Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Mild
- tense
- claustrophobic
- foreboding
- late night horror
- halloween viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded the remake as a rote, largely fright-free horror thriller with weak execution and limited suspense.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jill receives mysterious calls and learns that the caller may be inside the house.
The wealthy family's large home shifts from a babysitting workplace into a threatening trap.
Jill struggles to escape while trying to save the sleeping children in her care.
The action uses a massive three-story house as the principal setting for pursuit and concealment.
Films like When a Stranger Calls, and why
The Babysitter
shared babysitter-in-peril premise, home-invasion suspense, and teen horror framing
Black Christmas
shared isolated-house setting, serial-killer threat, and phone-driven psychological suspense
Urban Legend
shared teen protagonist, stalking tension, and conventional slasher-horror structure
The Strangers
shared home-invasion anxiety, survival thriller pacing, and vulnerable young heroine
Movie Details
- Director
- Simon West
- Release Date
- 2006-02-03
- Runtime
- 87 min
- Rating
- 5.7 / 10 (1171)
Cast
- Camilla Belle
- Tommy Flanagan
- Katie Cassidy
- Tessa Thompson
- Brian Geraghty
- Clark Gregg
- Derek de Lint
- Kate Jennings Grant
- David Denman
- Arthur Young
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is When a Stranger Calls about?
- A teenage babysitter is terrorized by an anonymous caller whose threat may already be inside the mansion she is guarding.
- What is When a Stranger Calls like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of When a Stranger Calls as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as simple.
- Is When a Stranger Calls violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in When a Stranger Calls as mild.
- What did critics think of When a Stranger Calls?
- Critics broadly regarded the remake as a rote, largely fright-free horror thriller with weak execution and limited suspense.
- Which films are like When a Stranger Calls?
- Films with a similar feel include The Babysitter, Black Christmas, Urban Legend, and The Strangers.
- How long is When a Stranger Calls?
- When a Stranger Calls runs 87 minutes.
- Where can I watch When a Stranger Calls?
- In United States, When a Stranger Calls is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
