The Voice Across the Phone

 

That opening to "When a Stranger Calls" (1979) is quite a potent, upsetting sequence that made its imprint on me when I caught "Terror in the Aisles" (1984) on television in probably 1990 or 1991. And there is an incredible ending sequence where you get a close repeat of the opening but instead two children murdered by a disturbed killer Carol Kane herself is the potential victim. Yes, horror fans can rightfully say that perhaps the screenplay takes from "Black Christmas" or "When Michael Calls", both remembered for a crazy making sinister phone calls to terrified women in the early 70s. Heck I can even point to Mario Bava's "Black Sabbath" in 1963, which has a similar plot, regarding an Italian beauty continuously called by someone possibly preparing to do her harm. However, where "When a Stranger Calls" differs is in the middle of the film where phone calls terrifying women goes in a different direction where we are privy to the killer's activities, including his obsession with a woman he met in a bar, after escaping from a mental hospital, and the private detective, Charles Durning, trying to catch him.

If I'm honest I really fucking love the opening to the film. When you see this film's clip in "Terror in the Aisles", Carol on the phone scared, the music jazzing up the works to build effectiveness, it's completely understandable why horror fans remember "When a Stranger Calls" at all. That's nothing against Buckley as the killer. He's definitely pathetic, such as when a barfly pummels him for creeping on Colleen Dewhurst at a bar or creeping around Dewhurst's apartment, and gets under the skin for being evasive from Durning's PI. He gives off those icky vibes like when he makes himself at home in Dewhurst's pad, getting to close to her far too often. This is very much a home invasion subgenre icon, as Buckley is an artiste in sneaking in houses to kill after tormenting those very people with phone calls. So while this feels like a great short film padded from a great thirty minutes, it isn't because of the acting talent or performances. Durning is great as the intense pursuer, Buckley (ill, later to die not long after the film) as the creep that belongs locked up, Kane as the young mother with her own family six years after the incident in the opening sequence, and Ron O'Neal in a rather thankless cop part as a former partner of Durning's who will assist in helping him locate Buckley. 

And Carol Kane really only has maybe thirty minutes of screen time, which is actually a surprise considering she just remains such a horror icon for this particular role and the film, no matter what one thinks of the middle of it, stays in the conversation as a staple of the 70s. I personally think it really benefits from the outstanding opening, and director Walton milks that suspense exceptionally well, with the clock, the dark house, the calls to police, Carol seemingly so alone in this big two story place that covers a lot of space where the killer can hide, and the dagger to the heart where not only is the babysitter told the phone calls came from within the house but the kids upstairs have been brutally murdered. So his return at the end is amplified by her having kids and being unable to protect the two she babysat years earlier. And Buckley in the bed next to her at the end is rather effective, too. The ending, though, offers some solace after the opening was such a punch to the guy. 

The middle seems to feature a slightly different man than the Buckley of the babysitter scenes. He's creepy and sad, but not altogether a monster as he is when trying to strangle Carol at the end. It's as if this is a tale of two Buckleys which might be the point. Buckley has that dark side in him but it's triggered somehow. You just don't see the Buckley of the opening and closing scenes in the middle as he tries to survive and find a friend in Dewhurst. Durning's search for Buckley, too, involves hitting the streets and calling on eyewitnesses who have seen him. So the film does feel like two films in one.