Are You in the House Alone?

A teenage girl is plagued by harassing phone calls. Her fear mounts when she is babysitting at a neighbor's home one evening and the caller rings her at that number.

There seems to be an effort to get this film marketed as a horror film. IMDb says it is one, Scream! Factory is selling it as one, and the title and cover strongly suggest a horror theme. While it is certainly a situation that would be terrifying to anyone in real life, that does not make it a horror film. It is more a "crime drama" or some such thing.

That being said, it is not a bad movie if you go in under proper expectations. A young Dennis Quaid gives a powerful performance, Blythe Danner does her part, and the rest of the cast is quite good. The story is fairly tight in its script.

For horror fans, what may be worth pointing out is that this film actually predates "When a Stranger Calls" by a year. Although the calls in this film are not coming from inside the house, there is a similar feeling and possibly a connection (though it could just be coincidence).

I think my issue with this film is that I was expecting a very different movie, but I also think it makes sense to expect a different one. It's called "Are You in the House Alone?" and is apparently about a babysitter being stalked by an unknown assailant, but that's really about 10 minutes of the running time. Most of this film is a high school drama about this girl's teen angst and her current boyfriend ... and she receives the odd anonymous note leading into the 10 minutes of not very effective horror. This is not for me.

Lets start by stating that this is not a horror movie. Its much more of a drama on the subject of rape whit thriller elements to it. I must say that for a t.v. Movie, it doesn't take the subject to lightly. Sure, some of the writing isn't a thought provoking and serious as it should be given the subject matter but the core of the story and its unraveling i very close to reality and most of what doesn't resonate truth today sure seem appropriate for the time when this was made. Overall, I went into this thinking I was gonna watch a horror movie and even dough I quickly realize this was not gonna be the case, I was already to invested in it to quit and I see that as a sing of good writing and directing. I liked it a lot.

A late 70s TV movie, that whilst not particularly original, is tightly told and most engaging. It is surprising watching this just over thirty years on just how much the social view of sex, sexuality and rape has changed. One central suggestion here is that the main defence will be that only a virgin can be raped. An attitude we now assume only applies in country areas of such countries as India or Pakistan. But this is modern sophisticated USA, and the other social factor this film raises is that of the protected moneyed class, depicted so devastatingly well later in Brian Yuzn'a 'Society'. The film tells us of the main event early on and then flashbacks to give us the lead up and aftermath. Watching it I wasn't sure this was a good idea but it works astonishingly well with much tension and suspense. Kathleen Beller is excellent as the wider eyed victim and a young Dennis Quad does well in one of his very first films.

The best thing going for this rather routine TV movie melodrama is spirited performances by the young stars, including a very youthful Dennis Quaid in a part that would have gone to Bruce Dern 15 years before. The movie is almost two separate movies in one, the first part leading up to the assault on the teenage female lead babysitter is a quasi-horror film not unlike the original When A Stranger Calls, which was released later. There are various suspects who may be making the terrorizing phone calls and messages, and we are in the dark until the assault. The second part, anti-climactic in a way, involves the girl recovering to be stronger and to bring the perpetrator to justice. Unfortunately this section is weaker than the first part regardless of the good intentions by the film-makers to show the difficult process of justice. The adult leads are really unspectacular and mediocre at best, and Tony Bill displays good reasons as to why he left acting to be a producer/director. There is a subplot regarding his character losing a job that really goes nowhere and was unnecessary to the main plot. Blythe Danner as the mother is often more hysterical that the teenage daughter, and comes off as hammy. She's done better work. Scott Columby is fine but could have easily been replaced by one of the other "Scott" actors of the time, either Jacoby or Baio. Alan Fudge is good, and shows why his last name was a big mistake. Where was his agent when he first started? Imagine if he and Barbara Hershey had gotten married!