|
 WHEN
A
STRANGER
CALLS
With
Camilla
Belle,
Tommy
Flanagan,
Katie
Cassidy,
Tessa
Thompson,
Brian
Geraghty
Directed
by
Simon
West
While
the
original
on
which
this
film
is
based
was
no
Halloween
or
Friday
The
13th,
it
did
tap
into
the
classic
babysitter-in-peril
cheap
scare
mode.
Menaced
by
what
seems
to
be
a
crank
caller,
this
remake
is
obviously
more
reliant
on
modern
technology,
with
a
young
girl
having
to
baby
sit
in
stead
of
go
to
a
party
with
her
schoolmates.
With
the
kids
already
asleep,
she
basically
has
to
hang
around
the
lovely
lakeside
home
–
until
the
phone
calls
start.
The
intro
segment
of
a
murdered
family
makes
it
clear
that
the
man
on
the
other
end
of
the
line
is
more
than
just
a
prankster.
Several
moments
of
tension
get
diminished
by
classic
(yet
stale)
clichés,
while
some
familiar
expectant
ones
get
thwarted
by
snubbing
the
audience
after
threatening
to
go
that
route.
The
modern
home’s
single
location
offers
large
atmospheric
spaces
and
still
manages
a
sense
of
trapped
claustrophobia
and
paranoia.
The
bad-guy
remains
hidden
from
the
viewer
for
the
bulk
of
the
film,
rendering
the
sudden
finale
a
little
flat
for
those
who
expect
a
great
big
Jason
or
Freddy
climax.
This
in
fact
makes
the
movie
more
of
a
success
in
my
eyes,
as
it
dips
into
the
well-trodden
scary
movie
book,
but
still
tries
to
shift
the
audience
expectation
a
touch.
PS.
Simon
West
has
directed
Con
Air
as
well
as
several
TV
shows,
and
had
some
remake
experience
in
the
sense
of
helming
and
adapting
the
big
screen
version
of
videogame
heroine
Lara
Croft's
Tomb
Raider.
3
/
C
-
PB
1
2
3
4
5
6
A
-
B
-
C
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