Customer Reviews

Calling

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is actually one of the better apocalyptic thrillers that I've recently seen. It's well written and doesn't contain many plot holes. It's almost like a modern version of some of the classic religious horror films like Rosemary's Baby or the Omen. It certainly beats out other modern attempts at apocalyptic stories, like the Omega Code, End of Days, Lost Souls, Bless the Child, the Prophecy trilogy (with Christopher Walken), or the Ninth Gate.

It's a relatively unknown cast here, as it seems to have been filmed with a mostly British cast. Laura Harris stars here in her first lead role, and she does a credible job here. Laura Harris, who resemebles a serious version of Kirsten Dunst, is probably best known for her teen alien monster role in the movie, the Faculty. Here, she gets most of the screen time, and she does pretty well in carrying the movie.

This story revolves around her character becoming pregnant under mysterious circumstances and giving birth to a baby boy. As the baby boy grows, her life slowly changes in bad ways, and a mysterious taxi driver introduces her to the ideas of the Devil and the anti-Christ. Then she begins to believe that she is the one who has given birth to the anti-Christ, and her world unravels quickly.

There are a few nice plot twists at the end that are unexpected and provide for a more satisfying story ending than your typical apocalyptic tale. Unfortunately, it is a barebones DVD with just one theatrical trailer.

This isn't a great classic tale like Rosemary's Baby, the Omen, or the Exorcist, but it is certainly better than most of the recent competition that has come out recently. Worth at least checking out as a rental.

THE CALLING is a movie that pleasantly surprised me. Obviously it is the Omen brought into the twenty-first century. The movie is dark and foreboding, but the cinematography is lush and gorgeous. Laura Harris as the doomed Mom is convincingly baffled, shocked and devastated. Richard Lintern as the surrogate father from hell is handsomely sadistic and suave; the gorgeous Alice Krige (from Ghost Story) is appropriately sardonic and bewitching; and the little boy who plays Dylan makes Damien look like a boy scout. Throw in the gentleman who plays the mysterious Cormac and you have a cast of mysterious proportions. The movie moves well and has quite a stunning finale. It's not as good as THE OMEN but it's better than its two sequels.
A surprise winner.

First of all, Artisan released this title without any special features (just a theatrical trailer) and presented in Full screen and 2.0 Dolby Surround only. But the DVD surround sound is quite good and the full screen picture is fine.

The story about young woman who believe her son is the "antichrist" but no one else believe her. There is a nice plot twist at the end of the movie that I didn't see it coming. It really enhanced the level of enjoyment. This 2000 movie is far better that the 2 big budget movies with similar theme that came out in 2000 (Bless the child with Kim Basinger, and Lost souls with Winona ryder).

If you like OMen type of movie, this DVD will not disappoint you. Highly recommended.

I just picked this up from a used bookstore for 99c and found a little gem of a film. I was not paying too much attention at first but began to get engrossed as the plot unfolded.

It is easy to dismiss a movie of this nature given the similarities between itself and some illustrious predecessors, such as the Omen but it is actually quite a different film. If anything I made connections more with Revelation and Omega Code more than the oft-cited Wicker Man.

This is a relatively medium expense picture dealing with the Anti-Christ, with few familiar faces as a selling point. It has some unforseen twists and turns for sure, but for me what makes it more compelling viewing is the whole underlying idea that the followers of Christ have brought nothing but pain and suffering throughout 2000 years and it is time for someone else to have a go. Coincidentally, there are no questions of infiltration of the political arena as per the Omen, just the straight parallels with the Bible and the New Testament.

It is a novel twist to an old story but it certainly makes for a deeper understanding of the film and provokes a thoughful and pensive reaction.
That is a purpose of art, is it not, to challenge one's views and to make one think. It certainly has done that to me. Four stars.

This surprised me. I thought it was going to be garbage. Thankfully, it wasn't. As someone has said previously, it takes bits from The Omen, Rosemary's Baby, and I would add The Wicker Man. So, it isn't too original. The acting, though, is quite good, especially Laura Harris, who has an uncanny resemblance to Jennie Garth. To the person who said they couldn't believe they'd wasted two hours on this -- you overslept, 'cause the movie is only 89 minutes long.

THE CALLING is an updated ROSEMARY'S BABY / OMEN hybrid that's actually good! I was highly skeptical at first, figuring that it would most definitely stink. Well, shock of shocks, I loved this movie! Laura Harris (Habitat) is quite believable as the increasingly suspicious mum of Dylan, aka: devilboy. She faces a satanic conspiracy of historic, global proportions. Of course, no one believes her, except for those who are already involved in the whole thing. Alice Krige (Ghost Story, Star Trek: First Contact, Sleepwalkers, Habitat) is as coldly beautiful as ever. No one alive comes close to having her seductively wicked charms! My only complaint is that she is under-used! The rest of the cast is solid, w/ Dylan and the enigmatic Cormac being the standouts. THE CALLING is more than just a simple re-packaging of old material. The story is engaging, suspenseful, and has a fantastic atmosphere of total doom! There are some cool twists and the finalé is a grabber! Yes, this is full screen, but that's the original aspect ratio. There is a (very demonic) boom-mic visible in the church scene near the end. Though it didn't ruin the movie for me, I can't understand how the editors could have possibly missed it! Oh well...

The Calling stinks, plain and simple. What initially had potential with a boy being possessed by the devil quickly falls apart thanks to a lackluster storyline and mediocre acting skills.

Sure, you witness a few neat looking and terrifying deaths, but the majority of the film is amazingly quiet and doesn't trigger any kind of suspense or fear from the viewer. This is because the storyline never takes an interesting turn so you eventually know what's going to happen at the very end.

Okay, one particular scene involving the mother taking her little boy to a river is a bit shocking (because it actually plays out in a way I didn't expect) but other than that, this is another example of predictable writing, poor acting skills, and lack of suspense ruining a supposed thriller.

Maybe Dylan isn't his name. Maybe its Bob. Whoever it is, he is still a whimp compared to damien. Have you seen this movie? I am watching it now so I don't really know what its about yet. I will now watch it instead of writing this stupid review. Was this review helpful to you? Probably not.

Laura Harris (The Faculty, Mighty Wind) plats Kristie St. Clair marrys Marc St. Clair, played by Richard Lintern (Syriana, Starlings) and winds up having a son Dylan St. Clair, played by Alex Roe (The Fugitives the TV Series). The Son later soon possses greater powers beyond the eye can see and Harris is subjected to trying to find out what the hell is going on as things turn on her. Carmac, played by Francis Magee (The Bombmaker, Butterfly Man) tells Harris that there is something wrong with her son and so on and so forth. Not much here, lacks energy and interest with dull characters, bad acting and bad writing. By the end I knew that the Carmac character played her...you could see it coming a mile away. This also wasted Alice Krige (Star Trek: First Contact, upcoming Silent Hill) as well. Also starring John Standing (V For Vendetta, A Good Woman). Skip this and watch something else. Tries to hard to be other movies (Rosemary's Baby, Damien...so forth)

In the late 60's Roman Polanski made a masterpiece known as Rosemary's Baby. In the early 70's, a masterpiece called The Omen was made. In the late 90's, an okay movie called End of Days was created. This movie borrows shamelessly from all three. It is an absolutely horrific movie. There is no redeeming quality of this movie. It does have very brief nudity, graphic violence and is VERY Satanic. Avoid this movie at all costs.