'Stranger Calls' doesn't live up to original

[Holly]

A good thriller can make the most common object scary ... even a ringing telephone.

That was the case almost 30 years ago with “When a Stranger Calls,” an unassuming melodrama about a baby-sitter and the threat she faced from someone who regaled in frightening her with a series of ominous phone calls. Cult-favorite films remain prime targets for Hollywood when it comes to remakes, which usually try to go bigger and better, and usually fail in the process.

“When a Stranger Calls” is one of the latest pictures to fall prey to that process. The set-up remains pretty much the same, with an unsuspecting young woman (Camilla Belle, in Carol Kane's former role) watching over a couple of young kids on a seemingly uneventful night. Until the phone starts ringing, that is; the spoken taunt “Have you checked the children?” annoys her, then unnerves her, then petrifies her for reasons you can undoubtedly guess.

The new “When a Stranger Calls” basically manages to get the job done, its PG-13 rating ensuring the violence level will stay well below that of something like “Hostel.” And even more to its credit, it doesn't try to ignore the advances in communication that have occurred since the original version was made. Cell phones and caller ID were still in the future then, and the remake puts them to fairly good use, especially since phone links are so portable now that the story's villain truly could be making the calls from anywhere. Yes, even from inside the same house the targeted baby-sitter happens to be in.

That said, I'd still give the edge to the first telling, largely for the caliber of its acting. Carol Kane was thoroughly believable -- and somewhat offbeat -- as the damsel in distress, while replacement actress Belle is more the standard young starlet of today. She screams well on demand, but in the end, she's interchangeable with numerous other performers. On the other hand, Carol Kane interchangeable? No way!

It's that sort of quirkiness that “When a Stranger Calls” now lacks, and that served the tale so well initially. This time, it's just another house ... just another sitter ... just another call.

(Rated PG-13)

[Zebra 3]

I liked When a Stranger Calls when it was called Black Christmas ('74).

[JeffRuss1972]

I need to see the original again. It scared the hell outta me when I saw it on cable back in '80 or '81-lol.

[seventies_sitcoms]

Originally Posted by Zebra 3

I liked When a Stranger Calls when it was called Black Christmas ('74).

Black Christmas rocks! I don't think the original WASC was that great. After the early part of the movie was over it became really boring.

[savageamusement]

Very few remakes live up to their older shell.

I will be curious about the hills have eyes.

But so far
Psycho, House of Wax and even older ones liek Frankenstein.
UGH

[JeffRuss1972]

agreed

[Chad Michael Murray]

Originally Posted by seventies_sitcoms

Black Christmas rocks! I don't think the original WASC was that great. After the early part of the movie was over it became really boring.

Agreed.

If the remake doesn't live up to the original, then this movie must be really awful because the original was a snoozefest!