When a Stranger Calls (2006 film)

When a Stranger Calls
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Simon West
Written by	Jake Wade Wall
Produced by	John Davis Wyck Godfrey Ken Lemberger
Starring	Camilla Belle Brian Geraghty Katie Cassidy Clark Gregg
Cinematography	Peter Menzies Jr.
Edited by	Jeff Betancourt
Music by	James Dooley
Production companies	Davis Entertainment Screen Gems
Distributed by	Screen Gems
Release date	February 3, 2006 (2006-02-03)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million
Box office	$66.9 million

When a Stranger Calls is a 2006 American thriller film directed by Simon West and written by Jake Wade Wall. The film stars Camilla Belle, Brian Geraghty, Katie Cassidy, and Clark Gregg. Belle plays a babysitter who starts to receive threatening phone calls from an unidentified stranger, played by both Tommy Flanagan and Lance Henriksen. The film is a remake of Fred Walton's 1979 horror film of the same name which became a cult classic for its legendary opening 20 minutes, which this remake extends to a feature-length film.

The film was theatrically released on February 3, 2006, and was critically panned upon release. It grossed over $66.9 million worldwide on a $15 million budget.

Plot

To pay off going over her cellphone minutes, Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) has agreed to babysit for a wealthy family, causing her to miss out on a school bonfire. When Jill arrives at the house, the parents (Derek de Lint and Kate Jennings Grant) show her around and tell her about their live-in housemaid, Rosa. Mrs. Mandrakis states that they won't be back until midnight.

While the two children are asleep upstairs, Jill soon begins to receive anonymous phone calls from a stranger who, most of the time, doesn't say anything and then hangs up. She initially believes it is her friends at the bonfire playing a prank but when she calls them, they deny it. Jill's friend Tiffany (Katie Cassidy) stops by but Jill, in fear of getting into further trouble, asks her to leave. Outside while getting back in her car, Tiffany is ambushed (off-screen).

Meanwhile, the calls continue. Other strange events occur such as the house alarm going off for no reason. The caller rings and asks Jill, "Have you checked the children?" and then after she does, he calls again and asks, "How were the children?", indicating he can see her. She believes he is watching her from outside, so she calls the police who tell her they can trace the calls if she is able to keep him on the line for at least sixty seconds. While waiting for the phone to ring, Jill sees a shadow moving in the guesthouse. Believing it is the Mandrakis' son back from college, she goes to investigate but finds the guesthouse empty.

Back at the main house, Jill searches for Rosa but doesn't find her, only her belongings. The phone rings again and the caller remains quiet on the other end as Jill manages to keep him on the line for a minute so the call can be traced. Jill then hears the shower running in the maid's room but, upon checking, the room is empty. The police then call and tell her the calls are coming from inside the house. Alarmed, Jill finds Tiffany dead on the bathroom floor and flees.

Jill goes to the children who are already hiding in their playroom. She looks up and sees the intruder in the loft. They all escape into the greenhouse and hide. Jill discovers Rosa's dead body under the water. The stranger enters and searches the greenhouse. Jill manages to lock him inside but he breaks out and attacks her. During the altercation, Jill manages to stab the assailant’s hand into the hardwood floor with a fireplace poker, before rushing out of the house into the arms of a police officer. The assailant is arrested and Jill and the children survive.

Days later while recuperating in the hospital, Jill awakens to a phone ringing. She gets out of bed and, while looking at her reflection in the mirror, the attacker appears behind her and grabs her. She begins to shriek hysterically, waking from her hallucination, yelling "He's in the house!". The film ends with the doctors and her dad desperately trying to stop her frantic panicking.

Cast

• Camilla Belle as Jill Johnson
• Tommy Flanagan as The Stranger
  • Lance Henriksen as The Stranger (Voice)
• Brian Geraghty as Bobby
• Katie Cassidy as Tiffany Madison
• David Denman as Officer Burroughs
• Derek de Lint as Dr. Mandrakis
• Kate Jennings Grant as Kelly Mandrakis
• Tessa Thompson as Scarlett
• Madeline Carroll as Allison Mandrakis
• Clark Gregg as Ben Johnson
• Arthur Young as Will Mandrakis
• Steve Eastin as Detective Hines
• John Bobek as Officer Lewis
• Dianna Agron as Cheerleader
• Rosine Ace Hatem as Rosa Ramirez, maid
• Brad Surosky as Boom Boom
• Karina Logue as track coach
• Escher Holloway as Cody
• Owen Smith as Officer
• Lillie West as Stacy (Voice)

Production

Screen Gems first announced production of When a Stranger Calls in August 2004, with Jake Wade Wall penning the script. Screen Gems had plans to release both a remake of the original film and a sequel titled When a Stranger Returns.

Casting

Evan Rachel Wood was offered the role of Jill, but turned it down. Camilla Belle was then approached and almost turned the role down due to her personal dislike for horror films but West, the director, convinced her that he was going more for a psychological thriller and so she accepted. To prepare for the role, Belle had to do two months of weight-training and learning how to run. Belle was injured twice on the set, she struck a wooden bridge cutting and scarring her hand and also slammed her head against a glass window.

Filming

Principal photography began on January 1, 2005 and completed on February 28, 2005 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Bellarmine-Jefferson High School was used to portray the high school seen in the film while Signal Hill was used to portray the carnival shown in the film. Running Springs was used as the filming location for the road sequences. The house that was used in the film is located in Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City.

Music

Score

When a Stranger Calls: The Complete Original Motion Picture Score
File:When a Stranger Calls (2006) - Score.jpg
Film score
Released	February 10, 2006
Genre	Film score
Length	47:53
Label	Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Producer	James Dooley

When a Stranger Calls: The Complete Original Motion Picture Score, 15-instrumental songs composed by James Dooley, was released on February 10, 2006.

When a Stranger Calls: The Complete Original Motion Picture Score

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Main Title"	00:04:51
2.	"Fateful Drive"	00:02:57
3.	"The House"	00:03:43
4.	"Exploring"	00:05:16
5.	"Have You Checked the Children"	00:05:11
6.	"Tiffany"	00:02:55
7.	"Knock Knock Who There"	00:07:18
8.	"Curtain Call"	00:03:14
9.	"60 Seconds"	00:03:39
10.	"Inside the House"	00:04:12
11.	"Stranger"	00:03:48
12.	"Conflagration"	00:04:07
13.	"Police Station"	00:02:44
14.	"Lunatic Asylum"	00:03:58
15.	"End Credits"	00:02:42
Total length:		01:00:35

Distribution

For the release of the film, AOL Instant Messenger ran ads beckoning users to IM Jill020306. When messaged, "Jill" (a Colloquis-style program) made small talk before panicking, as she received calls from a stranger asking her to check the children. She then gives the user her phone number (a toll-free 877 number) and asks them to call her. When users call, they hear an ad for the movie. Also, around the time of the DVD release, a new screen name appeared, Jill051606, to tie in with the DVD release date on May 16, 2006. It does not involve calling her, but instead she directs users to a video security system on the official DVD site where the shadow of the stranger passes by frequently.

MySpace ran an advertisement: the profile for Jill051606, in which users can add the profile as a friend, leave comments, and read Jill's blog.

Home media

The movie was released on May 16, 2006 on DVD. Special features include two audio commentaries (one with Camilla Belle and Simon West; the other with Jake Wade Wall), deleted scenes, a 20-minute making-of featurette, and trailers. A Blu-ray version of the film was released for the first time by Mill Creek Entertainment on October 4, 2016 in a triple feature with I Know What You Did Last Summer and Vacancy.

Reception

Box office

The film opened at No. 1 with $21,607,203. As of March 19, 2006, the film grossed a total of $47.9 million in the domestic box office, and $19,106,773 internationally for a total worldwide gross of $66,966,987 million.

Critical reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 9%, based on 92 reviews. The site's consensus reads "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."

Accolades

In 2006, When a Stranger Calls was nominated to the Golden Trailer Awards in the category "Best Thriller".

See also

• List of films featuring home invasions
• The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs

External links

• Official website
• When a Stranger Calls at IMDb
• When a Stranger Calls at Box Office Mojo
• When a Stranger Calls at Rotten Tomatoes
• Mikkelson, Barbara & David P. "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs" at Snopes.com: Urban Legends Reference Pages.