Customer Reviews

When a Stranger Calls Back

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The sequel to 1979's good-but-not-spectacular "When A Stranger
Calls" blows its predecessor out of the water in almost every way
imaginable, in my opinion. The first 20 minutes or so of the film, which, like the original has a babysitter in the house(this time played by one of my personal favorites, Jill Schoelen)
receiving increasingly ominous telephone calls, could be called a remake of the (admittedly great) first 20 minutes of the last one, but from there the two movies veer off in different directions, this one taking a darker and far eerier path. It's after the first 20 minutes that the film eases off the terror throttle a bit, both to get to know the characters better and to give the viewer a chance to breathe without having a heart attack.

Carol Kane, the babysitter from the first film, along with Charles Durning, the lead detective from the first, return to help with the police investigation, due to their experience in a similar situation years before. In my opinion, both give superior performances this time around, which along with the new cast members makes for one of the better ensembles of players out there. And as for the villain of the show, what can be said of this character? Not very much, for the antagonist remains a mystery until well into the final third.

After the brief respite following the opening terror, "When A Stranger Calls Back" rises quickly and dramatically in fright and intensity, and some of the most chilling and disturbing visual imagery ever conceived of comes into play towards the end.

A complete masterpiece, with intensity comparable (though not as much gore) to the first "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", the best "Hellraiser"s, and the deranged "House Of 1,000 Corpses".

Forget "The Exorcist" this is the scariest movieyou'll ever see! The first 15 minutes of the film scared me so much that I literally could not move off the couch. Jill Schoelen plays Julia, a lovely, vulnerable girl who is doing a friend a favor by babysitting their kids. However, someone is going to make this night a living hell. Someone is watching Julia, toying with her like a cat and mouse. Unlike the original "Stranger" this film continues the suspense throughout the entire film. And yet, only one scene includes violence and blood. Carol Kane and Charles Durning reprise their roles, and I must say, are much more effective in this film. The ending of the film will shock you and leave you terrified for a very long time. I guarantee this will be the scariest film you've ever seen!

This superior made-for-TV movie opens with high school student Julia (Jill Schoelen) babysitting two children. A knock at the door is the beginning of a night of unspeakable terror and murder. Five years later, Julia is now a college student, still scarred by that night. Someone, it seems, has been breaking into her apartment and trying to scare her. The police think she's making it up, but college crisis counselor Jill (Carol Kane) believes her, and tries to find out who is after her, aided by her friend (Charles Durning). Soon, Jill becomes the stalker's new target.

This movie is going to terrify you; I guarantee it, especially if you were once a teenage girl who babysat alone. I've seen the movie several times over the years, and I still have to mute the sound and close my eyes when the tension is too much. Credit for this thriller's success goes to director Fred Walton who also wrote the script. You feel like you ARE Julia, all alone and scared senseless, and the creepiness never lets up. Schoelen is convincing as the hapless teen and quirky Carol Kane is always fun to watch. The movie delivers genuine thrills and you won't easily forget it. Highly recommended.

THE FREAKIEST MOVIE LINE YET!!! One babysitter on her own with 2 sleeping kids. The phone calls begin and items dissappear. Doors she had checked previously that were locked mysteriously become unlocked, a paper written on in a notebook gets torn out somehow, and a mystery man at the door....or is he at the door?? These horrifying events result in a terrifying experience and explanation for the babysitter- and all this happens in the first 12 minutes of the movie! When Carol Kane and Charles Durning return to investigate on the alike situation Kane had as her role in the first movie WHEN A STRANGER CALLS, you won't be sorry! The roles are played fantastically! What's better? Just when you have bitten off all your nails from the movie's opening segment, more action and suspense happens. All I can say is you won't forget the horrifying opening in the movie! It's a great movie! Get WHEN A STRANGER CALLS BACK now!!!!!!!

It's hard to believe this was made for TV. It was most definitely worth a theatrical release. Today, it would have no problem making money. I think the time this came out in the early 90's, horror films had sort of fizzled out for awhile. I enjoyed the original but honestly, and as others have reviewed, I think this is another one of those films that beat the odds and proved that sometimes, sequels are better. I was a pre-teen when I first saw this and still enjoy watching it again and again even today. I thought the first 15-20 minutes were the most intense, nail-bitting, suspsensful and downright creepy minutes I have ever seen. This is one of those forgotten gems that makes it all the more uncanny in that so many people have not seen it. And it's really a shame. Carol Kane and Charles Durning return in their original roles and Jill Schoelen from The Stepfather is terrific as well. Loved the whole 'school girl' outfit she wore at the beginning with the plaid skirt and knee-high socks. I think she wore a wig in the beginning to make it look like she had short hair because in the rest of the movie, she sports a really bad female mullet. Carol Kane has great hair in this. I love her as a blonde and it was really long and wavy. Okay, enough on the fashion-wrap. Kane's character changes from the original where she was the 'helpless victim.' Here, she plays a much wiser, tough, [...]-kicking, "don't mess with me" type of gal. The character seems to have a chip on her shoulder. You don't here about what happened to her husband or her kids. Just that she is a single woman living alone and she feels very protective and sympathetic towards the new 'victim' in this (Jill Schoelen). There is even a scene in the grocery store where Kane reluctantly passes by a display of vodka which implies she once may have had a drinking problem. The ending is also one that no other horror/thriller film has done so it is different and unique in that sense. This film has an average rating of 4 1/2 stars out of 5 so that should say something. It tops the list as one of my favorite thrillers of all-time and should not be missed. Watch it alone on a Friday night with all the lights out and get ready for a treat! I'm not sure why the company that owns the rights to this has stopped producing copies but someone else needs to acquire this because it is one that should not be hard to find or just plain forgotten about - it's too good!

Omigosh! The first 20 minutes of this movie alone is worth the sale price. Pure, undiluted suspense and terror that director Fred Walton delivers with the deliberate pace and tempo of a seasoned maestro. Walton is, of course, the under-appreciated horror auteur who delivered the original When a Stranger Calls with unexpected panache. (He also made the revisionist slasher movie April Fool's Day a forerunner of the ironic post-modern horror hipness of Scream, Cherry Falls and the like.) When a Stranger Calls Back is more a remake than a sequel, despite the return of the now much older central characters of the first film. Walton has effectively done what pioneering silent horror director Roland West did when he remade his 1926 silent movie The Bat as a talkie in 1930 - use changing film conventions and the steady accumulation of genre experience to attempt to deliver a better mousetrap. Unlike West though, Walton actually succeeds in delivering a film that is better and scarier than the original. How on earth this truly scary horror film failed to get a wider cinematic release given the pervasiveness of rubbish like I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is beyond comprehension. There have hardly been better suspense movies than this, which stands proudly in the league of Black Christmas and the original Spiral Staircase. The schema of Walton's sequel is pretty much that of the original - a nailbiting opening sequence with a young woman menaced by a clearly deranged madman, followed by a middle devoted to uncovering the killer and finally another edge-of-your-seat last third. Carol Kane is superbly world weary as the survivor from the original who now works as a campus woman's counsellor. She becomes involved in supporting one of her students who five years before had survived a similar experience to hers (the riveting opening sequence). The student is being harassed by an anonymous psycho with clear knowledge of her earlier experience. Kane calls on assistance from the detective (played with familiar comfort by the returning Charles Durning) who had assisted her in catching the killer in the original. Together, the three piece together the apparent mystery of what actually happened on that terrifying night five years before. With plenty of good shocks along the way, it culminates - as we expect and want - with a truly original showdown against the backdrop (literally as you shall see!) of Kane's sparse art deco loft. When a Stranger Calls Back is one of those under-released, underrated gems that slowly build their way to cult, then classic, status. In this regard, it is - alongside The Changeling, Black Christmas, Manhunter, The Conqueror Worm etc. - in superb company. Highly recommended for suspense and horror afficionados.

I agree with the other posts here , this is a superior made for TV what a surprise and to have Carol Kane back is just fantastic !

This idea of a young girl alone in the house the phone is dead and then theres a knock on the door , and the voice behind the door wants to use the phone and then it starts to send chills thus the movie goes into a rollercaster throughout .

Buy it or rent it I promise you you wont be disapointed .

A made for TV movie that is scarier than any other film out there. Scarier than the Excorcist. Makes Halloween seem laughable. This movie is incredible. I remember seeing it as a teenager and it scared me so muich I couldn't get off the couch to turn the TV off--I was scared stiff!! Everyone I have told about this film agrees. It is brilliant, frightening, creepy and all around SCARY! Not gory or cheesy, but truly scary scary scary!!! I still have trouble watching this film (and I am in my 20s) because it still gets to me. If you want to see a truly frightening movie, watch this. You won't be disappointed.

Much scarier, more diturbing, and better acted. I liked this one way better than the first. I suggest buying both, but just expect the 2nd to be better, because it is. Watch them both alone in the dark.

I have to say that this movie was thoroughly enjoyable. Like many other reviewers, I found the opening sequence to be riveting and nerve-wracking. This is a horror movie that focuses less on the commercial appeal of a scary mask or supernatural force,and gets back to basic human fears. What is more scary than something that could really happen? A babysitter could be all alone and be confronted with a mysterious man knocking at the door for help. When A Stranger Calls Back focuses on that feeling of "did I leave that there" or "didn't I put this away" that nearly everyone experiences at one point or another. On the whole, I would reccomend this movie to anyone who prefers suspense over special effects, and plot over props. When A Stranger Calls Back will send chills down your spine when you watch it, and make you think twice about a career as a babysitter.