I did a search for this and only came up with a small discussion on the original but i thought this deserved it's own thread.
I was watching Stacked the other day and a tv spot came of a a film that had a very familiar plot. When the girl picked up the phone and the voice says the "Have you checked on the children?" i knew it had to be a remake of When a stranger calls. It said it came out in early Feb which shocked me since i have not heard a damn thing about this. The first one was one of the scariest films i saw as a kid. So i am very interested in seeing how this may turn out. Two to one it may suck, but i'll try it out anyway.

The trailer really walks the viewer through the film, which is a shame. They should've kept the twist quiet, since I doubt many teens today would know about the original film.

But hey, Belle is gorgeous. That should be enough.

Based on the trailer it seems like unlike the original where If so this is actually a change I can agree with.

i was actually thinking thinking the same thing.

I remember the comericial for the original and if i remember correctly it was very similar to the remake's trailer. It gave away a lot as well.

Well, there's progress for ya...

The best version of this was the original short.

As for teens not knowing the story, it's one of the most widespread urban legends out there.

What about the loose chicks in Bratslavia one?

I caught a TV spot for this and it seemed so unporfessional that I assumed it was a regular commercial spoofing When a Stranger Calls. I was waiting for someone to jump out of the upstairs bedroom with a 12 pack of Bud Light or something. Especially the fact that it walked you through the plot

I saw the trailer last night and simply, I don't think this is going to work.

It's actually remaking a film that wasn't so hot to begin with, so there's a lot of improvement there; but how can you stretch a girl getting chased by a killer in a house for 90 minutes? Especially when that sort of scenario has been played out before with the original film and other horror films from the past thirty years like Black Christmas? Then if you take the girl and the killer outside of the house, you're going to suffer complaints from the audience who will bitch and moan about how it's scarier in the house than it it somewhere else (the trailer shows clips outside of the house -- so I'm assuming the "action" will leave the house at some point during the film). Also, if you try and pad out the 90 minute runtime with backstory involving characters and their motives, people will bitch and moan that the screenwriter is trying to come up with different scenarios to fill up the time you're in the theater.

And so on and so on. I'm sure the teenage market will eat this film up and it'll be the number one movie in America the weekend it's released, but I don't see everyone else enjoying it. That is unless they kill off the babysitter and the kids in the house, then people just may enjoy it.

And to top it off, the film is directed by Simon West (the acclaimed director who brought us Tomb Raider and The General's Daughter). So odds are that this film is going to suck is at least 2:1 with that knowledge.

So do they use a cell phone this time? Imagine, the stranger could call whenever, wherever.

As long as he doesn't go over her monthly minutes.

And as long as there is no roaming either.

I can see it now, "We've triangulated the caller's location after 6 hours, he's in the visinity of your block, possibly even next door, of course that means he could also be in your house... or not. But again he might be upstairs using the cell phone in the children's bedroom? Boy is he going to have a big bill with those roaming charges since his provider isn't in this area. By the way have you checked the children?"

I caught a TV spot for this and it seemed so unporfessional that I assumed it was a regular commercial spoofing When a Stranger Calls. I was waiting for someone to jump out of the upstairs bedroom with a 12 pack of Bud Light or something. Especially the fact that it walked you through the plot



I thought the same thing...kind of like the "small house" commercial...i think theres going to be a twist on the twist...otherwise how could they get anything going for it? the original twist has already been spoofed its so well known

I actually liked "When a Stranger Calls Back" better.

Not to mention the premise of was co-opted for Scream and the urban legend was mentioned in, well, Urban Legend. Of course, to many of today's teens THOSE are old movies.

"Have you 88fbh*^^*%&^$%%^$ the children?"

"I'm sorry, you dropped out there for a second. What was that?"

"Can you hear me now?"

I hope the Killer isn't using a Nextel, because those annoying beeps will give him away.

I did to for some reason. Espicially the first 20 minutes. I liked the little twist in that.

What if the killer is calling her, using mobile-to-mobile. Then they could talk for 90 minutes.

I have a feeling this movie will be like the Fog 2005 all over again.

I think "When A Stranger Calls Back" did more to hold some suspense throughout the entire runtime of the film better than "When A Stranger Calls." I have absolutely no hope for this remake.

The kids are 2, 4, and 6. They'll stand up and represent the service bars.

When I first saw the TV spot a week or two ago, I kept waiting for the punchline. It never came. And I was confused.

-JP

The first half ranks among my fave scariest films.