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When a Stranger Calls Back (1993) had the potential to allow Carol Kane to transition from her quirky, weirdo roles of that era to tough, Cynthia Rothrock roles.
When a Stranger Calls Back did not allow Carol Kane to transition from her quirky, weirdo roles of that era to tough, Cynthia Rothrock roles…
Don’t vex me, stalker, or I’ll fix your mouth so it won’t hold soup…
When A Stranger Calls Back
When a Stranger Calls Back is a made-for-TV sequel to When a Stranger Calls (1979). The movie was originally broadcast on Showtime.
The first film is somewhat of a classic. It made approximately $25 million on a $1.5 million budget. The opening of Scream pays homage to the opening of When a Stranger Calls. The film was built around the urban legend of a babysitter harassed by a creep via the phone, only to discover that the calls are…coming from inside the house!
It starred Carol Kane (Scrooged) and Charles Durning (The Sting). Fred Walton (April Fool’s Day) directed. The whole crew returns for the sequel. Let’s take a spoiler-filled look…
When A Perfect Stranger Calls Back
The opening of When a Stranger Calls Back is simple and surprisingly effective. A babysitter receives a knock at the door. A man’s car breaks down, and he wants to come in and call the auto club. The babysitter refuses and says she will make the call for him. This leads to a back-and-forth that lasts nearly thirty minutes. Yet, it never grew boring.
Jill Schoelen portrays the babysitter. Schoelen starred in D.C. Cab and The Stepfather. She also dated Keanu Reeves and was engaged to Brad Pitt.
The opening sequence ends with Schoelen barely escaping with her life, and the two children she looked after getting kidnapped.
Hi, Wrenage. Well…I did have a date with Keanu planned tonight, but, yes, I would rather watch The Fly with you and pay for dinner. Sounds romantic.
When A Stranger Thing Calls Back
After a strong opening, When a Stranger Calls Back dies a slow death. The film jumps ahead five years. Schoelen is a college student. She comes to believe the kidnapper is now stalking her by entering her apartment when she is not there.
Why is the stalker doing this? Does he have a vendetta against her because she got away? Why did he wait five years? What did he do with the children he kidnapped?
These seem like reasonable questions. Not to the makers of When a Stranger Calls Back, they aren’t. None of these things are explained in the film.
Regardless, Schoelen needs help. Kane, who was the victim of the first movie, is a counselor at the college. She understands what Schoelen is going through and lends her assistance. It is odd seeing Kane play a character who is not…odd. She is dead straight in this role. If she cracks a smile, one gets the impression her face might break in half.
Kane’s help is basically listening with an understanding ear, getting Schoelen to buy a gun and taking her to a karate class. Kane also enlists the help of Charles Durning.
When A Stranger On A Train Calls Back
Charles Durning’s paunch quickly arrives to bring some deduction into the movie. Durning is probably a vegetarian’s worst nightmare. He looks like he ate nothing but hot dogs and butter. Yet, he lived 89 years and died of natural causes.
Durning is the world’s greatest detective in When a Stranger Calls Back. He doesn’t believe the spatial relations of the victim and kidnapper make sense in the opening scene. How did the killer go from outside the front door to inside the living room so quickly?
“Aha!” Durning deduces. “The killer is a ventriloquist!”
Wait? What? Huh? This is the kind of revelation a movie can be built around, but it needs to be set up and revealed in a shocking climax. When a Stranger Calls Back simply delivers the twist on a platter halfway through the runtime. It is exceptionally lazy writing.
We’ll be bigger than Wayland Flowers and Madame!
When The Eyes Of A Stranger Call Back
Eventually, the killer makes Schoelen shoot herself in the head with the gun she bought. Offscreen. Don’t worry; she survives.
Durning enters a random bar with topless waitresses to catch the ventriloquist’s act. The ventriloquist is dressed all in black, which includes smearing his face with black paint. This enables him to sit outside the spotlight on stage and be nearly invisible to the audience as he wows them with his act, which is a faceless dummy attacking viewer neuroses.
Does the fact the ventriloquist wears black face paint require a “blackface” warning at the beginning of the film? You bet! It makes one believe that the ones with the real neuroses are those watching the film that need such a warning.
In the climax, the ventriloquist wears full body paint, so he can camouflage himself to look like Kane’s apartment wall. She karate kicks him, and Durning shoots him.
When A Stranger Calls Back Again
Ultimately, When A Stranger Calls Back is a disappointing film. The potential exists. A trashy Showtime film from the 1990s can hit the spot. It has a simple, but effective, premise. It is built off the foundation of a successful film. A ventriloquist twist promises stupid fun.
Kane plays against type and is serviceable in her portrayal of a victim who probably has PTSD but is trying to channel it into something good. Durning, meanwhile, clearly knows he is in a turkey and simply soldiers through his scenes in between probably camping out at the craft-service donut tray.
Yet, the film cannot leverage any of the things it has going for it. For reasons unknown, reviewers have been somewhat kind to it. It hovers at 63 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Varity gave it a positive review. Shout Factory gave it a bluray release with a 4K scan.
Yet, all I can say is, When a Stranger Calls Back…hang up!
The post Retro-Review: WHEN A STRANGER CALLS BACK (1993) appeared first on Last Movie Outpost.
