When a Stranger Calls (1979)
A well made and suspenseful horror-thriller with an
intro baby sitting scene that i haven't forgot since i saw this film
in the cinema some
40 (forty) years ago. A great opening indeed but impossible to keep
that intensity for the rest of the film.
Charles Durning is always great to see and he's fine as PD and ex-crime
cop John Clifford, even though i doubt he could chase anyone
mildly fit for any longer distance. Also there's some LA street atmosphere
and actor Tony Beckley is very good as the mentally deranged
perp. I have never heard about him but he was great, and also Colleen
Dewhurst was fine as Tracy, the lady in the bar.
Carol Kane we get to see in the first scene and then we won't see her
until the 77 minutes mark.
Jill Johnson (Kane) babysits at the Mandrakis house
when the couple has a night out. Someone calls "Have you checked
the children" and
then hangs up and repeats this for many phone calls. Jill gets more
and more afraid and finally calls the police who traces the calls, and
tells
her that the calls are coming from .... well, anyway the children are
murdered and the perp is an Englishman, Curt Duncan (Beckley).
Seven years later Duncan has escaped his mental asylum
and the Mandraki's hires a PD, the ex-cop Clifford (Durning) to get
the perp.
Here, the thriller almost turns into drama when we get to know Curt
Duncan, a homeless bum living on the streets despised by everyone
and Tony Beckley acts so well that we almost pity him, almost, but he
has killed two small children with his bare hands.
The Blu-ray presents the film in a 1.85:1 widescreen ratio with an English
audio DTS-HD MA 2.0, no extras, region ALL
When a Stranger Calls Back (1993)
A strange and forgotten late sequel to the 1979 Hit
"When a Stranger Calls" from the same director and with same
actors, Carol Kane and
Charles Durning and with Jill Schoelen added, all giving great performances.
Ha, ha, i actually liked this film better than the first one and
this even though this was made for TV or not. The plot is so wild and
crazy in this strange Crime Mystery, and i love it.
The ending is Insane. A Ventriloquist and make-up expert
perp ?
In this film Julia (Jill Schoelen) has a traumatic experience
as a babysitter and 5 years later she's a student when she starts believing
that
someone has been in her apartment and moved things. Jill Johnson (Carol
Kane) the babysitter from the forst film, is now working at the
Campus and she believes Jill could be in danger and calls in her friend,
Private Detective John Clifford (Durning) to help her.
The Blu-ray presents the film in a 1.78:1 widescreen
ratio with an English audio DTS-HD MA 2.0, no extras, region ALL