A Dead Calling

When I stumbled upon this 2006 horror movie titled "A Dead Calling" and seeing that the movie had horror icons Bill Moseley and Sid Haig on the cast list, of course I had to check out the movie. Sure, I had never even heard about the movie, but that was hardly an issue, as I enjoy horror movies quite a lot.

Writer and director Michael Feifer put together a fair enough script. It wasn't the best of stories, I will say that, but it made for an adequate enough viewing. But it is hardly a movie that you will watch more than once.

The movie had Alexandra Holden in the leading role, whereas Bill Moseley and Sid Haig were merely in supporting roles. The acting performances in the movie were fair.

"A Dead Calling" is not a movie that makes use of special effects in any particularly noticeably form.

Watchable, sure, but I didn't find this movie to be a particularly outstanding foray into the horror genre.

My rating of writer and director Michael Feifer's 2006 movie "A Dead Calling" lands on a four out of ten stars.

In New York, the journalist Rachel Beckwith (Alexandra Holden) is attacked by a burglar and her fiancé Brian (Shawn Hoffman) is murdered trying to defend her.

Rachel returns to her hometown Fillmore to recover in the house of her parents. Six months later, she is hired by Stephen Javitz (John Burke) to work in the local television and her first assignment is to cover the architecture of the mansions in Fillmore. Rachel is attracted to the abandoned house of Dr. Frank Sullivan (Tim Oman) and when she breaks in the house, she sees the murder of Mrs. Sullivan (Caia Coley) by Dr. Frank. She returns to the house later and also sees the murder of the journalist of the Fillmore Union Tribune Arnold "Arnie" Howard (Mike Korich). When she calls the police, she learns that Arnie died many years ago. Soon Rachel is contacted by the ghost of Mrs. Sullivan that asks her to help her family and her to find peace. Rachel decides to investigate her connection with the Sullivan's family and their house.

"A Dead Calling" is an awful combination of a lame story with bad acting. It is unbelievable how a writer can create such poor and incoherent story. The way Rachel treats her parents when the ghost of Mrs. Sullivan talks to her is unpleasant and absurd. Rachel does not grieve George, who is simply forgotten in the happy end. The exterior of the haunted house is a beautiful white mansion. The snoopy neighbor is capable to see Rachel snooping around in the house, but does not hear shots in the end. The actor that performs Deputy Murken is terrible. Dr. Sullivan kills a deputy, a man on the road and the police do not chase him. Do not waste your time watching this garbage. My vote is two.

Title (Brazil): "O Chamado da Morte" ("The Dead Calling")

OK, I just saw the movie and I didn't think that it was THAT bad. The other reviewer is correct the acting sucks, big time, but if you actually give it a chance and try to get into the character then it's not so bad. I would not recommend buying or renting it but if you're stuck somewhere out in the middle of nowhere with cable and the movie just so happens to come on, it might be OK. Yes the escaped convict plot is alright, way too played out. There are actually kind of two "twists". The first is pretty obvious from the get-go. The other surprised me a little but it did not improve the movie what-so-ever. I think that the characters the were in The Devil's Rejects, should stay there. There is "supposed" to be a tender moment between the parents and the daughter and I could only laugh. Now if "tender" meant "awkward" then I could understand. All in all this was a pretty bad movie. Don't waste ANY money on this or you'll be sorry.

Well finally here's a good use of genre talent (Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Leslie Easterbrook) put to a true horror film with a dark atmospheric story to match. It's basically a ghost story/slasher film that combines the genres seamlessly with a twist that comes at the end that left me at the edge of my seat. I'd say this is Moseley's best performance since Texas Chainsaw Massacre II and Haig and Leslie deliver some solid perfs as well. If you liked the Devils Rejects check this out as you won't be disappointed. This could be the best ghost story of the year (theatrical or direct-to-video). Its like a J- Horror film done right with the slasher element. Keep them coming Feifer!!!

I was looking for something dark, and I got it. It plays like a Japanese horror film, and there is a slasher in it, but there was little else to hold my interest.

Except for Sid Haig, of course. I just watched him the other night in his clown makeup, and he really was funny as a regular father in this film. He was "Father Knows Best" with an affinity for guns. He really made me keep watching until the end. His wife was Leslie Easterbrook. This was their third movie together after Halloween and The Devil's Rejects. Of course, many remember her from the Police Academy films.

Also from Halloween, The Devil's Rejects, and Grindhouse was Bill Moseley as the sheriff.

This must have been the fourth or fifth Michael Feifer film I have seen. He does a lot of serial killers. His films are usually worth watching, but nothing to write home about.

If you like the genre check it out on cable sometime.