Are You in the House Alone?

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 Scott Columby is fine but could have easily been replaced by one of the other "Scott" actors of the time, either Jacoby or Baio.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!

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.

Someone should really make an effort to find more of these old 70's TV movies and release them on DVD. I've been fortunate enough to catch "When Michael Calls", "Terror on the Beach", and this one on late-night cable showings. Others like "Bad Ronald", "This House Possessed", and "Go Ask Alice" can be obtained if you don't mind spending money in the morally ambiguous world of bootleg video sellers (or, even worse, on E-bay). Others though like the the made-for-TV slasher flick "Deadly Lessons" seem to be lost forever.

The 70's TV movies were not necessarily good, but they were often pretty enjoyable in a cheesy way. They were aimed at a more general audience than TV movies today (i.e. not just dumb, bored housewives) and they did not try to tackle any "issues". This movie actually kind of does tackle an issue (stalking and acquaintance rape), but it was really before it was an issue. It also has some pretty effective suspense leading up to the rape (scary notes, creepy phone calls, "Halloween"-style POV camera shots ). And instead of turning into a predictable courtroom drama after the rape, it ends on a rather ironic and somewhat cynical note. Interestingly, the movie was based on a fairly well-known young adult novel of the same name by Richard Peck (whose other book "If You Don't Look, It won't Hurt" would later provide the inspiration for the theatrical art film "Gas, Food, Lodging). As adaptations of young adult novels go, it's a hell of a lot better than "I Know What you Did Last Summer". I wouldn't pay $20 to an unscrupulous bootlegger to see this, but it's definitely worth watching if it comes on cable TV.

A young high school student begins getting creepy phone calls which eventually leads to her being stalked in 'Are You in the House Alone?". Gail Osborne is a sweet teenage girl who begins going out with classmate Steve. Eventually, she gets a phone call from an anonymous person who does the whole heavy breathing routine. It gets worse from there as Gail gets a note in her locker stating "I'm watching you". We get our list of suspects early on... is it the creepy photography teacher, Gail's current boyfriend or her ex boyfriend? Gail takes a babysitting job in town and that's when the stalker gets close and sadly Gail is raped by this person. We know who did it, and the rest of the film shows Gail trying to prove this person did this to her.

'Are You in the House Alone' is actually an important film for it's time as it tackles tough topics such a rape and women's rights. It isn't so much a horror film (like the title might make it seem) as it is a suspense/mystery movie. We spend a lot of the film trying to figure out who the stalker is. Once we find out the identity of the person, it's hard to watch Gail have to prove it to her closest friend and even the courts/police. Some of the stalking scenes were REALLY well done, and add creepiness to the movie.

The acting was very well done from Kathleen Beller, Scott Colomby, Robin Mattson and a young Dennis Quaid. Where the film lacks is it's pacing. It drags on quite a bit, and focuses a lot of the time on Gail's family issues and her father who's been recently laid off of his job. Good performances by her parents Blythe Danner and Tony Bill. I recommend seeing this 70's made for TV film for sure. It's only ever been released on VHS, but is online as well. It's a slower moving movie, but definitely has it's moments

7/10

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).