The Caller

An undeservedly forgotten little feature by Empire Pictures. Where has this one been hiding? Instead of relying heavily on special effects, 'The Caller' sticks to an audaciously thought-provoking screenplay and confidently notable performances by its only two, but spellbinding cast members Malcolm McDowell and Madolyn Smith-Osborne.

A young lady living in the woods waiting for her guest to arrive for dinner is being unknowingly watched. There's suddenly a knock at the door, but it's a mysterious man who wants to use her phone as his had a car accident. But what follows on from that leads to the two questioning each other's motives and the true meaning of their encounter.

It would be an understatement if I called it strangely unconventional, as nothing seems quite what it is and due to that nature it's plain gripping. Watching the battle of wills and wits between McDowell and Smith is brought across with pure intensity, bold authenticity and a touch of sinisterness. As one thinks they have the upper hand, soon it comes crashing down, but the mind games still flow. The true intentions is mystifying on what's going on with these fabrications, up until the unhinged climax (where I can see why it could be a turn off or disappointment of some sort) that really does throw you of course and lands you back at square one. There's no-way any one can find this calculative fodder predictable. Michael Sloane's enduring story is cerebrally crafted as while it's talky, the twisty nature is well observed in its details of the plot and character's progression. The verbal confrontations rally up the unbearable tension and emotional drive. How it plays out is like something out of a stage show and Arthur Allan Seidelman's tautly measured direction lends to that magnifying atmosphere. You truly get the sense that there's on one else about, other then these two (nameless) characters. McDowell's quietly edgy turn is hypnotic and Smith's neurotically vulnerable persona is creditably delivered. Watching these two steadfast performances and their chemistry together was fantastic. The remote woodland setting adds to the isolated and uneasy style of the feature. Richard Band's score is minimal, but titillatingly subtle and eerie.

An oddly disorientating and elaborate, if simulating addition to Empire Pictures.

It's one of those movies which is progressively making you question if You are going mad / not clever enough to understand any freakin thing in this picture. Then something happens at the very end, and you go A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-!..!.!...

...and you are probably supposed to re-watch now actually getting the point of every happening and strange set dressings.

Gotta admit the intriguing third "sci-fi" tag made me watching it in the end, and i was right: it is not just an inconsequential "stranger from the street keeps a naive poor soul on her toes for an hour" type of flick.

But don't ask me what type of flick it really is either, because i'm not sure if we are even expected to fully understand what is going on. All i say is, the film sorta hints at the possibility that The Girl is either the last person alive on Earth, or she is one of the handful of "lucky ones" left, being tormented.

I'm yet to re-watch some time, maybe i will be able to rate higher once i saw these two acting the way they do, now in a different light.

THE CALLER is a very strange psychological thriller put out by Charlie Band's Empire Pictures outfit. It plays out as a two-hander in which a mysterious young woman is visited by an older stranger at her cabin-in-the-woods home, and the story follows their developing relationship which appears to be based on secrets, lies and game-playing. The chief draw here is Malcolm McDowell, who gives a typically eccentric performance, but sadly the actress they've put him up against simply isn't very good. The script is pretty poor too, with little suspense and then a big twist at the end which reminded me of Norman J. Warren's PREY, albeit less effective.

Fascinating (and undiscovered) mystery/suspense/ thriller concerns a strange woman and her (even stranger?) guest in an isolated cabin in the woods. That's the entire cast, and basically there is only one set. A chilling movie where nothing is what it seems. You spend the entire film trying to discern who the "villain" is. This sort of thing must have impeccable acting to succeed, and does. McDowell is exquisite, the perfect choice.

Subsequent viewings are also rewarding, but you watch the movie from a complete different perspective. 2 1/2 of 4 stars on a tough scale.

These weird, gapless phone calls; this plastic artificiality; the completely unnatural emotional reactions: are these evidence that what we're witnessing is mental illness, something supernatural, or "just 80s movie things"? Only at this moment in history could that full range of possibilities exist.

And that gamut is what's going to keep you gripped in the oddest possible way. You can never simply guess or second-guess what's going on, because you always know that in 80s cinema this could be a representation of something more mundane. From that possibility, many more can spring. Your mind becomes a field of spinning plates: perhaps it's a weird mating dance between people who've lost their spark, someone/everyone is a psychopath, someone/everyone has memory loss, the list goes on.

You are absolutely never going to guess the twist, and how you react to that revelation will largely rest on how much you enjoyed the ridiculous build-up. If you allowed the campness to wash over you, the ending will be an absurd delight but if it was trying your patience then the ending is going to make you rage.

There's something particularly adorable about the way this film clearly thinks it's playing a classy two-hander worthy of the stage. I mean, it's not. It's absolutely not. Awww, but bless its heart.