The Night Caller (1998)

*** SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS***OK, I know this movie is marketed in the thriller genre, but it never came close to scaring me. Well there was the ear-piercing scene which I found slightly graphic, but other than that it was mostly laughs (except for the sad ending which I won't give away). This movie focuses on a young woman approximately in her early thirties named Beth Needham (played by Tracy Nelson). It's hard not to feel sorry for Beth. She has no self esteem, having been berated and ridiculed her entire life by everybody she knew, especially her mean invalid mother (played by Eve Sigall) whom Beth is forced to take care of (the most thankless job you'll ever witness). Beth has worked the graveyard shift in a convenience store under the manager Larry Brill, who is a total jerk. The only solace Beth finds in her unhappy life is in a radio call-in show hosted by psychologist Lindsey Roland (Shanna Reed). Dr. Lindsey focuses on self esteem issues mostly, and her advice has more than intrigued Beth (who calls herself "Stupid Beth" whenever she spills coffee or whatever). One night, Beth summons the courage to call the show (inspired in part to a vision of Dr. Lindsey encouraging her to call). After the call (where Lindsey has told Beth she's "Really something special"), Beth lashes out at Brill, getting fired from her job (even though Beth says she quit). Beth threatens him with a knife then runs out of the store. When she returns home she's further berated by "Mama" for losing her job. When Mama rudely requests an oxygen tank to replace the one that's empty (she has emphysema or something), Beth does not bring it and lets her die. Beth now has the time to become closer to Dr. Lindsey with Mama dead and her crappy job** history. She does everything possible, including going to work for Lindsey's answering service, babysitting her son and making a generous donation to a charity Lindsey is working for. However, when anybody gets in the way of their budding friendship, Beth will not have it, even if it means killing them. What makes it so funny is how she kills her victims, calling them names like "Snoopy Poopy" and "Baboon Butt" in the process. What I found amazing was how Beth was able to kill people and get away with it *every time*. Not bad for a self-hating retard (as she put it)!Check it out. It's a fun movie to watch.And Beth will make you laugh.

This movie is indeed not at all crappy!! It is great!! My friends and I rented this one from blockbuster and we were all amazed by it. This movie is about and a thirty something year old woman named Beth who is a Carrie-type, plain and quiet on the outside but on the inside is in face just a little girl longing to be loved. You have to feel sorry for Beth. She has no social life, no friends, no boyfriend, she lives with and has to constantly take care of her old and sick yet mean mother, she was molested by her father when she was a little girl and when she seeks comfort, she gets turned down. She works at a convienence store and listens to a radio program about a doctor who helps callers with their problems. Who else is she to turn to but the wonderful doctor who believed in her and made her feel better about herself!! Beth becomes obsessed with the female doctor and will do anything (and I mean anything) to get closer to her. The whole movie had us on the edge of our seats and the ending was a big surprise!! The acting was really good!!Tracy Nelson who played Beth was magnificant. She played the part so naturally. She played it so well that if I were in charge of the Oscars, she'd be first in line!! I hadn't really heard of her until I saw Night Caller and made me curious about Nelson's past work. She acted in many movies and t.v. shows. She is excellent!!Go out and rent it and you'll see what I mean!! I give this movie8 *'s out of 10!! About 7 of those 8 *'s go to Nelson!!

This is one of my favourite films. People like to dis it because they don't understand it. They were looking for scary and got comedy. Or they were looking for comedy and got twisted. Either way, the film was just excellent. Tracy was so cute and I just love when she is talking to her rabbit. WATCH IT! Go!!!

It's hard to come up with a totally original idea in the thriller genre, so it's forgivable if a movie's plot is familiar as long as the execution is good. But when your thriller bears a superficial resemblance to a well-known classic like 'Play Misty for Me,' it better have something of its own to recommend it. 'The Night Caller' falls way, way short.Tracy Nelson has that haunted, hungry look that's well suited to one playing a mentally disturbed person, but she's not a good enough actress to pull this one off. Actually, any actress would have a hard time making this character work in this mess. The screenwriters decided to make it easy on themselves and the audience by having Nelson's character talk out loud to herself throughout the film, explaining everything and saving them some work. It degenerates from a just-below-par effort to a fiasco as the story nears the end. I'd avoid it.