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The Calling

Play trailer Poster for The Calling R 2014 1h 48m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
55% Tomatometer 44 Reviews 33% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A small-town detective (Susan Sarandon) comes face-to-face with a serial killer whose belief in a "higher calling" led to a string of grisly murders.
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The Calling

The Calling

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Critics Consensus

The Calling offers an excellent cast and a few decent thrills, but that isn't enough to overcome its lack of suspense or original ideas.

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Critics Reviews

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Mark Kermode Observer (UK) 10/11/2014
3/5
There are pleasures to be found in the crotchety maternal interplay between Sarandon and Ellen Burstyn ... Go to Full Review
Tara Brady Irish Times 10/10/2014
3/5
Working against the sublime, hilly backdrop of Dundas, director Jason Stone keeps his pacing elegant and the atmosphere moody. Go to Full Review
Robbie Collin Daily Telegraph (UK) 10/10/2014
2/5
The dread barely bobs above sea level, despite efficient performances from Sarandon and the talented, underworked supporting cast. Go to Full Review
Richard Crouse Richard Crouse 02/01/2021
3/5
Could have snapped up the pacing a bit, but the slower tempo gives us more time to sit back and enjoy the performances. Go to Full Review
Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com 09/05/2019
1/5
It's a lukewarm endeavor a bit warmed over by notable cast members flogging through a ludicrous plot about an inane religious serial killer. Go to Full Review
Julie Crawford North Shore News (Vancouver, B.C.) 04/17/2019
7/10
The Calling is not strictly a connect-the-dots thriller: we see some plot twists coming, but not all, and some mysteries are left unsolved. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Glen W Sep 11 Another stressed out female cop with health problems and/or alcoholism, but lucks out in the end. Good cast, but no likeability. See more Jelisije J 11/16/2024 A serial killer is around and Susan Sarandon must try to stop him in an unexpected good thriller. See more Mary S 09/08/2024 There was a very original element to this movie, which I very much appreciated as someone who had studied linguistics. The performances are a bit wooden, and there is a lot about the portrayal of law enforcement that was implausible. But I enjoyed this nonetheless. See more Lynn D 04/15/2024 This show is very intriguing and very good acting. I am hoping it gets a season 2. I'm surprised by the low rating. Very talented actors. See more Jesse L @TommyTomatoeater 11/12/2023 *SOME SPOILERS* What was most irritating was the blatant disregard for reality of how police services work in Canada. Police Chief asks for police staffing from a completely different jurisdiction and talks to someone there as if he is her boss (if she were OPP this would make sense, but she's not); cop flies outside jurisdiction to a completely different province, enters a property without probable grounds, finds a bunch of evidence, then finds a dead body but doesn't report it to local police, meaning all the evidence there will now be compromised and can never be used; cop then flies to Montreal, again outside of jurisdiction and province, and is ready to go into a house on probable grounds of seeing blood everywhere when he looks through a window, but I guess forgets that he has no jurisdiction there so that means nothing. All of this is probably from the book on which the movie is based so that is likely where blame lies. If you're willing to suspend your disbelief for the duration of the film, it is not terrible, but much more in the vein of a drama than a thriller. A sad waste of Sarandon's and Burstyn's talents. They were not bad in the film at all, but their talents were underutilized. See more Giorgio G 08/24/2023 The story has been run already many times, of some small town (partly rundown) cops going after a serial killer, in this case a religious one. Unfortunately the story unravels too early, taking a lot of tension out of the movie. Still, mainly because of acceptable performances by the main actors, it is a watchable flick. There are a few goof-ups, but for being clearly a low budget movie it is quite alright. 5/10 points. See more Read all reviews
The Calling

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Movie Info

Synopsis A small-town detective (Susan Sarandon) comes face-to-face with a serial killer whose belief in a "higher calling" led to a string of grisly murders.
Director
Jason Stone
Producer
Scott Abramovitch, Randy Manis, Nicholas Tabarrok, Lonny Dubrofsky, Ricky Tollman
Screenwriter
Scott Abramovitch
Distributor
Vertical Entertainment
Production Co
Stage 6 Films
Rating
R (Some Language|Disturbing Images|Violent Content)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 29, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2016
Runtime
1h 48m
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