ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - February 3rd
"WHEN A STRANGER CALLS" released in 2006
MINI BLOG
A young high school student babysits for a very rich family. She begins to receive strange phone calls threatening the children. When she finally realizes that it's not a joke, she calls the police, only to find that the caller is a lot closer than she thinks, in the remake of the 1979 cult horror film, When A Stranger Calls!
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High school track star Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) is going through a teenage crisis; her boyfriend, Bobby (Brian Geraghty), cheat on her with her best friend Tiffany (Katie Cassidy), and - as a punishment for running up a huge cell-phone bill - her parents arew forcing her to babysit the same night of a school bonfire. Jill arrives at an elaborate lakehouse, which has a greenhouse built in the center, and is greeted by The parents Dr and Mrs. Mandrakis's (Derek de Lint and Kate Jennings Grant), who show her around and tell her about their live in housemaid Rosa (Rosine Ace Hatem). As the kids, Will and Allison (Arthur Young and Madeline Carroll) are sleeping upstairs, Jill spends the first hour indulging in secret babysitter pleasures like snooping and trying on Mrs. Mandrakis's jewelry. Soon enough however, Jill takes to receive a series of prank calls; benign calls at first, that quickly escalate into violent threats and suggestions that the caller is outside watching her. Jill calls the police, who tell her they can trace the calls if she is able to keep him on the line for one minute. The unknown stalker continues to remain quiet on the other end as Jill tries to keep him talking for 60 seconds so the call can be traced by the police, she desperately asks the man on the phone "What do you want?!". He replies "Your blood.....all over me" As Jill hangs up instantly, the police call back right away telling her that the calls are coming from inside the house!
TRIVIA: Tommy Flanagan sang a Broadway version of his infamous "your blood all over me" line to Camilla Belle in between scenes.
Top: Teenager Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) is terrorized by phones throughout the night by a mysterious, and vicious, Stalker (Tommy Flanagan) (Above)
Reportedly, Screen Gems had greenlit a sequel rumored to be titled When a Stranger Returns in which Hayden Panettiere was to play the babysitter, but the studio later cancelled the project. In early 2005 however, actor/writer Jake Wade Wall adapted Steve Feke's screenplay, excluding the last 50 minutes of the original material and expanded the babysitter story line (which in the original film only lasts for 20 minutes of screen time). Director Mary Harron was offered to helm the film after her work on American Psycho (2000), before English film director Simon West (known mostly for big budget action pictures such as Con Air and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) was chosen.
Evan Rachel Wood turned down the role of Jill Johnston, before producers approached Camilla Belle. Belle herself almost turned down the part due to her personal dislike for horror films, before West convinced her that he was going for a more psychological thriller direction. Belle then accepted the part, turning down another role in a horror remake, Black Christmas, to star in When A Stranger Calls (ironically, Katie Cassidy - who makes her film debut with this film - would go on to star in Black Christmas six months after filming wrapped). Even though the stranger is played by Scottish-born actor Tommy Flanagan, the voice in the phone-calls is actually Lance Henriksen's, with West stating, "Henriksen fit the voice, whereas Flanagan fit the build of the stranger."
Principal photography began on January 1, 2005, with 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. The exterior of the Mandrakis' house built on the shores of a unused reservoir, Running Springs, with the interiors built on a soundstage in Culver Studios. During filming, Belle was told to hit Tommy Flanagan during the scene in the atrium. She missed him and punched the bridge instead, cutting her knuckle and scarring her hand. Belle also really did slam her head into a glass window during the fight on the stairs.
Evan Rachel Wood turned down the role of Jill Johnston, before producers approached Camilla Belle. Belle herself almost turned down the part due to her personal dislike for horror films, before West convinced her that he was going for a more psychological thriller direction. Belle then accepted the part, turning down another role in a horror remake, Black Christmas, to star in When A Stranger Calls (ironically, Katie Cassidy - who makes her film debut with this film - would go on to star in Black Christmas six months after filming wrapped). Even though the stranger is played by Scottish-born actor Tommy Flanagan, the voice in the phone-calls is actually Lance Henriksen's, with West stating, "Henriksen fit the voice, whereas Flanagan fit the build of the stranger."
Principal photography began on January 1, 2005, with 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. The exterior of the Mandrakis' house built on the shores of a unused reservoir, Running Springs, with the interiors built on a soundstage in Culver Studios. During filming, Belle was told to hit Tommy Flanagan during the scene in the atrium. She missed him and punched the bridge instead, cutting her knuckle and scarring her hand. Belle also really did slam her head into a glass window during the fight on the stairs.
Above: Director Simon West on set with star Camilla Belle
TRIVIA: The voice of "Stacy", the unseen girl during the opening credit sequence, and victim of the killer that targets Jill, is that of director Simon West's 12 year old daughter Lillie.
West opted not to show the crime scene Detective Hines (played by Steve Eastin) has to see at the beginning of the movie to secure a PG-13 rating. To promote the movie, 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.
When A Stranger Calls grossed an impressive $21,607,203 in its opening weekend, eventually grossing $47.9 million in the domestic box office, and another $19 million internationally. Despite the box office, reviews for the movie where mostly negative, with Time Out's Nigel Floyd writing, "If you've seen either Black Christmas or Halloween, there's nothing new here: the hyped-up score keeps telling us we ought to be scared, but the suspense feels mechanical and fake." Critic Robert Hanks reviewed, "I can't help feeling that this updating could have been a little more imaginative - the only wrinkle on the basic plot is that it uses mobile phones", while Matthew Turner of View London observed When A Stranger Calls was, "... atmospheric but generally disappointing thriller, despite a passably tense climax and an eye-catching performance by newcomer Camilla Belle." Reel Times Mark Pfeiffer offered a rare positive review, stating, "When a Stranger Calls understands that when alone and isolated in an unfamiliar place, an overactive imagination can be as frightening as any real threats."
When A Stranger Calls grossed an impressive $21,607,203 in its opening weekend, eventually grossing $47.9 million in the domestic box office, and another $19 million internationally. Despite the box office, reviews for the movie where mostly negative, with Time Out's Nigel Floyd writing, "If you've seen either Black Christmas or Halloween, there's nothing new here: the hyped-up score keeps telling us we ought to be scared, but the suspense feels mechanical and fake." Critic Robert Hanks reviewed, "I can't help feeling that this updating could have been a little more imaginative - the only wrinkle on the basic plot is that it uses mobile phones", while Matthew Turner of View London observed When A Stranger Calls was, "... atmospheric but generally disappointing thriller, despite a passably tense climax and an eye-catching performance by newcomer Camilla Belle." Reel Times Mark Pfeiffer offered a rare positive review, stating, "When a Stranger Calls understands that when alone and isolated in an unfamiliar place, an overactive imagination can be as frightening as any real threats."
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE: 9%
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