal at the end of the movie did nothing but make me raise my eyebrows. My reaction is similar to that of Belle's just before credits rolled: one of insanity. Watch if you dare, and hope you come out of the viewing with your sanity intact.