The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
The Caller
Mystery · Science Fiction · Thriller · 1987
One night, an unusual stranger in need asks a woman living alone in a house in the woods if he can use her phone. It soon becomes clear that they're playing a strange mind game and that there's something very wrong about the woods.
Movie details
The Caller
“A strange visitor. A mysterious woman. A surprise ending...”
1987 Mystery · Science Fiction · Thriller 1h 37m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
5.9 / 10
Community rating
One night, an unusual stranger in need asks a woman living alone in a house in the woods if he can use her phone. It soon becomes clear that they're playing a strange mind game and that there's something very wrong about the woods.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Caller?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Significant Other
Sci-fi · 2022
Ruth and Harry decide to take a romantic backpacking trip through the Pacific Northwest, but amongst the beautiful scenery, Ruth makes an unexpected discovery that sets her off on a strange, frightening new path. The couple aren't alone in the woods, and they might not be the same when they come out...if they come out.
Color Out of Space
Horror · 2020
The Gardner family moves to a remote farmstead in rural New England to escape the hustle of the 21st century. They are busy adapting to their new life when a meteorite crashes into their front yard, melts into the earth, and infects both the land and the properties of space-time with a strange, otherworldly colour. To their horror, the family discovers this alien force is gradually mutating every life form that it touches—including them.
Abandoned
Horror · 2022
After a young couple moves into a remote farmhouse with their infant son, the woman's struggles with postpartum psychosis begin to intensify... as the house reveals secrets of its own.
Southbound
Fantasy · 2015
The film contains five stories set on desolate stretches of a desert highway. Two men on the run from their past, a band on its way to a gig, a man struggling to get home, a brother in search of his long-lost sister and a family on vacation are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets in these interwoven tales.
Extinction
Horror · 2015
And suddenly, overnight, the world came to a halt. Two men, two survivors, one kid, and hatred that separates them. A place forgotten by everyone, including the creatures that inhabit the Earth... until now.
Containment
Thriller · 2015
Neighbors in a block wake one morning to find they have been sealed inside their apartments. Can they work together to find out why? Or will they destroy each other in their fight to escape?
Die Alone
Horror · 2024
Lost in a world reclaimed by nature and overrun by mysterious creatures, Ethan, a young man with amnesia navigates the dangerous landscape in search of his lost love Emma. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he encounters Mae, a hardened and eccentric survivor. Together, Ethan and Mae face threats both human and otherwise before a fateful encounter with Kai unravels a secret that lies just beyond Ethan's fractured memory.
Splinter
Horror · 2008
When their plans for a nature trip go awry, Polly and boyfriend Seth decide to check into a motel. On their way, they're carjacked and kidnapped by low-rent crooks Dennis and Lacey, who take the victims and their SUV to a nearby gas station. Along the way, they encounter an increasingly terrifying horde of parasites, and if any of them intend to survive, they'll have to outsmart the deadly organisms.
Margaux
Horror · 2022
As a group of seniors celebrate their final college days at a smart house, the house's highly advanced AI system, Margaux, begins to take on a deadly presence of her own. A carefree weekend of partying turns into a dystopian nightmare as they realize Margaux's plans to eliminate her tenants one way or another. Time begins to run out as the group desperately tries to survive and outsmart the smart home.
Enter Nowhere
Mystery · 2015
Three strangers arrive one by one to a mysterious cabin in the middle of nowhere after enduring separate life-altering predicaments. Searching for a way out of the woods, frustrated, hungry and battling to stay warm they discover their mysterious connection and realize what they have to do in order to get out of the woods alive.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Arthur Allan Seidelman
Written by
Michael Sloan
Malcolm McDowell
The Caller
Madolyn Smith Osborne
The Girl (as Madolyn Smith)
Court is in session
Put The Caller on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Prestige Tourist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.