"When a Stranger Calls" is one of the worst horror movies I've seen in a long time. Not without good production values, an attractive lead character and a decent if overused (and remade) premise, "When a Stranger Calls" is not your typical bad horror movie...

A typical bad horror movie usually is made on a small budget, features terrible acting and some cheesy monster or villain who can't compare to the awe-inspiring villains that have made names for themselves. "When a Stranger Calls" does have a lousy villain, but its problem lies in the fact that director Simon West forgot that a horror movie needs to at least have some blood, murder and terror, and not just a ringing phone and one of the dumbest lead characters in a long time.

Hottie Camilla Belle wanders around aimlessly in the house where she is babysitting, a conveniently remote, large and sophisticated mansion. She was grounded so she doesn't have a car or cell phone, so her only means of contact is the home phone - the same home phone were a stalker begins to call her with increasing regularity. But she does so many stupid things. When she thinks someone is in the house, she shrugs it off way too many times. She calls the cops at one point, but then tells them she doesn't need them. When she should be staying inside with the doors locked, she goes running outside.

To cap things off, the movie has absolutely no suspense. By the time the killer actually shows himself, there are only ten minutes remaining, and those ten minutes involve pointless running around with little to show for it. Then, she runs outside and that is it - the police arrest the man and the movie is about finished.

Are you freaking kidding me?

I knew "When a Stranger Calls" was going to be bad, but I didn't think it was going to be this bad...

Review by Erik Samdahl.