Who Keeps Calling?

Director Simon West artfully lays out a chilling atmosphere in this dreadful story of a stranger who (****SPOILER) terrorizes babysitters from within the house.

Camilla Belle plays Jill the babysitter who at first enjoys exploring the grand house of the doctor and his wife. Babysitting is going to be a piece of cake because the two kids are sick and fast asleep upstairs. But the situation quickly becomes disturbing when Jill starts receiving ominous phone calls that grow progressively concerning throughout the night. It doesn't help that there are periodic sounds coming from all over the house and that remain, for the most part, undetected. The rising tension is well placed and it is surprising how much West does with sound in the house, creating a lot of well-placed red herrings so that we're often unsure what to expect next or from whom the sound generates.

It doesn't take long for Jill to phone the police but because no one is directly threatening her, there is little they can do. It also doesn't help that the maid, Rosa, and the doctor's son who stays in the guest house across the way seem to have disappeared. So yes, the tension deepens and the writers do an awesome job at finding multiple ways to create that tension. The major problem I have, though, is with Belle.

I haven't seen Belle in her other movies, but in this particular thriller her performance proves pretty bland. She doesn't project a lot of energy into the role and there is zero chemistry between her and the other actors. Though the cast is small, she is given numerous opportunities to display strong emotions, but she seems to react in the same way to everyone even though the situations call for different emotions. The only exception is her interaction with the stranger, but even there she solely relies on her physical reflexes while remaining practically monotone in her voice and showing very little facial expression.

The one actor that stands out to me is Katie Cassidy (Amanda in Taken) who plays Jill's best friend. She has a lot of spark and makes up for where Belle lacks. When she's in the scene, the dialogue ignites.

So, overall, this is a well-written exciting and scary suspense with lots of surprises and, despite my caveat, I recommend this film.

#SimonWest #suspense #psychologicalthriller #WhenaStrangerCalls #CamilleBell #KristaWagner