Le Visiteur

I debated on getting this one for a while, but finally, just gave in and got it. And I thought it was a really cool movie, though the ending was sort of tough to swallow.

Madolyn Smith plays a young woman staying at a cabin in the woods, and one night, a man comes to her door asking to use the phone. Yet, you know he has been watching her for quite some time, so the scenes between them are tense from then on.

Each day after that, she sees him, and they have these very interesting confrontations. Their interaction--which I am giving nothing away about--is gripping, and sometimes, you wonder which one is really crazy.

When the climax of the movie came, the movie got extremely tense, but then it took this weird twist that, though it was a scary idea, came across sort of dumb. Or at least at first. Once it fleshes out a little more, you will either be sort of lost on what kind of movie this is supposed to be, or you will be quite interested. By the end, I thought the idea was very inventive, though not very fleshed out. But when first revealed, I was ready to forget the 90% of truly scary film. I say, see this movie. It will keep you guessing on what's going on until the end, and I guarantee you'll never suspect it. Overall, a good movie.

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.

The suspense of this movie made me late for work, when I got to work I discovered everyone else was late due to this movie being so suspenseful! The movie description tells you all you need to know. The end is something you must see only because I did, and it's only fair you do too. Will say this though; I didn't see it coming. There really isn't much more to say and I don't want to spoil this for any of you so I will most certainly not do that. The acting is decent, and the direction is very good so this is not by any means a waste of time. I say that because I know this will be the initial reaction of most people.

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.

A woman waits for a friend to visit, she's prepared a meal, and gone to troubles to look great, she gets a knock on the door, but it's not her guest, it's a man who claims to have broken down, he asks to use her phone.

Madolyn Smith Osborne and Malcolm McDowell are both very good in their respective roles, and credit to them, they really do deliver, they bounce off eachother well, when you consider it's just the two of them that's as well.

After the stereotypical start.....it was a dark and stormy night... etc etc, I was expecting to slate this film, but to my total surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I could well and truly imagine this playing out on stage in an intimate Theatre, this would work perfectly, on film it works just as well. I was imagining something along the lines of An Inspector calls, and I think that's what this reminds me of.

Now I may be wrong, but in some scenes you can see a tank full of fish, and in others there aren't any.

It's a little surreal, but I was super keen to learn how it ended, it was worth waiting for.

Through enjoyed it.

8/10.