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Camilla Belle, Tommy Flanagan, Tessa Thompson, Brian Geraghty, Clark Gregg ... see more see more... , Derek de Lint , Kate Jennings Grant , David Denman , Arthur Young , Madeline Carroll , Steve Eastin , Lance Henriksen , John Bobek , Kevin Wethington , Madeleine Carroll , Molly Bryant , Katie Cassidy

A teenage girl becomes a demented serial killer's prey in this big-budget remake of the 1979 thriller that became a TV late-show favorite. When a Stranger Calls takes its title and basic premise from ... read more read more...the original, which -- for its first 15 minutes or so -- featured Carol Kane as a frazzled babysitter plagued by creepy, invasive phone calls. This time around, the doe-eyed Camilla Belle plays Jill Johnson, a high-schooler dealing with the usual set of crises: an unfaithful boyfriend, a bitchy best friend, and an over-the-limit cell phone bill. In order to pay for the latter, her father (Clark Gregg) has committed her to a babysitting gig with a wealthy family. At the isolated, palatial house, Jill settles in for a night of no-stress kid-watching. But it isn't long before someone starts anonymously calling the house with creepy, increasingly specific messages. Jill doesn't rule out anyone, but it becomes clear that whomever it is, he or she is watching her, and may be closer than she even suspects. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Flixster Users

55% liked it

457,494 ratings

Critics

9% liked it

89 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 27 min.

Directed by: Simon West

Release Date: February 3, 2006

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DVD Release Date: May 16, 2006

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Stats: 31,579 reviews

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When a Stranger Calls What Would You Do? Go Away !!! Camilla Belle in the Making of When A Stranger Calls Camilla Belle as Jill Johnson in When A Stranger Calls 2006 What Would You Do? When A Stranger Calls Screen Captures Camilla Belle Camilla Belle in the Making of When A Stranger Calls Stranger Jill Jill What Would You Do? When A Stranger Calls Screen Captures Stranger When A Stranger Calls Screen Captures When A Stranger Calls Screen Captures When A Stranger Calls Screen Captures
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Flixster Reviews (31,579)

  • TheDudeLebowski65
    September 20, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    When a Stranger Calls is one of the worst remakes that I have seen. The film has some very bad acting, a bad story and bad directing. As a horror film, When a Stranger Calls fails to deliver effective jolts. The scares are cheap and expected. I thought that this film was awful an... read mored I felt like it was a waste of time. This film is pure crap, and as far as remakes are concerned, them being dull and inspired compared to the first, well this one fits the description perfectly. I love horror films, horror films are my passion, my addiction and I was very disappointed in this film. I thought it was purely a waste of time, and celluloid. Remakes are much hit and miss, and this remake misses the mark entirely. The cast and story awful, and you just know how this film will end. The element of surprise, which makes horror films worth seeing, is absent, and thus, this film is very predictable and awful. This film scraps the bottom of the barrel and it's not fun, scary or entertaining. This is yet another unfortunate remake of a classic film that never should have been made in the first place. Hollywood is running out of ideas, and trash like this shows that they're willing to green light anything to make a quick buck. Some remakes are good, effective at delivering scares. However this one fails to deliver, and belongs along with the rest of the horrible sequels in the dollar bin at Wal-Mart. A terrible film, which you're not missing out on. Avoid.
  • movieguru12
    August 6, 2011
    movieguru12
    Great horror flick that makes you scared to ever answer a phone ever again. I was terrified after the movie when my dad called the house to scare us. If you want to be completely freaked out then watch this movie.
  • murphmann93
    June 23, 2011
    murphmann93
    Creepy! Had me on the edge of my seat and I was genuinely frightened.
  • LoughnerWasLucid
    January 15, 2011
    LoughnerWasLucid
    i wish Roger Ebert would call Camilla Belle and tell her where she can put her two thumbs.
  • BEACHBUNNI
    September 15, 2010
    BEACHBUNNI
    Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) is a high school girl who gets a baby-sitting job for a new family. They live in a nice house in a remote area. When she arrives, the kids are already asleep upstairs..she sets the alarm,and locks the doors and within minutes after the parents have le... read moreft, the phone starts ringing. over and over the phone rings, occasionally a prank call from one of Jills friends and sometimes a breather. Eventually, the caller talks and hangs up. Jill calls the police eventually, but they don't take it too seriously until the officer finally decides to trace the call and rings Jill back to tell her... wait for it.. this is the hook.. "The call is coming from inside the house!"...............
    this is a remake and i didnt find it as good as the original one, still worth a look though
  • 3niR
    February 15, 2010
    3niR
    This was pretty scary.
  • fb733768972
    February 4, 2010
    fb733768972
    Was this supposed to scare me, because it didn't! Whatever the makers were thinking, they must has been on drugs for this thing you call a movie!
  • adammahler1
    December 14, 2009
    adammahler1
    This movie had a hack script that should not have been filmed. I haven't seen the original, but sometimes when producers think they have name-recognition in the source material, they overlook badness that what would be obvious to any writer-director who had less to spend and *had... read more* to rely on as good a script as possible.

    This guy wrote with no sense of humility toward the horror film, more a mind to how a PG-13, mostly female audience might swallow some crap with high production values and a heroine they could identify with ("She's a babysitter, it's perfect! We'll put her in the drama of teen romance and a cell phone bill that gets the phone taken away!") The producer and screenwriter think the whole genre, or thriller sub-genre, is all about timing false scares and real scares and when to reveal the villain. They somehow thought unceasing lighting effects from the elaborate set would supersede care with the camera.
  • lewiskendell
    June 12, 2009
    lewiskendell
    This will be a very short review that is incredibly easy to write. When a Stranger calls is very boring. There is no tension to be found in the entire film. The set-up is boring. The execution is boring. The killer is boring. Camilla Belle's character is both stupid and boring. T... read morehis movie didn't need to be made.
  • thmtsang
    December 17, 2008
    thmtsang
    A babysitter is left alone with the kids in a house in a remote location. A stranger calls. Chilling thriller.

View All When a Stranger Calls Reviews

Critic Reviews

Anita Gates
February 18, 2006
Anita Gates, New York Times

The film is not quite suspense-free, but almost. When finding a dead body underwater isn't scary, something is very wrong.

Matt Singer
February 13, 2006
Matt Singer, Village Voice

This version is a thin, protracted study in shifting Hollywood strategies. Full Review

James Berardinelli
February 11, 2006
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

A production that never comes close to realizing its potential to tweak the viewer's primal fears. Full Review

Geoff Pevere
February 11, 2006
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

If there's a single dead-wrong instinct in this movie that isn't pursued with the blind determination of an amorous terrier during high-scent season, darned if I can remember it. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
February 8, 2006
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

This leaves young Belle (The Ballad of Jack and Rose) to wander rooms aimlessly, and for the musicians and Foley artists to work feverishly pretending there's reason for suspense. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
February 6, 2006
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

When a Stranger Calls has been remade -- with undistinguished if inoffensive results -- by Simon West, who is quickly becoming a reliable purveyor of Hollywood's dreckiest dreck. Full Review

Lisa Rose
February 6, 2006
Lisa Rose, Newark Star-Ledger

Dial M for mediocre. Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
February 6, 2006
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

For real thrills, rent the original, turn down the lights and scare yourself silly. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
February 6, 2006
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

The scare-free When a Stranger Calls is the worst of the seminal horror movies from the late '70s and early '80s that have been getting the remake treatment lately.

Wesley Morris
February 3, 2006
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

Even by the lowest standards, this is a frightless, cynically made movie. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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When a Stranger Calls Trivia

  • In what movie does a strange man call a baby sitter over and over?  Answer »
  • In what movie is this said " What are you wearing" " Combat boots and a Parka you jerk"  Answer »
  • In which movie did Camilla Belle alomost get killed?  Answer »
  • Which movie had a teenager getting strange phone calls while babysitting?  Answer »
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