Retro Review: When A Stranger Calls (1979)

The original When A Stranger Calls is the stuff of legend, largely because of how downright terrifying the opening act is.

We know the story of the babysitter who receives threatening phone calls, only to have the calls end up coming from inside the house. It's a popular urban legend, and was effectively brought to the screen (kinda) in Bob Clark's Black Christmas.

But writer/director Fred Walton, and co-writer Steve Feke, breathed new life into the tale, and expertly crafted it into the film's opening 20 minutes, which are among the most tense put on film. Ditto the conclusion, where Carole Kane's babysitter -- now grown up with kids of her own -- is again tormented by the mysterious caller. So, all told, When A Stranger Calls offers about 40 minutes of pure horror goodness.

It's the middle act I liked the least when I first watched When A Stranger Calls decades ago, but I have a new appreciation for it now. This sequence follows the caller, chillingly brought to life by Tony Beckley, when he escapes from a mental institution and pursues another victim, with Charles Durning's cop hot on his trail. Walton and Feke do a good job of getting into the killer's mind without portraying him as sympathetic, and they create a few decent cat-and-mouse chases as well.

It's the opening and closing acts that truly deliver the goods though, and justify When A Stranger Calls's cult status. If you haven't seen it yet, do so. It's a must for horror fans. And, if you watched it before, it's worthy of a revisit. A Good.

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