When a Stranger Calls is a movie meant to incite fear and suspense in the audience through the stalking and harassing of a babysitter in a large, dark house at night. The plot is very simple. Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) is babysitting at the Mandrakis residence and she receives taunting phone calls from the killer throughout the night letting her know that he can see her. We know going into the movie that the killer is someone she doesn't know. That is the premise of the film- it tries to convey the fearfulness of being invaded in a home by a malicious killer whom you have no personal connection to. This idea in itself is purely scary because:
1.) We always think of a house (our own home or even someone else's) as being a shield from anything threatening and malignant in the world and this premise conveys the idea that being inside does not mean you are excluded from being in danger. Houses are not safe-havens. Safe-havens do not exist in this world.
2.) The situation portrayed in the film is entirely realistic. In supernatural horror films, there might be malicious demons, ghosts, or other fictitious beings terrorizing a family but we as the audience know that this is fake and would never actually happen. However, it is entirely possible in real life for a serial killer to invade someone's home, stalk them for several hours inside their home and then proceed to kill them. This terrifying realization makes the movie even more frightening. So how well does the movie do? Pretty good actually!
First off, the opening scene to this movie is entirely disturbing and unsettling. The film begins by showing a girl named Stacy (Lillie West) who is babysitting and getting taunted by phone calls from the killer. By the way, she is babysitting in a large house right next to a carnival that is going on. What a contrast between the terror ensuing inside the house and all the fun taking place at the carnival! I thought this produced an eerie, disturbing tone that was effective in starting off the movie on the right foot. Stacy's cries as she is getting beaten brutally by the killer with his two bare hands (that's right, he doesn't even use a weapon!) are truly horrifying and blood-curdling. What a way to start off the movie!
The setting and cinematography were truly amazing! Jill is babysitting in a large, dark house in the middle of nowhere along the water. The house itself is immense in size with many floors and rooms and even a large greenhouse for plant and animal life. This is perfect for the killer as he has numerous hiding places and can effectively stalk and taunt Jill for hours on end without being seen.
When it comes to the buildup throughout the movie leading to the killer revealing himself at the end, it is pretty effective for the most part. The only complaint I have is that a lot of the noises Jill hears around the house turn out to be false alarms and the incessant phone calls are ineffective at certain points, but these are only minor nuances. The phone calls serve to heighten the level of fear very efficiently during the second half of the movie as Jill finally realizes that whoever is doing this to her can see her and has been observing her. In addition, the lights in the house are automatic, they turn on when a person walks into the room. There is a creepy scene with that! So overall, I was very pleased with the tactics used by the producers and writers to incite fear and suspense and create the tone they wanted to in this film.
The cast did a good job of performing their roles in this film. Camila Belle did a good job of convincing the audience that she was a terrified, helpless babysitter in an unfortunate situation. Tommy Hannigan does a good job by making his voice sound scary and threatening on the phone when he calls Jill.
.jpg)
The only complaints I have about the characters are that for Jill, she doesn't really do much while she's sitting in the house babysitting. Most teenagers would find something to do: watch tv, play video-games, Id on't know, just something. She does read a book but come on, the majority of teenagers don't read books independently in today's world. That was really the only unrealistic aspect of Jill's character.
In another part of the film, Jill's friend Tiffany (Katie Kassidy) comes to see her and as she's outside leaving, she hears rustling and footsteps following her. The logical thing to do would be to get back inside the house and warn Jill that there is someone out there who shouldn't be. Instead, she completely disregards Jill and just tries to get away and save herself. Look at this way though, she did make out with Jill's boyfriend behind her back so maybe she really is a bitch and didn't care about Jill at all. In that case, her selfish actions make entirely perfect sense (I am not using sarcasm, I'm being serious).
Although there are no real bloody and gory scenes in this movie, it is still an effective horror film and sufficiently scares the audience through its premise, setting, and buildup. Although not nearly as scary as The Strangers (2008), the film is still worthy enough of me recommending that if you enjoy these types of flicks, then watch this movie! It is pretty well done minus the small nuances that I have mentioned!
BaD BiRdS:: GREAT FILM!
~MJ Aufiero
No comments:
Post a Comment