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The Calling

R Released Aug 29, 2014 1h 48m Mystery & Thriller List
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

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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) There are pleasures to be found in the crotchety maternal interplay between Sarandon and Ellen Burstyn ... Rated: 3/5 Oct 11, 2014 Full Review Tara Brady Irish Times Working against the sublime, hilly backdrop of Dundas, director Jason Stone keeps his pacing elegant and the atmosphere moody. Rated: 3/5 Oct 10, 2014 Full Review Robbie Collin Daily Telegraph (UK) The dread barely bobs above sea level, despite efficient performances from Sarandon and the talented, underworked supporting cast. Rated: 2/5 Oct 10, 2014 Full Review Richard Crouse Richard Crouse Could have snapped up the pacing a bit, but the slower tempo gives us more time to sit back and enjoy the performances. Rated: 3/5 Feb 1, 2021 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com It's a lukewarm endeavor a bit warmed over by notable cast members flogging through a ludicrous plot about an inane religious serial killer. Rated: 1/5 Sep 5, 2019 Full Review Julie Crawford North Shore News (Vancouver, B.C.) 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. Rated: 7/10 Apr 17, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Mary S 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. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/08/24 Full Review Lynn D 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. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/15/24 Full Review Jesse L *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. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/28/23 Full Review Giorgio G 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. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/24/23 Full Review robert p Not a classic but a good movie, the ending was good too!!! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Ashton kutcher is a joke Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/15/21 Full Review Read all reviews
The Calling

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Cast & Crew

Dark Places 23% 33% Dark Places TRAILER for Dark Places Compliance 89% 60% Compliance Mojave 32% 30% Mojave TRAILER for Mojave The Frozen Ground 62% 50% The Frozen Ground TRAILER for The Frozen Ground Stolen 0% 39% Stolen Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

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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