I know alot of people don't care for this film but I think it's one of the best remakes in my opinion. Let's face aside from the first 20 minutes the original was pretty unwatchable it was followed by a Superior showtime sequel and now remade into it's best form. Taking the originals opening and stretching it out for 90 minutes makes for a simplistic, edge of your seat, achingly suspenseful nightmare. Similar to Halloween in its form and ambitions. Camilla Belle is awesome as the young babysitter forced to work at a gorgeous house in the middle of nowhere to pay for her cell phone bill. Upon arriving she's told the children are asleep but as the night goes on there are strange occurrences and creepy phone calls with the voice of a disturbing Lance Henriksen. It all leads up to a mostly satisfactory finale as the killer and Jill have a face off. The movie is directed stylishly with gorgeous, immersive cinematography and a solid lead performance from Camilla Belle.

Budget: $15M Box Office: $67M

8.5/10

Now, I'm all for a good slasher flick, and I don't even mind the modern day ones that flooded the market since the success of Wes Craven's SCREAM in 1996, even though a lot of them are poor. Okay, so I usually wait until they show up on television rather than spend money to see them, but I'm the first person willing to give a film a chance despite negative reviews and the like. I was the perfect demographic for this film: I'm young, I haven't seen the original '70s movie on which this film is based, and I'm easily pleased when it comes to horror. Sadly, I was in for a shock: this is one of the all-time worst movies I've ever sat through, on a par with the similarly execrable BOOGEYMAN.

For starters, WHEN A STRANGER CALLS has NO story, no plot line. A girl spends a night babysitting, gets a few phone calls, then is chased by an unknown killer. The end. There's no set up, no characterisation – other than a few grating teen stereotypes – no motivation. Is that supposed to make the killer more frightening? It doesn't. You just end up not caring. One of the many problems with this film is British director Simon West, whose only other credit of note is the action flick CON AIR, about a million times better than this. West is the master of over-direction. His creepy music starts almost straight away, even when nothing remotely frightening or suspenseful is happening. Girl goes for a car ride – creepy music. Girl is given babysitting job – creepy music. Girl visits the john – creepy music. Okay, so I made the last one up, but you get the idea.

The film is jam packed with false scares to pad out the running time. It's in essence a one-room drama, with a few minor embellishments, so straight away you know that a professional is required to make things work. Heck, PHONE BOOTH is one of my favourites from the last few years. This movie is just boredom, boredom, boredom. Every false scare and cliché is present, from the jumping cat scene to characters suddenly appearing out of nowhere. The lighting is poor and the film has no suspense or atmosphere; a dull-witted script only serves to sink things further. Camilla Belle plays, badly, one of the most unappealing 'scream queen' characters I've ever witnessed, one of those ones you're praying will end up dead. The killer, played by Scot Tommy Flanagan, is supposed to be scary because his face is scarred. That's the only characterisation he gets – a scarred face and Michael Myers-type stance. The killer's telephone voice, played by Lance Henriksen (!) only has about two lines. Towards the end, the whole phone call thing is so overdone (really, the lead gets at least twenty or thirty calls) that I was shouting in anger each time they did it. In all, there's absolutely no point in watching this appalling movie unless you're looking for a cure for insomnia.

Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle) is babysitting two children in a fancy isolated house, when a stranger insists calling her in the phone. She decides to telephone to the police, to trace the phone call. When the officer on duty tells her that the call is being made from inside the house, Jill freaks out and tries to leave the place with the children.

The beginning of the 1979 "When a Stranger Calls" is one of the scariest and most realistic thrillers I have ever seen. The story is excellent, and the performances are stunning. In my opinion, the famous 'Scream' ripped-off the introduction of this film. This 2006 remake is watchable, but director Simon West spoiled an excellent story with a typical Saturday night broadcast predicable movie. The secret of the original film was the claustrophobic environment associated to a realistic plot. The option of this director was to use a huge house, with people coming and going (or vanishing),breaking the tension. Camilla Belle has a pretty face but she is very weak in this dramatic role. Further, her character has the most unreasonable attitudes, for example leaving a house protected by a security system to move to the guest house, or calling the hidden children to escape with her. My advice: see Carol Kane in the original version. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Quando um Estranho Chama" ("When a Stranger Calls")