When a Stranger Calls Back (1993)

First off, I must say the beginning was a masterpiece! That knock on the door was scarier than any phone call! I was about to rate it one of the greatest horror movies I had ever scene! ...However, the excitement died down to real lull towards the middle. Much like the first one, we see that same annoying private detective. Then, we have to learn about the psycho's back story. It follows the same pattern as the original to a "T". The ending was exciting, but it seemed to take too long getting there. If you liked the original, you'll love this one! It's more of a mystery and suspense thriller than an actual horror movie,with exception of that glorious first twenty minutes!

The original "When a Stranger Calls" from 1979 was a dynamite and effectively petrifying little horror sleeper. Why? Because of its very simplistic but nevertheless fascinating concept of a perverted maniac persistently stalking a defenseless babysitter through sinister phone calls. Even though the more routine middle part couldn't hold a candle to the masterful opening twenty ones, the wholesome should definitely be regarded as a modest and influential genre classic. And the last thing you can say about writer/director Fred Walton is that he exploited the success and promptly produced a series of inferior sequels. "When a Stranger Calls Back" is actually a rather belated follow-up, but unmistakably one that perfectly mirrors the original film. This second, made for television production, is even pretty much identical with the same narrative structure, atmosphere-building, lead characters and portrayal of the villain. There's the brilliantly tense and gripping opening, the tedious and somewhat annoying middle section and the short but powerful shock-climax. Cherubic and warm-hearted young babysitter Julia is babysitting one night when a supposedly stranded guy knocks on the door asking to use the telephone. Julia clearly watched enough old horror movies and is smart enough not to keep the front door shut, but the visitor refuses to go away and gradually fills Julia up with fear. The night ends tragically, when Julia suddenly stands face to face with a perpetrator in the hallway. Five years later, she's an eternally traumatized woman who seeks the help of Jill Johnson (the stalker victim of the original became a counselor) and her savior John Clifford; the former cop turned private detective. Addition spoiler warning: in the paragraph here below I will most likely reveal essential plot aspects from both the original and the sequel"When a Stranger Calls Back" is an adequate film and definitely guarantees some moments of genuine suspense. What I don't understand, however, is that many people seem to prefer the sequel over the original. I couldn't disagree more, mainly because the script of the original film is at least a dozen times more plausible in every imaginable department. First and foremost: the killer. The 1979 killer, Curt Duncan, was a 'realistic' psychopath. He stalked a girl and spent time in prison. He failed to fit into society and slowly found his way back to the girl for revenge. The psycho in this case is a ventriloquist, a master of disguise, a melodramatic philosopher and we're supposed to believe he left Julia alone during five whole years even though the police never picked up his trail? What kind of pathetic killer does that? Then there's the completely implausible return of Carol Kane's character Jill Johnson. It's already hard to accept that she became a psychological counselor after what happened to her, but now she helps another young girl who's going through pretty much the exact same ordeal as she did? Plus she's a lousy counselor, since you definitely don't encourage a manic depressed girl to buy a gun. Everybody complained how the middle section of the original nearly ruined the entire film, as it exposed the psychopath's whole persona and thus made him less menacing. Maybe so, but the middle section of the sequel definitely exaggerates in doing the complete opposite. Fred Walton attempts to make his villain so mysterious and introvert that it simply becomes ridicule. The ventriloquist act is downright pitiable and just a tad bit grotesque. There are numerous little details that don't make sense, but they're not immediately noticeable thanks to the good performances and compelling atmosphere. The more you contemplate about the story, though, the sillier it gets.

When a Stranger Calls Back is a sequel to the 1979 film starring Carol Kane.In this go around, Julia is a teenager babysitting for two children. During the night a man starts knocking at the door, trying to get her to let him in under the guise that his car has broken down. Julia refuses, but the tension keeps building as the voice tells her he has seen someone moving around upstairs, and that she should check on the children. She naturally runs to check on the children, only to find them gone. She then runs downstairs, and outside to find no one there, but the voice calls out to her again and she runs inside to find the shape of a man with his arms outstreched to get her. Julia then runs outside again into the arms of the parents who she was babysitting for, as her tormentor vanishes with the children.The movie then flashes forward five years where Julia is in college, and being stalked again. She seeks out the help of Jill (Kane), the survivor of the first film, who is now a counselor at Julia's college. Jill enlists the help of her policeman friend from the first film to find the stalker before he can get Julia. However, Jill herself soon becomes his prey.The movie drags heavily in the second act. The stalker's motives are never explained, nor does there seem to be any connection to Julia's first stalking. We never learn what has become of the children, and the ending comes up to fast, without letting things settle down first. This is definitely good for a TV movie, the opening alone is as good as or better than most typical horror films, but so much is left unexplained as to seriously frustrate the viewer.

Only reason it is 8/10 is because it is made for TV. It is a polished version of the original "When a Stranger Calls" 1979. The ending is brilliant and the beginning equally so. Imagine being terrorized by someone some 7 years later after you were already terrorized by the same person. Also add the fact that the stalker can get into your house when you are and are not home, and talk to you without you knowing where he is. The killer is what a killer should be, no remorse, no irony, no explanations, just someone wanting to scare and mutilate someone. No stupid psychologists and dumb jail scenes, this film, save for it being a second version of the 1979 edition, is original in substance and casting and definitely worth the time.