When a Stranger Calls

PG-13

Released Feb 3, 2006

1 hr. 27 min.

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

List

9%

91 Reviews

Tomatometer

43%

250,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Far away from the site of a gruesome murder, a teenager named Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) arrives at a luxurious home for a baby-sitting job. With the children fast asleep, she settles in for what she expects to be an ordinary evening. Soon, the ringing of a phone and the frightening words of a sadistic caller turn Jill's routine experience into a night of terror.

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Premiered Jan 02

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Critics Consensus

When a Stranger Calls ranks among the more misguided remakes in horror history, offering little more than a rote, largely fright-free update to the original.

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Mike P

Weak sauce remake of the classic original. I mean, the original wasn't perfect; but it's WAYYY better than this. It even screws up the classic and iconic "The call is coming from inside the house" moment. 👎

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

Full Review

Sean R

The only joy to be had is mocking its terrible acting, dumb decisions on behalf of the characters and repetitive nature. The whole thing is so under cooked that it lacked all the ingrediance of a "good" horror movie. Suspence, scares, charactors you care about, none is to be found here.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/09/24

Full Review

Carmen S

I was shocked this movie only recieved a 9%. Yes, it does't deliever all the gore and shock everyone wants these days but I thought it was rather decent for its time and deserves much more than an 9%!!!! Damn, Leprechaun Returns gets 45%!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/30/23

Full Review

Capella N

I fell asleep during this one, no joke. When I woke up she was still doing the same thing and nothing was happening though, which is hilarious to me. The third act was fun watching her fight the killer off and whatnot, but I could have missed it and not missed much. Eh.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/11/23

Full Review

William D

This is one of the worst movies ever made. Do not watch this.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/10/23

Full Review

Hunter N

Entertaining and suspenseful

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/15/23

Full Review

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Simon West

Director

Camilla Belle

Jill Johnson

Tommy Flanagan

The Stranger

Tessa Thompson

Scarlet

Brian Geraghty

Bobby

Derek de Lint

Dr. Mandrakis

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When a Stranger Calls: Official Clip - Death in the Shadows

2:08

When a Stranger Calls: Official Clip - Trapped in the Greenhouse

2:27

When a Stranger Calls: Official Clip - Driven to Madness

2:24

When a Stranger Calls: Official Clip - Have You Checked the Children?

2:39

When a Stranger Calls: Official Clip - The Guest House

2:17

When a Stranger Calls: Official Clip - Nowhere to Run

2:47

When a Stranger Calls: Official Clip - Fighting the Stranger

1:52

When a Stranger Calls: Official Clip - What Do You Want?

2:26

When a Stranger Calls: Official Clip - Missing Maid

2:21

When a Stranger Calls: Official Clip - Car Won't Start

2:43

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Rated: C

Feb 18, 2012

Full Review

Nigel Floyd

Time Out

If you've seen either Black Christmas or Halloween, there's nothing new here: the hyped-up score keeps telling us we ought to be scared, but the suspense feels mechanical and fake.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Matthew Leyland

BBC.com

You know a horror movie's in trouble when the fake scares outweigh the real ones.

Rated: 2/5

May 16, 2006

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Middling suspense tale.

Rated: C+

Aug 11, 2021

Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

It's a safe dumb film for safe dumb audiences.

Apr 29, 2009

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Amateurish direction by Simon West ("Laura Croft: Tomb Raider") contributes to the utter failure of this pathetic update of the original film of the same title.

Rated: D

Apr 20, 2009

Full Review

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Synopsis

Far away from the site of a gruesome murder, a teenager named Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) arrives at a luxurious home for a baby-sitting job. With the children fast asleep, she settles in for what she expects to be an ordinary evening. Soon, the ringing of a phone and the frightening words of a sadistic caller turn Jill's routine experience into a night of terror.

Director: Simon West
Executive Producer: Paddy Cullen
Screenwriter: Jake Wade Wall
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co: Screen Gems, Davis Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Some Language|Intense Terror|Violence)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 3, 2006, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $47.9M
Sound Mix: SDDS, DTS, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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