Did you people see the same film I saw?

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Although the beginning was really good the rest of the movie was a little draggy,and Duncan as the killer cuts a pathetic figure. Hard to believe someone so scrawny could have the strength to murder with his own hands. The ending wasn't scary in the least. I'm being generous with the 6 rating it's more like 5.5.

I think it's fascinating (and sort of sad) that a movie like "It Follows" (while not terrible, but very tiresome for those who grew up in the 70's and 80's and can call every one of its myriad influences that it flat out rips off.).gets rave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and then a film as influential, terrifying, and so well made as this 1979 shocker (yes, even with its complete tonal shift into character study in the mid-portion) gets a 6%? Everything about this film is first rate, and I firmly believe the first 20 minutes is arguably the closest thing to a nightmare caught on film in the medium's long history (along with Chainsaw 74').The film requires patience. Younger reviewers who find the film tame and "not scary" have to be reminded of the time period that this film was released. Child killers like Gacy, and a dozens more were at their peak in the 70's, which is why Carpenter's Halloween, and "Stranger" resonated so much to the movie-going public. When a Stranger Calls may indeed be based on an urban legend, but do some extensive research on the horrors taking place in 70's suburbia, and "Stranger Calls" starts to look like a fairy tale in comparison. Again, it's all about context; on one hand, one must consider that "women in peril/stalker films" were a new sub-genre. Long before Jason, American Horror Story, Saw, etc. we had very few horror films that reminded audiences that horror wasn't just set in outer space, old creepy castles, rural wastelands, or even creepy motels. They literally could be one house away. For the sake of time, I want to recommend this really thought-provoking piece that had me seeing this 1979 mini-masterpiece in a brand new light: it's called "Giving When a Stranger Calls Another Shot" in a 2014 issue of BirthDeathMovies. IMDb won't let me post the link here, but I strongly recommend taking a look!

The beginning is very good with the phone calls coming in. The sinister background score is used to great effect. Carol Kane is really cute. I expected a slightly cheesy thriller with a man who kills children at the center of it all.There are some potentially interesting characters.Charles Durning's character is apparently obsessed with the child killer. But why? There is no real character development to show why he is so obsessed.There is the lonely woman (played by Colleen Dewhurst) at the bar. The child killer becomes obsessed with her. What was her story? We do not know. She disappears after a while.Then we are supposed to feel sympathy towards the escaped child killer. But the child killer's days outside the jail are very uninteresting. And then Carol Kane's character makes a comeback towards the end.So the film starts off as a cheesy thriller with a beautiful babysitter. Then some really adult characters make their entry. But none of it is particularly well developed.The film tries to be many things. But ends up as nothing.

Here's one of those movies that takes a few different turns, in one nice pay off with those immortal words "Have you checked the children?". Also in it's time, this horror would of been in the pushing the envelope territory, featuring some bloodied flashback scenes involving child murder. Carol Kane babysits for this family, oblivious to the fact, a killer is lurking inside. Throughout the night she's pestered with calls from an anonymous phone caller, using those immortal words, and some others, where Kane's driven to the point of "No more". She calls authorities and soon the gruesome discovery is made. Fast forward to our looney, Kirk Duncan, who's escaped in a truly believable, genuine, and unnerving performance from our English nutter, who Durning (in a likable and fun performance), once a Detective in charge of that horrible murder scene, now a PI, is tracking Duncan down with intent to kill, so may'be Durning, mentally scarred by the memory of that fateful night, can finally move on with his life, when the scummy psycho's disposed of. You would at first assume this movie was all to take place in one night, involving babysitter and talker/caller, but this is impressively different, although it does lose it's terrifying edge and oomph, when it changes direction, slowing down. This indeed is a palpable martyr here. Nothing equals the first 20 minutes or so, yet still there are moments, throughout, the majority in thanks to our prime performer nutso, and then there's a twist you won't see, made more terrifyingly real by the young actress's great performance. Colleen Dewhurst turns in a great performance as a forties single woman who frequents this dive where Duncan makes a goose of himself, in a pathetic display for companionship. The wuzz of a nonchalont bartender (I know people like this) lets the patrons control the show. WASC has a soft spot with me. A favorite I like to viddy now and again. If you want a good fright, this is one of the better titles to pick.